Bendigo and Adelaide Bank appoints Richard Deutsch to board
The former CEO of Deloitte Australia, Richard Deutsch, has been appointed as a non-executive director at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
Richard Deutsch will assume the role on 20 September 2021, and will see his remit expanded early November when he succeeds Robert Hubbard as Chair of the Board Audit Committee after Hubbard retires from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s board.
The Bank's Chair, Jacqueline Hey welcomed Deutsch to the Board: “Richard's deep audit and advisory experience will bring significant weight to both our board and board audit committees. His commitment to strengthening community and social justice also strongly aligns with our Bank’s values, longstanding purpose and vision to be Australia’s bank of choice.”
Deutsch brings more than three decades of professional services experience to the role. He worked from 1989 to 2014 in a variety of roles at PwC Australia. Most recently he ran the firm’s Consulting business, sat on the firm’s leadership team (for nine years) and managed the integration of Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) into PwC for Asia. Prior to that, he led PwC Australia’s Assurance business.
He joined Deloitte in early 2015 and eventually became the CEO of Deloitte Australia and a member of the Deloitte Asia Pacific Executive. In March 2021 he announced he decided to step down for personal reasons, with his role not much later taken over by Adam Powick.
Deutsch holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (FCA). Commenting on his non-executive director role, he said: “It is an honour to be joining the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank board. I am strongly aligned to the organisation’s sense of purpose and community.”
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was formed in 2007 by the merger of Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank. The financial institution focuses primarily on the retail banking segment.