ASB appoints new head of technology

Paper industry veteran returns from US to lead bank's IT.

ASB has appointed Russell Jones as the bank's head of group technology. Jones has worked for paper company Sappi in both South Africa and Europe, as well as Carter Holt Harvey in New Zealand and International Paper in the US.

Jones led the Carter Holt Harvey SAP Programme, spinning off part of Carter Holt Harvey’s IT functions as Oxygen Business Solutions, and had overall responsibility for all IT aspects of International Paper’s $11 billion divestiture programme, a statement released today says.

Jones takes the position previously held by Clayton Wakefield.

In an interview with MIS Magazine (now CIO New Zealand), Jones said, "I think international experience is something every executive should try and get. Increasingly, the world operates as a global economy, so the more you understand about different places, people and cultures, the better your decisions can be."

He was then based in Memphis, Tennessee. Jones says he was born in the UK (Chelmsford, Essex) and came to New Zealand in 1997 with his Kiwi wife.

Jones and his wife had worked in the UK for six years, with him previously as IT director of Sappi Europe - a South African-owned paper company based in London.

He joined CHH thanks to the "credibility, experience and specific skills" he gained from the London job. But after six years, he saw International Paper offering so much scope that the "opportunity was too good to turn down".

Jones is a member of CIO New Zealand magazine's editorial advisory board.

With additional reporting from Darren Greenwood

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