Profile
Chief people and culture officer at ASX‑listed Judo Bank, Jess Lantieri, commenced her career path with an inspiring HR professor. Since then, she has leaned into stretch roles and seized opportunities, backed by sponsors who have urged her to test herself in new environments.
That mindset was critical when Judo Bank took what Lantieri describes as “a big bet” in appointing her CPO despite not having prior experience in this role or in the banking sector. Repaying that faith, she has not only grown into the role but cemented Judo’s culture as a defining competitive advantage.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be in my role, working with a high-calibre, high-functioning executive team and an incredibly supportive board that deeply values people and culture as strategic drivers of our business,” Lantieri says.
Judo Bank was founded with culture at the centre of its business strategy, and as the organisation has shifted from start-up to scale-up, protecting that DNA has been Lantieri’s core challenge. She is acutely aware of the risk of “sleepwalking into becoming a mini‑me of the big four banks” and is tireless in ensuring culture remains front and centre in executive and board decision‑making. Whether dealing with regulators, shareholders, customers or employees, she works deliberately to keep culture woven into the fabric of every decision, every day.
Influence is the capability she sees as most critical to her impact – the ability to operate as a strategic people partner and trusted advisor to senior leadership. Her approach is grounded in commercial credibility and deep integration with the business strategy. Lantieri and her team actively question traditional performance models, incentive structures and leadership behaviours, building people solutions that reflect Judo’s uniquely team‑based operating model.
Lantieri sees HR leaders as co‑owners of the productivity agenda alongside their IT peers, with a critical role in capability, governance and long‑term workforce planning, complimenting AI adoption.
“My mindset is very much that people, culture and capability need to be deeply integrated into our core business strategy rather than separate from it.”
Her hope is that the “challenger HR” practices she is pioneering at Judo will prove infectious, spurring broader innovation in how organisations drive performance through people.
What also sets Lantieri apart is her intrinsic motivation and sense of responsibility. She believes HR shapes people’s experience of work and, therefore, their lives. That belief underpins her aspiration for Judo Bank to be the best place to work in the world, pushing her team to make an impact boldly.
She adds, “I see my impact in helping shift HR from a reactive, problem‑solving function to a proactive creator of organisational value, and I hold my team to the same standard.”
With global experience in the US and UK broadening her view of excellence, Lantieri is determined to elevate the reputation of HR leadership across Australia in the process.
51 Huia Road, Otahuhu, Auckland
027 555 3117
gil.sewell@ember.org.nz
au.linkedin.com/in/jlantieri
judo.bank
Jess Lantieri
Chief People & Culture Officer
Judo Bank
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Bio
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Bio
Milestones
2011–2015
2015–2022
2022–Present
2022
2023–Present
HR Business Partner, UK and Australia at Fujitsu
A partner to Fujitsu’s Executive Leadership Team across sales and corporate functions, providing strategic advice, coaching and support. Designing and implementing people strategies that drove business focused outcomes and enabled leaders to deliver high performance.
2011–2015
Director, People & Culture, Treasury Premium Brands (global role)
Director, Global HR Business Partnering (global role)
Senior Vice President, HR – Americas (US-based role)
HR Director ANZ & Global Head of Sales and Marketing Capability at Treasury Wine Estates
Member of the global leadership team, leading the people & culture agenda for treasury premium brands across ANZ, Asia and EMEA. She was instrumental in shaping the division’s people and capability strategy and leading a global team to deliver the culture, talent and capability needed for performance and growth.
Prior to this, she was responsible for providing both strategic and operational HR leadership to ensure the achievement of TWE’s global business priorities. She led the global HR business partnering function across all regions and business units to shape culture, build capability and drive efficiency to deliver TWE’s global growth ambition and strategic plan.
As people partner to members of the global executive leadership team, she led the organisational design and people transition streams of TWE’s global operating model transformation from regional to divisional portfolios in 2021.
She also spent around three years in California with TWE, leading the end-to-end HR function across the Americas organization, in addition to leading the global talent sourcing & acquisition team. As HR Business Partner to the President of the region and the Americas Leadership Team, Jess led the design and delivery of the strategic plan and people priorities.
2015–2022
Chief People and Culture Officer at Judo Bank
As chief people and culture officer at Judo Bank, Lantieri plays a pivotal role in building a high-performance, purpose-led organisation within Australia’s challenger banking sector. As a member of the executive leadership team, she is responsible for shaping and executing Judo Bank’s people strategy, ensuring the organisation attracts, develops and retains exceptional talent while scaling sustainably in a highly regulated environment.
Lantieri is widely recognised for her ability to influence and align people, culture and commercial outcomes, translating strategy into practical, measurable workforce initiatives that directly support Judo Bank’s growth and customer impact.
Since joining Judo Bank, she has led the evolution of the bank’s people & culture function from a foundational capability into a strategic enabler of performance and growth. Her remit spans organisational design, leadership capability, talent acquisition, performance and total reward, culture and engagement, employee relations, internal communications and people governance. A defining feature of Lantieri’s leadership is her focus on building scalable people systems without losing cultural integrity. She has partnered closely with the CEO, Board and executive leadership team to ensure that Judo’s values-driven challenger mindset is embedded into decision-making, leadership expectations and day-to-day behaviours, even as the organisation grows in size, complexity and regulatory scrutiny.
2022–Present
P&C Lead for the establishment of the new National Public Health Service in Te Whatu Ora, where her frameworks are still in place
2022
Kaihautū Tikanga | Chief People and Culture Officer at Ember Korowai Takitini: achieved CI rating (the highest possible rating) in the Certification Audit 2025 for culture and wellbeing
5-Star Employer of Choice 2026
Finalist in HRNZ Leadership Awards 2025
2023–Present
Milestones
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
As a founding member of WOW! (Women. Opportunity. Winning.), an employee resource group created for all women of Ryan Specialty, Phillips Topping has long championed for women in the industry.
“It’s very important to set an example and to not only inspire but mentor other females,” she adds.
In addition to her sharp marketing eye, the key to Phillips Topping’s success lies in her high-energy approach and positive attitude.
“As the leader of a team, it’s important to motivate and encourage your team members. People work very hard and do their best and it’s important to recognize these efforts. For my career overall, my attitude has been one of curiosity. The more you can learn, the better you’ll understand the business, and then the deeper your knowledge will become, making you a better team member.”
Chief underwriting officer of executive risk at Chubb
President of financial insurance solutions at Kemper
Chief underwriting officer at Axis Capital
CEO of global Insurance at Endurance
CEO of global Insurance at Sompo International
Empathy underpins that discipline. Prickett has struggled in the industry. She has felt what it is like when promised support does not materialize. Having worked across almost every function in the company, she understands operational detail and the pressure agents face. That shared experience shapes her leadership.
Structural barriers also shaped her path. As a woman and a mother, she encountered the assumption that serious business building required keeping priorities “out of order for a time.” She also experienced the double standard that frames firm women as difficult while praising similar behaviour in men.
“If you have a choice between being liked and doing the right thing, doing the right thing is always better, even if it’s the unpopular thing,” Prickett says.
She wants to dismantle the expectation that women must choose between career and family, or between strength and kindness. In her view, leadership demands both conviction and care.
Being named an Elite Woman carries weight. Prickett did not have female role models in the industry when she started. She hopes visibility changes that. “I hope I can be an example. Not of perfection, but of persistence. Of building from your values and staying true to who you are.”
The legacy Prickett is still defining centres on proof – proof that a large, profitable company can grow without sacrificing integrity; proof that agents can build real assets while keeping their priorities intact; and proof that leadership does not require abandoning who you are to succeed.
“If you have a choice between being liked and doing the right thing, doing the right thing is always better, even if it’s the unpopular thing”
Lee-Ann Prickett,
Experior Financial Group
“What I’ve learned is that when you build from your values, when you put people first, when you do the right thing even when it’s hard, that becomes your plan”
Lee-Ann Prickett,
Experior Financial Group
“I’ve always believed that if you love what you do, you’ll never settle, and that attitude has guided every decision I’ve made”
Danny Ibrahim,
KeyRate Mortgage
“My strongest professional quality is my ability to build trust and long-term relationships, whether with clients, colleagues, or stakeholders”
Danny Ibrahim,
KeyRate Mortgage
“My strongest professional quality is my ability to build trust and long-term relationships, whether with clients, colleagues, or stakeholders”
Danny Ibrahim,
KeyRate Mortgage
“I’ve always believed that if you love what you do, you’ll never settle, and that attitude has guided every decision I’ve made”
Danny Ibrahim,
KeyRate Mortgage