Human Services hires former ANZ CIO

Australia’s Department of Human Services, which includes the technology-heavy operations of Centrelink and Medicare, has hired a new chief information officer.

Gary Sterrenberg, formerly chief information officer at ANZ’s retail bank, replaces veteran CIO John Wadeson at Human Services after his retirement last month, sources close to the hire told iTnews.

He will commence at the department on 24 October.

Sterrenberg has worked in various positions at ANZ over the past five years, predominantly in technology roles across consumer and retail banking.

While at ANZ, he was responsible for the business outcomes of around 800 branches, a large ATM and EFTPOS network and six call centres distributed across Australia.

He has also led project and application teams at National Australia Bank and petrochemicals giant Shell.

The department noted that Sterrenberg was "well suited to the demands of a large customer-focused organisation like DHS, with his previous roles involving similar complex systems and challenges".

Rebound from restructure

Sterrenberg left ANZ following a technology operations restructure that was announced by ANZ Group CIO Anne Weatherston last Thursday.

Weatherston told a CEDA function today that the restructure aimed to more closely marry technology with business and build "deep subject matter expertise" within each of the business areas.

Technology staff were put in five teams: global retail, commercial and wealth; institutional; group; New Zealand; and Asia-Pacific, Europe and America.

According to the Australian Financial Review, ANZ appointed Lloyds Banking Group retail technology director Jayne Opperman as general manager of retail, commercial and wealth technology.

Sterrenberg’s predecessor John Wadeson recently told iTnews that he expected the department to still be working to bring legacy systems online for the next two decades.

Another main challenge for Sterrenberg would be to consolidate the IT systems of Centrelink with other agencies in the Department of Human Services.

"Mr Sterrenberg joins DHS at a challenging time and his leadership and expertise will be an asset in this next phase of the Government’s Service Delivery Reform agenda," the department stated.