COO – Regional Operations — Corporate Bank

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing regional delivery split across incompatible operating models within a multinational-owned regulated universal or specialist bank. The immediate arena is the corporate bank during a core-banking renewal. For mandate 094, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The COO – Regional Operations operating perimeter covers approximately A$80,900 million in loan and deposit book, with activity spanning several corporate bank customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The COO – Regional Operations Banking remit carries direct influence over roughly 950 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a COO – Regional Operations who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the corporate bank. The COO – Regional Operations Banking seat must resolve a core-banking renewal, while preserving the underlying strengths of the corporate bank. For mandate 094, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The COO – Regional Operations’s first year on the corporate bank is expected to end with one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity. In mandate 094, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the COO – Regional Operations — Corporate Bank seat. The incumbent continues to lead the corporate bank through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a core-banking renewal is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the COO – Regional Operations value-creation thesis for the corporate bank, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately A$80,900 million in loan and deposit book, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the COO – Regional Operations Banking organisation of about 950 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the corporate bank economics and execution constraints created by a core-banking renewal, with COO – Regional Operations-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one COO – Regional Operations operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the corporate bank; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 094.
• Build the COO – Regional Operations’s three-year succession and capability plan for the corporate bank, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Banking organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the corporate bank baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to regional delivery split across incompatible operating models, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal COO – Regional Operations portfolio and organisation choices for the corporate bank, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable corporate bank trend against one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the COO – Regional Operations’s agreed first-year corporate bank value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A COO – Regional Operations forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the corporate bank’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the COO – Regional Operations mandate’s highest-priority corporate bank risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical corporate bank talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the COO – Regional Operations’s direct reports.
• A quantified COO – Regional Operations-owned improvement in the corporate bank operating constraint behind a core-banking renewal, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 094: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive in a multinational-owned Banking or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the corporate bank, your COO – Regional Operations track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this COO – Regional Operations brief.

As a COO – Regional Operations candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Banking or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of A$46,900 million and led an organisation of at least 950 people.

For mandate 094, the board wants two transitions: a difficult corporate bank portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a core-banking renewal. As the prospective COO – Regional Operations for this corporate bank, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 094 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The COO – Regional Operations must be based in Sydney; international relocation is supported, but this Banking role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Banking governance forum.
• Proven COO – Regional Operations ownership of at least A$46,900 million and leadership of no fewer than 950 employees in a comparable corporate bank context.
• One completed Banking or adjacent-sector example of regional delivery split across incompatible operating models with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from financial services, payments, lending, insurance or regulated fintech; experience that is purely functional and lacks COO – Regional Operations-level corporate bank consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Sydney location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 094.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated COO – Regional Operations package is A$520,000–700,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final corporate bank scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 094 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The COO – Regional Operations appointment in Sydney, centred on the corporate bank, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 094.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 094. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 094.