Common Wealth Bank of Australia Hired Karen O’Flynn as the New General Counsel

Common Wealth Bank of Australia Hired Karen O’Flynn as the New General Counsel

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has hired the executive chair of top tier Australian law firm Clayton Utz, Karen O’Flynn, as its next group general counsel.

She is set to take over on 1 September from current group General Counsel Carmel Mulhern.

Similarly, like Mulhern she will also serve as group executive legal and group secretariat to the bank’s executive leadership team.

O’ Flynn holds vast expertise in insolvency and restructuring practitioner and commercial litigator in Australia.

Since 1996 she has been a partner at Clayton Utz and during her time at the firm has held a number of leadership positions, including national practice group leader for insolvency and restructuring and elected director of the board as well as, since 2020, chair of the board.

In addition to being part of Clayton Utz's core team of attorneys, she also participated in the proceedings representing CBA in the Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking and financial services sector. The inquiry, which lasted two years from 2017 to 2018, was sparked by a whistleblower's claims about a cover-up of the activities of a former CBA financial planner.

While welcoming her arrival, CBA Chief Executive Officer, Matt Comyn commented, “Karen brings a breadth of experience in financial services over her legal career, including supporting the bank through the Royal Commission. The leadership team and I look forward to welcoming her to CBA.”

The departing general counsel, Carmel Mulhern had joined CBA at the start of 2020 after almost two decades at Australian telecoms giant Telstra, where she rose to become Group General Counsel.

Comyn said Mulhern has been a valued member of the bank’s executive leadership team, with a strong focus on our customers and our people. During her time with CBA, she has played an important role in ensuring the fair and efficient resolution of the group’s legal matters, as well as strengthening our relationships with key stakeholders.

He added, “Under Carmel’s leadership, CBA’s corporate governance processes have also been simplified to support the effectiveness of the board. We thank Carmel for her contribution to CBA and wish her all the best for the future.”