Westpac names Jane Kittel BankSA CEO

Kittel to replace Rob Chapman after being general manager of lender's Pacific Banking division.

Westpac chief Gail Kelly has appointed bank veteran Jane Kittel as the new managing director of its South Australian BankSA.

Ms Kittel has been with Westpac for 15 years, most recently as general manager of Westpac's Pacific Banking operations, and will take over from Rob Chapman who was last month made chief of St George.

Mrs Kelly said Ms Kittel was one of the bank's most experienced general managers and has successfully managed the Pacific region through the "volatile" last few years.

Westpac's Pacific Banking operations employs about 1200 staff across Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. The division produced cash earnings of $102 million, up 10 per cent, in the 2009 financial year.

Mr Chapman was last month appointed to replace Westpac stalwart Greg Bartlett as chief executive of St George Bank, which Westpac bought for $15 billion in 2008.

View the full story in The Australian.