KEY POINTS:
Westpac New Zealand has appointed a new chief executive - the third for the company in less than two years.
George Frazis will join the firm in late March or early April from the National Australia Bank - the parent company of the BNZ.
Westpac has struggled to fill the top job, most recently losing Brad Cooper in June to head up the A$16 billion merger between its Australian parent and St George Bank.
Cooper had only been in the position since April 2007 when he took over from Ann Sherry.
Sherry was chief executive for four-and-a-half years and resigned from Westpac after she was moved sideways to head up the group's Pacific banking division on the back of poor performance from the New Zealand division.
She earned more than $3 million per year in the position.
Westpac yesterday said Frazis had been appointed following an international search. The 44-year-old is currently group executive general manager development and new business at the NAB responsible for strategy formulation and mergers and acquisitions across the business.
Prior to the strategy role he was NAB's executive general manager business and private banking from 2007 to 2004. In that role he oversaw more than 5500 banking specialists.
Before joining NAB, Frazis was a senior executive at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's institutional banking division. The CBA is the parent for New Zealand's ASB Bank.
Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly said Frazis would bring strong strategic and operational skills to the New Zealand business.
Bruce McLaughlan, who has been acting chief executive since June, will continue in the role until Frazis starts begins next year.
