ANZ replaces CIO after global search

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has found its replacement for its former chief information officer Anne Weatherston after a seven-month global search.

The bank has announced that Scott Collary, the current Citibank Consumer North America CEO, will step into the role in early December. Collary, who has been with Citibank since March 2009, has had a long career in banking, working in Fifth Third between 2003 and 2008, and Bank of America between 1987 and 2003.

ANZ said that Collary led the digital-first technology strategy in Citigroup North America in his time with the company, and was responsible for large technology transformation programs.

Collary will be based in Melbourne, and will report to chief operating officer Alistair Currie, who stepped into the CIO role after Weatherston's sudden departure in April.

Currie said in a statement that Collary has a track record of leading large global teams with a customer-centric focus.

"Scott has particular experience in leading large-scale digital technology programs, and will have a key leadership role in continuing ANZ's transformation to become the most compelling, most convenient, and easiest bank to use for all customers, whether big, small, retail, or corporate," he said.

In October, ANZ reported a profit of AU$7.3 billion on the back of the company's AU$1.5 billion investment in the Banking on Australia five-year technology transformation program, which commenced in 2012.

This week, ANZ also announced plans to roll out a EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) secure "tap and PIN" ATM. The plan will ultimately remove the need for customers to insert their cards into an ATM, instead allowing customers to tap their card or mobile device on the ATM and enter a PIN before receiving cash from the ATM.

In September, wireless payment company Mint Wireless announced that Weatherston had been appointed as an independent non-executive director for the company.