Simon Power
GM, Consumer Banking & Wealth, Westpac
Simon Power was appointed General Manager, Consumer Banking & Wealth in May 2015. The business unit incorporates Westpac’s Retail network, together with small business and the Private Wealth Management division. Prior to his current appointment he held the roles of General Manager, Business Bank, Private Bank, Wealth & Insurance; Managing Director, Private, Wealth & Insurance; and before that, Head of Private Bank for Westpac New Zealand Limited. Simon joined Westpac in 2012 following a 12 year career as a Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Between 2008–2011 he served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Commerce and Minister of State Owned Enterprises, among other designations. During that period he led significant reform and change in financial market oversight and regulation in NZ. A graduate of Victoria University in Wellington, Simon has degrees in both Law and Politics. As well as having completed courses at the Australian Graduate School of Management and Melbourne Business School, he is a chartered member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a member of the NZ Institute of Management. In 2010 he was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, and in that capacity attended Harvard University in Boston in 2011. In 2015 Simon returned to Harvard Business School, to complete the Advanced Management Programme. Simon sat on the Board of the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) between 2012-2015, chaired the NZUS Council from 2014-2016, is an Honorary Advisor for the Asia NZ Foundation, and a Fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals New Zealand (INFINZ)
