Brian Charles Hartzer (born 1967) is an Australian business executive. Formerly CEO of

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...

(2014-2019). He became CEO of Quantium Health in December 2023. He has been chair of

fintech Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...

startup BeforePay since 2021. Hartzer was chair of the Australian Museum Foundation from in 2021 and 2022, and since January 2023 and , he is president of the Australian Museum Trust. Brian has four children, one of which Olivia Hartzer.

Early life and education

Brian Charles Hartzer was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States, in . He attended went to

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present na ...

school in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, before studying European history at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Hartzer is a

Chartered Financial Analyst The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the US-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and financia ...

Banking career

Hartzer began his career as a consultant at First Manhattan Consulting Group (FMCG), working in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Hartzer concluded his time at FMCG as a vice president (partner). After around 10 years at FMCG, Hartzer worked at

ANZ Bank The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, commonly known as ANZ Bank, is a multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is Australia's second-largest bank by assets and fo ...

, in several roles including running the credit card business, the retail banking operations and managing director of the consumer finance division and CEO of the Australia division. Hartzer joined

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

as CEO UK Retail, Wealth and

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

in 2009. In 2012 he started working for

. In November 2014, he was announced as the CEO to succeed

Gail Kelly Gail Kelly (née Currer) is a South African-born Australian businesswoman. In 2002, she became the first female CEO of a major Australian bank or top 15 company, and in 2005 was the highest-paid woman in an Australian corporation. She is the f ...

as CEO, Australian Financial Services, at Westpac in February 2015. Hartzer stepped down as CEO in November 2019, after claims made by AUSTRAC alleged the bank was involved in

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, child exploitation, and other banking violations. Peter King was appointed to replace him. In July 2021, Hartzer was named chairman of BeforePay, a

startup based in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In December 2023 he was appointed CEO of Quantium Health, which is owned by Woolworths. he is CEO of Quantium Health, chair of Beforepay as well as Reejig, an HR technology startup.

Other activities

Hartzer was chair of the Australian Museum Foundation from December 2020 until December 2022. He was appointed a trustee of the Australian Museum Trust in January 2021, and since January 2023 and , he is president of the Trust. In the past, he has been chair of Save the Children Australia, director of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children, and chair of the Business Advisory Committee of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Publications

*''The Leadership Star: A Practical Guide to Building Engagement ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartzer, Brian Princeton University alumni Westpac people Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian people of American descent Australian chief executives