BOQ Appoints General Manager Third Party Distribution

Wednesday, 27/01/2016

BOQ has announced the appointment of Adrienne Smith to the newly created role of General Manager, Third Party Distribution. 

BOQ’s Group Executive for Retail Banking Matt Baxby said the new role reflects the strategic importance of brokers to the Bank, including the introduction of Virgin Money mortgages through the broker channel in the coming months. 

“This newly created senior leadership role reflects the significant role that brokers will continue to play in the future of BOQ’s distribution,” he said. 

“Adrienne will be responsible for continuing to grow and mature our offering through the broker channel. 

“She brings deep retail banking experience, particularly third-party distribution, from across a range of institutions.” 

Adrienne said she was looking forward to the opportunities that come with developing a business in the early years. 

“As a relatively new entrant to the broker market, BOQ has appetite to continue to build out its broker presence and there’s still a lot of room for growth,” she said. 

“We’ve got a flat, accessible structure that creates opportunities to be more nimble and responsive than our competitors, and we’ll continue to invest in improving our service offering for brokers and their customers throughout the year. 

“I’m excited about working for a challenger brand that offers a genuine alternative to the major banks.” 

Prior to BOQ, Adrienne was Commonwealth Bank’s State Manager for Third Party Distribution business for New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, and General Manager for Sales and Service for South Australia and Northern Territory.  

Originally from New Zealand, Adrienne was the Chief Operating Officer for NZF Group where she took the business through a rebranding, a credit rating upgrade, a new operating model and implemented their risk management framework.  

Prior to that she was Head of the Sovereign home loans arm, solely a third-party channel.

Adrienne starts with BOQ today.