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A senior banking executive with over two decades of industry experience, her appointment comes amid ongoing leadership transitions at HSBC, where she previously led global banking operations across the region.
She will begin her new role in January 2026.
At CBA, she will be responsible for leading the bank’s engagement with key clients across banking, non-bank institutions and government sectors, both in Australia and abroad.
Her 25-year career has been dedicated to just two employers. She spent 17 years at Deutsche Bank, where she rose to the position of director of debt capital markets, before leaving in 2018 when the bank scaled back its operations in Australia.
According to a staff memo distributed earlier this month, CBA’s executive general manager of global institutional banking coverage, Hamish Kelly, said: “Our financial institutions and government clients are foundational to Australia’s financial system and play a central role in global trade and capital flows... Under Anita’s leadership, the financial institutions and government team will strengthen CBA’s global connectivity and position the bank as the strategic partner of choice.”
O’Brien’s move comes amid HSBC’s sweeping global restructure under CEO Georges Elhedery. In Australia, this has included the retail bank being put up for sale, corporate lending pared back, and the recent exit of Anthony Shaw as local CEO following the merger of executive roles.
CBA, in turn, has seen several executives leave for Westpac, while making high-profile hires such as Citi’s Nicki Ashton.
O’Brien’s appointment adds to recent leadership movements across Australia’s institutional banking sector, as major banks continue to reshape their executive teams in response to shifting market dynamics.
