Diane Smith-Gander to become Zip Co’s next Chair
Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P), a company active in the digital retail finance and payments industry, today announced the appointment of Ms Diane Smith-Gander AO as its next Chair.
Current Chair, Mr Philip Crutchfield, will step down after more than five years with the company. Ms. Smith-Gander will commence as Chair on February 1, 2021. Mr Crutchfield will remain on the board until March 31, 2021 to support an orderly transition.
Ms Smith-Gander is a seasoned professional non-executive director with chair experience. Importantly, she will bring her extensive governance and international experience to Zip, with the ambition of guiding the business in the coming years.
Ms Smith-Gander works across a range of companies and government agencies including as a non- executive director of AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) and HBF Health Limited. She was a director of Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES) for 11 years and is now Chair of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and Safe Work Australia.
She is a strong advocate for gender equality in business and is a past president of Chief Executive Women.
Before her board work, Ms Smith-Gander had a long career in banking, technology, and strategic and management consulting with time at Westpac Banking Corporation as a Group Executive and McKinsey & Company as a US-based partner. She has a Master of Business Administration (University of Sydney) and a Bachelor of Economics (University of Western Australia).
Larry Diamond, Zip’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I would like to welcome Diane Smith-Gander to Zip. Diane is an experienced leader with a diverse background across finance, technology and banking. She will be an important part of Zip’s future as we strive to become the first payment choice everywhere and every day.”