APRA will gain two new deputy chairs after the Treasurer recommended Therese McCarthy Hockey and David Bradbury (pictured left to right) for five-year terms, reshaping how the regulator oversees banking and superannuation.
McCarthy Hockey, an existing APRA member since October 2022, will commence as deputy chair from 9 July, continuing her responsibility for banking supervision, strategy, risk, and compliance.
Before joining APRA in 2018, she was Deutsche Bank's treasury deputy group head and global chief operating officer, based in London, and has since held roles including APRA's chief risk officer and executive director of its banking division.
Bradbury, who currently chairs the board of taxation and previously held senior roles at the OECD and KPMG Australia, will start on 1 September, taking on the superannuation industry portfolio.
He also served as parliamentary secretary to the treasurer and assistant treasurer between 2010 and 2013.
The appointments follow the departure of Margaret Cole, whom Chalmers thanked for her service as APRA's outgoing deputy chair.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the pair were selected through a merit-based process.
"These appointments bring the best available mix of strong leadership, experience and fresh thinking to the regulator," Chalmers said in a government announcement, adding they arrive "at a time of increasing scale and complexity in the financial system."
Until Bradbury formally begins, APRA Chair John Lonsdale will personally take charge of the superannuation portfolio.
APRA's existing member Suzanne Smith will remain responsible for general, life, and private health insurance, unchanged by the reshuffle. Lonsdale said the two new deputy chairs give the board "a strong mix of skills and private and public sector experience."
He also flagged that APRA faces mounting external pressure regardless of the appointments.
"We face a volatile external environment with risks arising across geopolitical, technological, operational and financial channels," Lonsdale said in a media release.
Lonsdale said he was looking forward to "working with Therese, David, and Suzanne to ensure APRA continues to perform its responsibilities effectively and efficiently, for the benefit of the Australian community."
The appointments follow an earlier reshuffle of APRA's executive ranks, and come as the regulator works through a staged consultation on reforms to bank capital and liquidity settings.
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