Westpac appoints Debra Hazelton and David Cohen to board

The news: Westpac has appointed Export Finance Australia chair Debra Hazelton and former Commonwealth Bank deputy chief executive David Cohen to its board.

The context: Hazelton and Cohen are expected to join the board as independent non-executive directors on 3 March and 1 April respectively, subject to regulatory approval.

Hazelton currently serves as chair of Export Finance Australia, vice president of the Australia-Japan Business Co-operation Committee, and non-executive director of the boards of Australia Post and Tokyo-listed Persol Holdings. She was previously the chair of AMP and AMP Bank.

Cohen was deputy CEO of Commbank from November 2018 to December 2023, having previously served as the bank's group general counsel, group executive for human resources, group executive for corporate affairs, and chief risk officer. Prior to that, Cohen held roles as general counsel at AMP and partner at Allens Arthur Robinson.