The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has named three new assistant governors – Sarah Owen, Kate Kolich and Greg Smith.
The appointments were made after a robust recruitment process as part of the plans for the expanded and refreshed structure of the executive leadership team, RBNZ said. This follows the central bank’s announcement in October of plans to bolster its overall capability and capacity.
Kolich will take up the new role of assistant governor and general manager of information, data and analytics in February. She will be responsible for managing and expanding the bank’s knowledge, information management, data, statistics and analytics functions.
“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,” RBNZ governor Adrian Orr said. “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. Kate also has almost 20 years 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.”
Owen will be the first assistant governor and general manager of risk compliance and legal services, beginning in March. She will also take on the roles of RBNZ’s chief risk officer, chief privacy officer and anti-money laundering officer.
“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,” Orr said. “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 Te Pūtea Matua.”
Smith was appointed assistant governor and general manager of finance and commercial operations. He joined RBNZ in July and is currently the acting head of risk. A chartered accountant, Smith has an extensive background in finance and professional services. Prior to joining RBNZ, Smith was the chief financial officer and company secretary for Steel and Tube Holdings Limited. He will succeed Mike Wolyncewicz, who will leave in May 2022 after 21 years with RBNZ.
“Greg will be leading our finance and commercial operations group,” Orr said. “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.”
