Our Board of Directors.

Catherine was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of Westpac New Zealand in November 2021.

She has more than 25 years’ experience working in financial services, spanning business, operational and people leadership roles to which she has driven significant people, structural, technology and strategic change.

Prior to joining Westpac, Catherine led large-scale transformations at some of the world’s best known banks including Barclays Group and Lloyds TSB in the UK. This included various positions such as Head of Channels, Managing Director of Transaction Products and Payments, and Transaction Banking Director.

Earlier in her career she worked at BNZ, ASB and the Prudential Group.

Catherine was raised in New Zealand. She graduated from Canterbury University with a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Commerce.

Pip Greenwood was appointed a WNZL director in April 2019, and Board Chair in October 2021.

She brings significant experience in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, telecommunications and governance, and was one of New Zealand’s leading commercial lawyers and a partner at Russell McVeagh.

Pip was with Russell McVeagh for 18 years, and has more than ten years’ experience on the firm’s board, previously serving as Board Chair and interim CEO of the firm. Over the years, Pip has advised on many high-profile New Zealand corporate transactions.

She was a member of the New Zealand Takeovers Panel from 2007 to 2011 and is the current Chair of The a2 Milk Company Limited  and director of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited.

David Havercroft was appointed a Director of Westpac New Zealand Limited in August 2021. He is also Chair of the Board Technology Committee and a member of the Board Risk and Compliance Committee. 

He is an independent director on a number of New Zealand companies. He is currently a director of Spark NZ and formerly a director of Kordia.

David brings skills and experience from a career in the technology sector that has spanned more than 35 years. He was previously at Spark New Zealand (then Telecom) from 2009, where he held a number of roles including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer until 2017. Over the years, he has also held executive and management positions in IBM Asia Pacific, Cable & Wireless and BT.

Christine Parker is Group Executive, Human Resources for the Westpac Group, and was appointed a Director of Westpac New Zealand Limited in August 2021.

Before her move to the Group role in Australia, Christine was General Manager HR for Westpac New Zealand. Christine was one of New Zealand’s leading HR practitioners and has held senior appointments in a number of high-profile organisations and a range of industries including manufacturing, retail and services.

Prior to joining Westpac, Christine was Group HR Director for Carter Holt Harvey where she was responsible for the development and delivery of all facets of their global human resource strategies. From 1999 to 2004 Christine was Director of HR with Restaurant Brands NZ, the franchisor for high-profile fast-food brands that included KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks.

Christine trained as an Accountant and continued her professional development with a range of post graduate qualifications in HR Management, Leadership and Quality Management. Christine is also a Governor of the St. George Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that helps disadvantaged children and Director of the Financial Alliance for Women.

Michael Rowland joined Westpac Group as Chief Financial Officer in September 2020 and was appointed a director of Westpac New Zealand Limited in August 2021. He is responsible for Westpac’s Finance, Group Audit, Investor Relations, Tax and Treasury functions. Michael is a member of the Board Technology Committee and the Board Audit Committee.

Before joining Westpac, Michael was a Partner in Management Consulting at KPMG. Before that he held a number of senior executive positions at ANZ from 1999 to 2013. This included CFO Institutional Banking, CFO Wealth, CFO New Zealand, CFO Personal Financial Services, and business leadership roles as CEO Pacific, Managing Director Mortgages and General Manager, Transformation. Michael commenced his career at KPMG, where he was promoted to become a Tax Partner in 1993.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce, University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma of Taxation Law, Monash University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand.

Sam Knowles was appointed a Director of Westpac New Zealand Limited in September 2021. He is also Chair of the Board People and Remuneration Committee and a member of the Board Technology Committee.

Sam brings wide experience in financial services and governance. His extensive career in financial services included 10 years as the founding CEO of Kiwibank, leading it from idea to success. This role followed 15 years of senior executive positions in banks in Australia and New Zealand leading strategy, marketing and product management and retail financial services.

Sam has spent the last decade in independent governance roles supporting young and ambitious growth companies. Examples include PartnersLife in insurance, Xero in accounting and Synlait in the dairy industry. Sam is also a director of investment company Rangatira, as well as several young growth companies that deliver sector innovation through digital strategy.