Bendigo and Adelaide Bank appoints a new chair 

Non-major lender Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has announced that its chairperson Jacqueline Hey will retire from her role and position on the board later this year.

Ms Hey has been on the bank’s board since July 2011 and was appointed chair in October 2019, the first female to hold the position.

She will retire from the board after the finalisation of the bank’s full-year results at its annual general meeting (AGM) on 24 October.

The bank revealed an existing board member, chairman of the Star Entertainment Group, Youi Insurance, and G8 Education Limited, David Foster, has been selected to take on the role.

Mr Foster has been a banking executive for over 25 years, including as chief executive of Suncorp bank between 2008 and 2013, during which time he helped deliver a “significant turnaround and restructuring of the bank”.

He joined the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank board in September 2019.

Ms Hey said: “I am proud to have served Bendigo and Adelaide Bank as a director and chair during a period of significant change for the bank, its customers and the community. Working closely with [the] board and the executive team during this period has been a highlight of my career.

“In recent years the bank has made good progress on its transformation to ensure its future success. I’m confident these changes will ensure the bank remains well positioned to continue delivering on its purpose of feeding into the prosperity of its customers and the community well into the future.”

She added she was pleased an existing member of the board would become chair once she left.

The bank particularly flagged the incoming chair’s “strong experience with strategy, operational leadership, finance and risk management, product management, marketing and change management”, along with his involvement as chair at several organisations.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Foster stated: “It has been a privilege to serve with Jacquie on the board and I am pleased to be appointed chair of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

“I look forward to building on the strong progress that has been made under Jacquie’s thoughtful stewardship and continue delivering on the bank’s purpose.

“As chair my focus will be to prioritise sustainable growth and ensure that the bank continues to improve its performance for the benefit of our customers, people, partners, communities and shareholders as we execute on our vision to be Australia’s bank of choice.”

Ms Hey’s retirement is the second change to Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s board in the past few months. It follows the appointment of former AMP executive Margaret Payn as a non-executive director, who commences her role on Thursday (14 September).

In June, it was also announced that Jim Hazel, a longstanding director of the bank, will retire from his position on the board after 13 years at the bank, effective from the non-major bank’s AGM.

[Related: Non-major welcomes new board member]