BOQ announces new CFO

The Bank of Queensland Limited (BOQ) has announced the appointment of Racheal Kellaway as its new chief financial officer, who will take over the role in July 2022.

Ms Kellaway, currently deputy chief financial officer, will become the bank’s first female CFO in its 148-year history (subject to regulatory approvals).

As part of “a planned succession process”, Ms Kellaway will be promoted to the position of group chief financial officer in July.

The chartered accountant will take over the position from the current CFO and chief operating officer Ewen Stafford, who is set to return to the Loan Market Group as its new chief operating officer later this year.

According to BOQ, the transition period “ensures a smooth handover of CFO responsibilities and positions the group to maintain momentum in executing its transformation plan, strengthening the balance sheet and managing costs”.

They noted Ms Kellaway’s 15 years’ senior management experience in financial services (before joining BOQ in 2019, Ms Kellaway worked in leadership roles in retail, business and private banking divisions during more than a decade at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia).

The bank also flagged her “instrumental” role in helping BOQ deliver “sustainable, profitable growth” and her work to ensure a “disciplined focus, balancing revenue growth with cost management across the group, underpinning the group’s ability to deliver strong business performance”.

BOQ Group’s CEO and managing director, George Frazis, commented: “I am thrilled that Racheal, with her wealth of financial services experience and deep understanding of the Group, will be leading our finance function into the future. The appointment is testament to both Racheal’s capability and the depth of talent within the senior leadership of our business.”

Mr Frazis also thanked outgoing CFO and COO Mr Stafford for his “integral” work, particularly noting that he was “central to the development of the group’s turnaround strategy”.

“With the transformation program embedded across the group and the ME Bank integration progressing strongly, the CFO handover is timed to align with the commencement of the next phase of the group’s strategy,” Mr Frazis said.

“I want to thank Ewen for his wise counsel and leadership during his time with the group, helping oversee consecutive reporting periods of improving business performance and the acquisition of ME Bank.”

The operations function will move from Mr Stafford to chief information officer Craig Ryman.

[Related: ME Bank hands back banking licence]