When it comes to stealing technical talent from the public sector, Australia’s Big Four banks have become the barbarians at the gate, with the Department of Defence losing one of its key data, cyber and artificial intelligence experts to ANZ Bank.
In a statement trumpeting its latest key hire, ANZ revealed it has poached Dr Maria Milosavljevic, Defence’s chief data integration officer, who was a key hire of defence associate secretary Matt Yannopoulos, who is charged with driving Defence’s internal systems transformation.
Milosavljevic’s recruitment by ANZ is a coup for the bank because the triple-threat technologist is known to have had a standing offer for her cyber and data skills from several blue chips, tech vendors and other government agencies.
A renowned problem solver and strategist, Milosavljevic spearheaded the hardening of government systems in NSW as the state’s first government chief information security officer, a role subsequently replicated in other jurisdictions.
She returned to the federal sphere as first chief data officer and later CISO of Services Australia, having previously run successful systems and intelligence platform builds and overhauls at AUSTRAC and the Australian Crime Commission.
Australian banks are currently desperate for cyber and data talent as they tool up to harness AI solutions and ward off crooks, scammers and nation-state actors looking to penetrate or manipulate their systems.
While once stratospheric bank executive salaries were hit after the Hayne royal commission, compensation for tech execs has remained highly competitive because the sector is still pumping, despite some corrections, after experiencing huge growth during COVID.
Senior technologists in banks and financial services typically earn in the early millions, easily double or triple what the public sector pays permanent tech staff in SES Bands 1 and 2.
Milosavljevic is also ANZ’s second female hire for a CISO role straight from the federal government’s ‘cyberati’ ranks, with Lynwen Connick previously having been lured across. Connick had led Prime Minister and Cabinet’s overarching cyber and intelligence sharing unit after stints running cyber at Defence and the Australian Signals Directorate.
Connick’s retirement in October created the chief cyber vacancy at ANZ.
“Maria will commence with ANZ on Monday, 28 August 2023 and take over from me as CISO before I retire from ANZ in October. As [ANZ chief information officer] Gerard Florian said, Maria is an outstanding and innovative leader and expert in cyber security, with a breadth of experience across data and security in both government and the private sector,” Connick said on social media.
In a statement issued by ANZ, Florian described Milosavljevic as “an outstanding and innovative leader and expert in cyber security, with a breadth of experience across data and security in both government and the private sector.”
“She has a track record of building and running cyber, data and analytics operations and brings to ANZ wide and deep connections with the cyber security community locally and internationally. Maria’s experience will be invaluable in continuing to protect both ANZ and our customers,” Florain said.
And she will now be paid something close to what her skillset is really worth.
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Q&A with NSW government’s first chief information security officer
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