IMB Bank Board Elects New Chairman And Appoints Non-Executive Director

Appointment of Noel Cornish as Chairman

Following the planned retirement of IMB Chairman Michael Cole, the Board of IMB Bank is pleased to announce that it has today elected a new Chairman, Noel Cornish. 

Mr Cornish has been a non-executive director of IMB Bank since 2010 and was appointed as Deputy Chairman in 2015. Mr Cornish has strong ties to IMB’s areas of operation, and is an Illawarra resident, the Deputy Chancellor of the University of Wollongong, and the former Chief Executive of BlueScope Limited’s Australian and New Zealand steel manufacturing businesses.

Mr Cornish said:

“I would like to thank my fellow Directors for the honour of chairing the Board of IMB Bank, an organisation which has been diligently supporting its members and their communities for 136 years.

On behalf of the Board, I thank Michael for his exemplary period of leadership, especially through the challenges of the global financial crisis, during the merger with Sutherland Credit Union and for his commitment to implementing the recommendations from the 2012 Capital Structure Review.

I am looking forward to working with the Board, Chief Executive Robert Ryan, and IMB’s outstanding staff as we continue our razor sharp focus on providing superior services for our members.”

Mr Cornish is an experienced Chairman, being the Chairman of Snowy Hydro Ltd and the former Chairman of Hunter United Credit Union. He is also a director of Forests Corp NSW and is the National President of the Ai Group. During his tenure as a non-executive director of IMB Ltd, Mr Cornish has served on a number of Committees including the Corporate Governance and Remuneration Committee, the Capital & Securitisation Committee and the Land Development Committee.

Appointment of Cathy Aston as a non-executive Director

IMB also announces that Ms Cathy Aston (B.EC., M. COMM, TFASFA, GAICD) has joined the Board of IMB and its subsidiaries as a non-executive director, following a casual appointment made by Directors. Cathy’s appointment follows the retirements of both Michael Cole and Kieran Biddle, with the Board having appointed Ms Gai McGrath earlier in the year to facilitate an effective transition process throughout this period of Board renewal.

Ms Aston’s experience is as an executive and non-executive director of digital and telecommunications businesses across Asia Pacific. She has a broad commercial background with senior roles in finance, marketing, strategy and business improvement. Her previous positions include Executive Director, Digital Business at Telstra Corporation, Finance Director, Telstra International (Hong Kong) and Managing Director, Mobitel Pvt Ltd (Sri Lanka). Cathy is currently Chairperson of Pillar Administration, one of Australia’s leading superannuation administration providers with more than $100 billion in funds under administration, and is a director of Southern Phone Company Ltd, the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

The Board welcomes Cathy (an Illawarra resident) to IMB, and looks forward to the contribution she will make in key areas of strategic focus, including IMB’s digital expansion and delivering an enhanced member experience. The Board is delighted that Cathy’s appointment makes her the fourth female director on the current Board of seven (7) directors, and is proud of the diversity and depth of experience it has achieved in the composition of the Board. 

Cathy will stand for re-appointment by members at the 2016 IMB Annual General Meeting of members, to be held on 25 October 2016.

IMB Bank farewells Director Kieran Biddle, who served on the Board from 2007, and was Deputy Chairman in 2014-15. Kieran has been an outstanding Chairman of the IMB Community Foundation Committee, overseeing the growth and success of the Foundation’s activities.
 

Dated: 28 September 2016