Rabobank Australia announces new board appointment

Rabobank Australia Limited has announced the appointment of Geoff Summerhayes to its board of directors.

Mr Summerhayes joined the board of the specialist agribusiness bank’s Australian business, effective October 20, 2026.

Rabobank Australia Chair Carolyn Colley said Mr Summerhayes brought extensive board and executive level experience to the appointment.

“Geoff is a highly-regarded board member and chair and an experienced senior business leader, with considerable financial services, banking, regulatory and climate risk experience,” she said.

Geoff Summerhayes 

Mr Summerhayes is current chair of Zurich Australia and New Zealand, Marsh Investments Australia, Australian Payments Plus New Payments Platform (NPP) SteerCo and the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Climate Governance Initiative. He previously chaired Heartland Bank Australia and Beyond Zero Emissions.

Mr Summerhayes is a former executive board member of APRA and held a number of senior leadership roles, including CEO of Suncorp Life Australia and New Zealand, Regional General Manager at National Australia Bank and CEO MLC Superannuation and Investments.

He joins the Rabobank Australia board following the retirement of former director and previous chair James Fazzino.

Mr Summerhayes said “the opportunity to make a contribution to Rabobank forms a neat Venn diagram of my professional experience in banking, insurance, investments, prudential regulation, climate risk and a personal interest in agriculture. I look forward to working with Carolyn Colley, the board and executive team of this important and significant global institution”.

Part of the global cooperative Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist food and agribusiness bank, Rabobank Australia is one of the country’s leading agricultural banks and a major provider of corporate and business banking services to the food and agribusiness sectors. It also operates online retail savings and deposits business Rabobank Online Savings.

In addition to Chair Carolyn Colley, Mr Summerhayes joins other directors of Rabobank Australia – Christine Feldmanis, Geerten Battjes, Angelique Meddeler and Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Regional Manager and CEO Rabobank Australia Caroline Oosterbaan.

Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 125 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 35 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank Australia & New Zealand Group is one of Australasia’s leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the region’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 87 branches throughout Australia and New Zealand.