Heritage Bank and People's Choice Credit Union choose new CIO for new bank

A new bank formed by the merger of Heritage Bank and People’s Choice Credit Union will have Andy Weir as its chief information officer.

Weir is currently CIO of People's Choice Credit Union, a role he has held for the past six months. He will move to lead technology for both entities in March 2023.

The two organisations are merging to create “a new national mutual that acts as a counterbalance to the big national banks” and become the “eighth largest Australian domestic bank” according to Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock.

It’s expected the merged organisation will continue to operate the People’s Choice and Heritage brands for a period, before moving to a single new brand in 2024.

People’s Choice chief executive Steve Laidlaw said Weir “established himself as an exceptional leader and a strong advocate for our values as a member-owned organisation.”

"Throughout an extensive recruitment process he stood out as the ideal person to guide us through our next, critical phase – bringing together our two IT systems and teams,” Laidlaw said.

Weir added he was “thrilled” to step into the role "at such an exciting time”. 

“The merger with Heritage will create a significant new major national financial services organisation, providing a genuine alternative to the major banks,” Weir said.

“Technology will be key to the successful delivery of our new organisation’s strategy, as we seek to create leading digital experiences for our members.

“While there’s a significant amount of work to do to bring our technology together, we’re not simply going to merge existing systems, we’ll also create new and improved technology platforms for the benefit of our members.

“It’s a fantastic challenge,” Weir said.

At this stage, it is unclear what will become of current Heritage Bank CIO Wayne Marchant’s position, which he has held for roughly six years.

“The organisational structure below the executive level is currently being developed, but has not yet been finalised, so we are unable to comment on further appointments at this stage,” a Heritage spokesperson told iTnews. 

Both entities already share some common core system choices and technology underpinnings. 

Lock said the merge “will be a great IT marriage that will significantly save money for the organisation and its members."

He added an “IT bridge” will be implemented between the two organisations' systems so members can continue to bank seamlessly.