Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 16, 2021
Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has appointed Sarah Owen, Greg Smith and Kate Kolich to the post of Assistant Governor, Governor Adrian Orr has announced.
Sarah Owen
Ms Owen will join in March 2022 and will be First Assistant Governor and General Manager of Risk Compliance and Legal Services. She will also be the Chief Risk Officer, Chief Privacy Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer of the Reserve Bank.
“Sarah is joining us from the Guardians of NZ Superannuation where she is part of their Senior Leadership Team as General Counsel and General Manager of Corporate Strategy. She will look after our risk, compliance and legal services functions. This will include leading the ongoing development of our fit-for-purpose Enterprise Risk and Compliance Framework for RBNZ and will ensure we are risk conscious across all our functions. We are pleased to have someone of her calibre join us at RBNZ,” Mr Orr said.
Greg Smith
Mr Smith has been with RBNZ since July this year and will take over his new post of Assistant Governor and General Manager of Finance and Commercial Operations in May 2022.
A Chartered Accountant by qualification, he has an extensive background in finance and professional services. He was earlier the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary for Steel and Tube Holdings Limited.
Mr Orr said that Mr Smith will replace Mike Wolyncewicz, who will leave RBNZ after 21 years of service in May 2022.
“Greg will be leading our Finance and Commercial Operations Group. He will also oversee the framework for commercial procurement, the deposit insurance scheme, asset management, and our property and facilities strategy. Since joining the Bank, Greg has been involved in crucial bank-wide projects that have risk intersects, such as the Reserve Bank Act implementation,” he said.
Kate Kolich
Ms Kate Kolich will take up her assignment as Assistant Governor and General Manager of Information, Data and Analytics in February 2022. She will be responsible for managing and expanding the Bank’s knowledge, information management, data, statistics and analytics functions.
Mr Orr said that the role will ensure that the Bank’s information and data strategy, policy, and processes are future-focused and robust to support evidence-based decision-making across the Bank.
“Kate brings with her a wealth of senior leadership experience within data and analytics. Most recently, she has been leading the Evidence, Insights and Innovation group at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. She has about 20 years of financial services experience leading data teams at Bank of New Zealand. For the last four years, she has been the New Zealand Ambassador for Women in Data Science encouraging more women into the field of data science and analytics. We are privileged to have Kate join us,” he said.
Roust recruitment process
Mr Orr said that Ms Owen, Mr Smith and Ms Kolich have been appointed after a robust recruitment process.
“These appointments are also a part of the plans for the expanded and refreshed structure of the Reserve Bank’s Executive Leadership Team. In October 2021, the Bank announced plans to bolster its overall capability and capacity.
“The new roles are key to strengthening our leadership team and supporting the future strategic direction of RBNZ as we move to a new statutory Governance Board in 2022. Recruitment for the remaining ELT role of Assistant Governor and General Manager of Money Group is progressing well and further announcements will be made early next year,” he said.
