News
It is with great sadness and shock that we announce that Wayne Evans, Group CEO of SBS Bank, died suddenly yesterday afternoon, of natural causes.
“Wayne was a vibrant and respected leader of our organisation. His passion and strategic
leadership will be acutely missed. Our heartfelt condolences go to Wayne’s family.”
Out of respect for Wayne’s family, we will not be making any further comment at this stage.
Invercargill-born Evans became SBS’ chief executive in 2014.
He first joined SBS as an insurance clerk in 1984 after leaving high school.
Evans moved through a range of roles in his first, nine-year stint with SBS, ending up as assistant accountant, where he designed the banking system the lender still uses today.
He then took up a business analyst role with the local health board, before going back into finance as ANZ’s Southland district manager.
Evans ended up as head of marketing, a role he left in 1998 to become chief executive of GE Money.
His path back to SBS was provided by Finance Now, a joint venture with the bank he co-founded in 2000.
He was Finance Now’s chief executive before being appointed to the helm of SBS in 2014, where he replaced long-serving former CEO Ross Smith.
Evans was an avid long-distance swimmer, having become the seventh person to swim Foveaux Strait in 2013.
In a profile interview with the Business Herald just before Christmas, he said he was preparing to swim Cook Strait in February with a training regime that involved notching up 30 to 50km a week in the pool.
“The job I’ve got is quite a cerebral one and it’s great to be able to relieve some stress through a physical outlet,” he said.
Evans had four sons – aged 14 up to 24 – with wife Nicola.
“If you think about life’s achievements, something I’m immensely proud of is my boys – they’re resilient, self-reliant, intelligent and articulate people who engage with people quite readily,” he said in the interview. “I think I’ve done my job.”