MAS bolsters leadership team with CTO and CFO appointments amid major transformation

MAS has appointed Janine Kadar as Chief Financial Officer and Colin Brown as Chief Technology Officer, strengthening the organisation’s Executive Leadership Team at a pivotal time in its strategic transformation.

Janine Kadar joins MAS as Chief Financial Officer on 3 August. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in senior finance leadership roles, partnering with senior leaders, executives and Boards. Most recently, she served as Interim Chief Financial Officer at Southern Cross Health Society, where she led finance, pricing and analytics during a critical period of capital management and organisational change.

Janine is a commercially focused leader with deep expertise in financial strategy and planning, performance improvement, capital allocation, and data-led decision-making. She was also CFO at Southern Cross Pet Insurance and has previously held senior leadership roles at TVNZ and Air New Zealand.

Colin Brown brings more than 30 years’ experience leading technology, digital and operational transformation across some of New Zealand’s most recognised organisations, including Xero, Spark New Zealand and MetService.

He has extensive experience building and scaling cloud and enterprise platforms, with a strong focus on improving reliability, cost efficiency and engineering productivity, as well as delivering major infrastructure modernisation and transformation programmes across critical national systems. He joins MAS from MetService, where he is currently Chief Digital Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership Team, responsible for product, engineering, infrastructure, security, data and operations.

MAS Chief Executive Jo McCauley says the appointments come at an important time as the organisation continues to invest in capability and modernise its systems to better meet the evolving needs of Members.

“MAS is undergoing a major strategic transformation focused on ensuring we continue to deliver the products, services and experiences our Members expect – both now and into the future,” Jo says.

“Technology and financial stewardship are both central to that journey. We are investing in modernising our platforms, lifting our digital capability and strengthening how we manage performance and investment to create a more seamless and connected experience for Members.”

“Janine brings equally strong credentials in financial leadership, capital management and strategic capital allocation to support enterprise transformation. Her experience working at an executive level in complex, member-focused organisations will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen MAS’s financial sustainability and long-term strategy.”

“Colin brings an exceptional combination of strategic leadership, transformation experience and deep technical expertise. He has led large-scale change in complex organisations and has a strong track record of building high-performing teams and technology environments that enable innovation and growth.”

“Just as importantly, both Janine and Colin’s collaborative leadership styles and strong people focus align closely with MAS’s values and our mutual commitment to putting Members first.”

Janine Kadar says she is excited to be joining MAS at a pivotal point in its transformation.

“What really drew me to MAS was its genuine long-term focus on creating value for Members. I’ve also been impressed by the leadership team and Board’s commitment to transformation, and to modernising and future-proofing the proposition and member experience”, she says.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team to build on MAS’s strong financial foundations, support smart investment decisions, and help ensure the organisation is well placed to deliver long-term value for Members as it continues this next phase of transformation.”

Colin Brown says joining MAS at this stage presents a strong opportunity to contribute to the organisation’s next phase of transformation.

“MAS has a strong reputation for genuinely putting Members at the centre of decision-making, and there is a real sense of momentum around the organisation’s future direction,” he says.

“The opportunity to help shape and deliver the technology capability needed to support that direction is incredibly exciting. I’m looking forward to working alongside the team to build modern, resilient and member-focused technology foundations that will support MAS well into the future.”

Both Janine and Colin will be joining MAS in August.