A non-major has announced its current head of retail bank has been promoted and will assume leadership of its Australian operations in two weeks' time.
Melanie Evans is set to become CEO of ING Bank Australia on 16 November 2020; on the same date, current CEO Uday Sareen will transition into his new role as head of wholesale banking for ING Europe, Middle East and Africa.
According to ING Bank Australia chair, Dr John Laker AO, Evans has had a clear impact on the group since joining in 2017; under her leadership, the organisation has become Australia’s fifth largest financial institution with a 6% customer market share.
“Melanie is a very experienced banker with a proven track record who will continue to drive ING’s growth and diversification agenda. Her appointment is testament to all that Melanie has achieved for the retail bank and its customers,” Dr Laker said.
Evans began her career in financial services with a St. George Bank cadetship in 1995; from there, she joined Westpac before spending a decade at BT Financial Group in product, brand, marketing, superannuation, platforms and investments leadership roles. Evans then returned to Westpac as a chief of staff, leading business units across mortgages, transformation and business banking.
“As ING’s new CEO in Australia, my focus will be to drive the bank’s growth and diversification agenda. I will continue to prioritise our customers and team members,” Evans said.
“Our history as Australia’s first fintech, most recommended bank, a trusted brand and for doing things differently will remain front and centre. We’re proud of what makes us a modern bank. We exist for our customers – so they can focus on the things that matter to them.”
In announcing Evans' promotion, Dr Laker also congratulated Sareen on what he was able to accomplish at ING Australia over the past four years.
“Uday was always ambitious in his agenda for Australia, and he delivered the results,” said the chair.
“[He] will be leaving a highly successful, customer focused bank with an excellent workplace culture. ING is now one of Australia’s most trusted brands. Uday…will be leaving behind a very different bank to the one he joined in 2016.”
