Our executive

Richard Fennell lives on the traditional Country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.

Richard was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2024 and has been with the Bank since 2007. Richard led the Bank’s Consumer Banking Division from 2018. This included the Retail, Third Party and Wealth businesses, which focused on the delivery of consumer focused products and services through the Bank’s company owned and Community Bank branches and through a range of partner organisations including mortgage brokers and financial advisors.

Prior to this, Richard was the Bank’s Chief Financial Officer between 2009 and 2018 and Executive Group Strategy between 2007 and 2009. Richard spent the early part of his career in finance and consulting, primarily with PWC in Australia and Asia.

A keen supporter of sport and the arts in South Australia, Richard has been a Director of the Adelaide Football Club since 2017 and until recently was Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors of the Helpmann Academy.

Sarah Bateson lives on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.

Sarah joined the Bank in March 2020 and is responsible for the Group’s Brand, Marketing and Communications division.

Sarah is a customer-obsessed marketing leader with extensive experience across the finance, entertainment, retail, and gaming industries. BT Finance, GE Money, Laura Ashley, and Crown Resorts have all benefited from her marketing expertise, commercial acumen and proven ability to deliver strong business growth.

With over 20 years of experience across marketing and communications, Sarah has a strong track record of developing high-performing teams, building multi-discipline alignment, delivering complex digital transformations and driving marketing impact.

Sarah is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is the inaugural Chair of the BEN Pride Committee. Outside of work Sarah volunteers for greyhound rescue charity Gumtree Greys and cares for two rescue greyhounds, Pepper and Tea.

Ryan Brosnahan lives on the sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung Peoples of the Eastern Kulin.

Ryan joined Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in 2019 and is responsible for driving the Group's digital transformation program, a key enabler of the bank's strategy, in addition to running the digital, data, payments, and technology functions.

With more than 25 years' international experience in the financial services industry across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the United States and United Kingdom, Ryan has led significant and complex growth and transformation change initiatives across multiple functions and businesses in financial services, and has a deep passion for harnessing the power of technology to improve the way we live and work.

Prior to Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Ryan held Executive responsibility for key portfolios at ANZ, including enterprise-wide transformation, technology, strategy, operations and risk. Ryan holds a Masters in Finance from London Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and Finance. He is also a graduate of the Executive Leadership of Major Projects Program from Sydney University and is member of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand and a member of the Australian Institute of Directors.

Ryan is also a Non-Executive Director of Australian Payments Plus, supporting the ongoing sustainability of Australia’s payment systems, and sits on the Advisory Committee for the School of Project Management at Sydney University.

Taso Corolis lives on the traditional Country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.

Taso Corolis joined the Bank in 2011 and was responsible for qualitative analytics, reporting and risk governance within Group Risk. He joined the Bank from Rural Bank (a division of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank), where he served as the Chief Risk Officer since 2008. Taso has more than 25 years' experience in the financial services industry. This includes ten years in senior roles within the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). He holds degrees in Economics and Commerce and postgraduate qualifications in Finance and Investments.

Taso is also a non-executive director of Workskil Australia, a national not-for-profit and charitable organisation committed to transforming people's lives through employment, health, Indigenous and disability services.

Andrew Morgan lives on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

Andrew joined Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in June 2022.

With more than 30 years of global financial services experience behind him, Andrew joined the Bank from Colonial First State where he was Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to Colonial First State, Andrew was Chief Financial Officer and Acting Managing Director of MLC Wealth. He also spent nine years at Commonwealth Bank, including four years as the Chief Financial Officer of its Business and Private Banking and Bankwest businesses.

Andrew has considerable banking experience and throughout his career he has demonstrated the ability to transform, simplify and create value for the businesses he has been involved with.

Adam Rowse lives on the sovereign lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung Peoples of the Eastern Kulin.

Adam Rowse joined Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in July 2022 as its Chief Customer Officer Business and Agribusiness.

Adam leads the Bank’s business and agribusiness divisions where he ensures customers have the support they need to grow their businesses. He is leading the transformation of this division, which helps the Bank achieve its aim of being Australia's bank of choice.

Prior to taking up his role with the Bank, Adam spent 14 years in the United Kingdom at Barclays Bank.

During his time there, Adam was the Head of Business Banking - where he helped establish Barclays as the number one business and agribusiness bank – alongside a number of other senior roles.

Before joining Barclays, he spent more than a decade at NAB.

Adam, who was raised on a farm in Gippsland, is based in Melbourne.

Xavier lives on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation.

Xavier leads the Bank’s Digital division that has responsibility for digital capability across our brands. He has a deep understanding of both financial technology and industry disruption.

Xavier spent nearly seven years in the United States building global fintech Square, where he most recently led their Payments Engineering and Analytics teams. He was subsequently a leadership consultant for executive teams in the Bay Area.

Prior to his move to San Francisco, Xavier led the development of a number of large commercial projects in Australia including at The Conversation, Clear Grain, and ASX-listed global online marketplace Redbubble.

Xavier returned to Melbourne to join Up in April 2019. He has been instrumental in building and scaling Up, as well as leading the award-winning, Australian-first integration with industry disruptors Wise.

Bruce Speirs lives on the traditional Country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.

Bruce Speirs joined the Bank in 2004, holding a number of senior finance and business leadership roles across the Group. In 2015 Bruce was appointed to the Group Executive in the role of Executive Partner Connection, which was responsible for the Bank’s Third-Party Banking businesses and then in 2018 as Executive Business Banking. Bruce was appointed to his current role as Chief Operating Officer in 2022, with a focus on productivity improvements across the Group, further strengthening our processes and practices and reducing complexity in our operations. Bruce is also Bank’s appointed Director on the Board of Tiimely.

Prior to joining Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Bruce worked for Ernst & Young for over 9 years working across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He is a Chartered Accountant, MBA and AICD Graduate.

Fiona Thompson lives on the lands of the Dharug people. 

Fiona was appointed Chief People Officer in December 2024 with 30 years of experience in financial services. A seasoned finance professional having spent several years at Suncorp and AMP, Fiona has previously held roles such as Chief Risk Officer, Associate General Counsel and Group Executive of People, Culture and Advocacy.  

Known for her unique experience across multiple professional disciplines, Fiona has a proven track record in risk management and enterprise enabling functions, particularly in developing and implementing strategy for HR, Risk, ESG and Legal Functions whilst simultaneously delivering cultural change with a focus on growth and innovation. 

She invests heavily in building positive work environments and driving team performance and is passionate about providing the incentive and opportunity for people to have rewarding careers in the financial services sector. 

Fiona holds degrees in Economics and Law from Macquarie University and is an active member of several industry organisations, dedicated to continuous learning and professional growth. This includes being a member of Chief Executive Women (CEW) for the past seven years.