Mr Gurry said the combination of Mr Knoblanche’s banking expertise and experience, strong knowledge of the food and agriculture sector, business acumen and leadership skills made him ideally placed to lead the ongoing development of Rabobank in Australia and the broader Australian and New Zealand region.
“Most importantly, for a business which is part of a cooperative that has a global focus on food and agribusiness, Peter has the interests of our clients and the food and agri sector at the absolute heart of his approach to business.”
Mr Knoblanche said it was a “privilege” to take on the position of Australian CEO and regional Managing Director, and he was looking forward to “continuing to build on Rabobank’s international and local strengths in the food and agri sector”.
“I see a very bright future for what is already a successful agricultural industry in Australia and New Zealand, and it really is a privilege to be involved in this through an organisation like Rabobank, which has such a special and important role in supporting the food and agricultural sector both locally and globally.”
Mr Gurry thanked outgoing Australian CEO and regional Managing Director Thos Gieskes for his significant contribution in leading Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group through a “period of impressive growth in the bank’s development in this region”, with the Group enjoying six consecutive years of record business growth, as well as market-leading scores for both client satisfaction and employee engagement.
Mr Gieskes, who prior to heading Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group had been CEO of Rabobank in Chile for seven years, moves to the bank’s head office in the Netherlands.
Mr Gieskes said it had been a “wonderful experience and fantastic opportunity” to work with the Australian and New Zealand food and agribusiness sector over the past six years, as it had grown and developed along with the international demand for the region’s agricultural production.
“Australian and New Zealand farmers and agribusinesses are undoubtedly among the very best in the world, and our agricultural production is rightly very highly valued and sought after for its quality and clean, green reputation. I have no doubt agriculture here will continue to go from strength to strength in the years ahead as global demand grows and as the local sector pursues strategies to improve productivity and increase value-adding.”
Mr Gieskes said he was pleased to be leaving Rabobank Australia & New Zealand in a strong and healthy position to support that future growth.
A successor to Mr Knoblanche as Group Executive Country Banking Australia will be announced at a later date.
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 115 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of approximately 8.6 million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand is one of Australasia’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 94 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: 02 8115 2744 or 0439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com
Skye Ward
Media Relations Manager
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: 02 4855 1111 or 0418 216 103
Email: skye.ward@rabobank.com