APRA bids farewell to deputy chair Helen Rowell

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has bid farewell to Helen Rowell as she steps down from her role as deputy chair this week.

Rowell joined APRA in 2002, a few years after the regulator was established. She has been an executive board member and deputy chair for 10 years and has been involved in APRA’s milestones over the years, which have led to material improvements in entity practices and prudential and customer outcomes.

Commenting on her departure, Rowell said: “Having been at APRA for just over 21 years and an executive board member and deputy chair for 10 years now, I decided over a year ago that I would not seek a further five-year term. From a good governance perspective, it feels appropriate for APRA to follow the approach to tenure and succession planning that we expect of the entities we regulate. However, it also feels like the right time for me to pursue other challenges and have a bit more flexibility, including to spend more time with my husband who has been retired for a few years now.”

Helen Rowell’s work at APRA

Looking back at her time with APRA, Rowell noted several enhancements to the prudential framework, including:

• major insurance capital reforms under the Life and General Insurance Capital framework introduced in 2013;
• the introduction and implementation of prudential standards for superannuation from 2013;
• the Superannuation Data Transformation project; and
• the creation and publication of the MySuper and Choice Heatmaps reports.

Rowell also highlighted the evolution of APRA’s people framework and practices, including recruitment approach, leadership capability frameworks, training and development programs, and inclusion and diversity strategy.

“These have all contributed significantly to building breadth and depth of capability at all levels of the organisation and across a range of disciplines and risk areas – positioning APRA as a credible and highly regarded employer and regulator,” Rowell said.