36 PETER LOCK

A SUCCESSFUL and respected career as a banker wasn’t Peter Lock’s first ambition but it has since become his passion.

The CEO of Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, appointed in 2015, has overseen the adoption of new technologies to meet changing consumer trends and streamlined operations to return higher profits for owners.

Under Mr Lock, Heritage’s pre-tax profit for the six months to December, 2017, was $37.59 million, up 25.6% on the $29.92 million earned in the same period the previous year.

It’s an emerging trend of Mr Lock’s success and testament of his banking aptitude refined over more than 30 years in the industry.

Mr Lock worked a clerical job in the oil and gas industry while he initially studied a business degree part time, later taking up full-time studies and laying the foundations for his professional career.

From his first job in the financial sector with National Australia Bank, Mr Lock has risen through the ranks in a number of institutions and organisations including as CEO and head of corporate banking for the Bank of Melbourne, and managing director of St George Bank in Victoria.

From November 2013, he was managing director of Parkside Partners, his own corporate advisory firm based in Melbourne.

After a national and international search, Mr Lock was appointed as the head of Heritage Bank in 2015.

He has since steered Australia’s largest mutual bank through a transition period, adapting technology to meet consumer trends and demands.

Heritage Bank was ranked number one in the country for customer satisfaction in the 2017 JD Power Australian Retail Banking Study, for the second year in a row.