ANZ Banking Group names acting CISO

ANZ Banking Group’s chief information security officer of almost three years Dr Maria Milosavljevic has retired, with an interim security chief now in place.

Milosavljevic revealed that she had “retired from full-time work” in a LinkedIn post earlier this month, and iTnews has since confirmed she has left ANZ.

iTnews can reveal that Shane Ripley, the domain lead for cyber security risk, has assumed the CISO role at the bank in an acting capacity.

The bank is undertaking a search for a permanent replacement.

Milosavljevic wrote in her LinkedIn post that she “never intended to work in computing” and that “it was [her] father who convinced [her] to keep it as a side subject in my undergrad [studies].”

“Circumstances prevailed and in second year when I studied AI, I knew my fate was sealed! That was a very long time ago, and in the 80s and 90s AI was still a developing field but I have been incredibly fortunate to have created so many world-first and enterprise solutions using AI and to work alongside some of the most brilliant people on the planet to apply it in solving important challenges,” she wrote.

“I’m grateful to have had a career that’s served up endless learning opportunities, challenged my thinking and problem-solving skills and most importantly has been worthy, allowing me to contribute to the things that matter.

“I have also been incredibly privileged to work in many sectors from R&D commercialisation including creating ground-breaking startups to national security, whole of government transformation and the banking / financial sector.”

While she spent the past three years in the private sector, Milosavljevic was perhaps better known for her time in government, both state and federal.

Prior to joining ANZ, she was chief data integration officer at Defence. 

She also previously served as a CISO and chief data officer of Services Australia, and as CISO for the NSW government and for AUSTRAC.

Milosavljevic is part-time consulting to at least one federal agency, according to her LinkedIn profile.