BlackRock Australia COO moves into new role

BlackRock Australia has announced the appointment of Kathryn Barnes to the newly-created role of head of digital technology, Australia, and regional lead, digital sales enablement, APAC, effective April 2017.

In this role, she is responsible for implementing BlackRock's digital technology strategy and driving client engagement and continues to report to Dominik Rohe, country head, Australia, and Damien Mooney, digital strategy lead, APAC.

Barnes was most recently BlackRock's chief operating officer (COO) Australia.

Commenting on her new role, Rohe said: "The provision of digital advice is critical to addressing the impact of regulatory challenges, digital disruption and difficult markets on our clients' investment models. As we evolve our business to reflect the growing prevalence of new technology, Kathryn's ample experience will enable us to deliver the full potential of such technology to the wealth management space."

Replacing Barnes as COO Australia is Shane Flatman, former head of finance and strategy for Australia, who has been with the firm since 2014.