Australian Unity Bank appoints chief executive

Australian Unity Bank has appointed four-time Olympic medallist and current NAB personal bank executive Kieren Perkins as its new chief executive officer.

Perkins, who won successive gold medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, has spent the last twelve years in financial services with NAB private wealth and personal banking.

Australian Unity retail CEO Christine Yates said Perkins' leadership and customer experience would help deliver positive growth for the organisation. "Having worked with Kieren at NAB, I was impressed with his commitment to customers and his team and his passion for the important role banking plays in society.

"Financial well-being is a critical part of our proposition to our members and our bank has gone from strength-to-strength in service to members and the community under the leadership of Tim Barber so I was very pleased that we could attract a banker of Kieren's calibre to continue to bring purposeful leadership to the bank."

Perkins, who worked in consultancy before joining the banking industry, said of his appointment, "As a proud Australian, I have always felt the need to give back to the community that supported me to perform on the world stage.

"As I looked to make the next step in my career, the opportunity to use my experience in banking in a community-focused organisation made Australian Unity a very exciting choice."

Perkins will join Australian Unity on 1 July.