Suncorp’s latest executive move: new CIO appointed

John Kavanagh

Former CBA group executive and new Suncorp CIO Adam Bennett

Adam Bennett, a former Commonwealth Bank group executive, has joined Suncorp, taking on the role of chief information officer. It is the latest in a series of C-suite changes at Suncorp since Steve Johnston took over as chief executive last September.

During his time at CBA, Bennett was chief information officer for retail and business banking, and more recently group executive for business and private banking. He left the bank earlier this year.

He starts work at Suncorp next month and will have the task of “guiding the group’s strategic technology path and digitisation, automation and data initiatives”.

Former CIO Sarah Harland, who joined Suncorp in 2016, left in March.

There has been plenty of change at the top since Johnston took over at Suncorp. In October, banking and wealth chief executive David Carter announced his departure to take over as CEO at the Queensland motoring body RACQ.

Carter’s replacement, Lee Hatton, was appointed in December. Her tenure was brief; last month, she resigned citing the “unsustainable” demands of commuting from Sydney to Brisbane.

Her departure coincided with the group’s decision to stop the implementation of a new core banking system.

Bruce Rush, executive general manager deposits and payments, is acting as banking and wealth CEO, while the company looks for a permanent replacement.

In October, group general counsel Belinda Speirs joined the senior leadership team reporting directly to Johnston. She also took on the company secretary role.

In December, Jeremy Robson, who has been at Suncorp since 2013, was appointed chief financial officer.