Suresh Balaji appointed as Lloyds Banking Group CMO

Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Suresh Balaji as its chief marketing officer, who effectively succeeds Catherine Kehoe, the former chief customer officer who left last year for Nationwide Building Society.

Balaji, a member of Campaign Asia-Pacific's Power List, joins on 16 October from Standard Chartered Bank, where he was global head of marketing and communications based in Hong Kong, will take charge of the group's portfolio of brands, which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland.

He will work with an agency line-up that includes Adam & Eve/DDB, which handles Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Halifax (winning the latter in February) and Ogilvy UK, which was appointed earlier this year to the eponymous bank's CRM account.

Kehoe left Lloyds Banking Group in September last year, joining Nationwide in early 2023. Lloyds told Campaign at the time that her role would be covered by existing members of the leadership team.

In the wake of her departure, Richard Warren, director of marketing communications at Lloyds Banking Group, followed Kehoe to Nationwide, becoming director of brands, marketing and experience.

Before Balaji joined Standard Chartered Bank, where he led consumer and private business banking, he spent 17 years at HSBC, holding various roles, including chief marketing officer for Asia-Pacific. He has also worked at United Breweries and agency-side, at WPP.

Balaji said: "To be Lloyds Banking Group's CMO at this point in its history is truly an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Lloyds Banking Group has helped millions of customers prosper over the course of its history, and there is no better time to be joining than now–to grow our brands, build world-class experiences and get creative for the wide range of customers the group supports."

Jayne Opperman, chief executive for consumer relationships, added: "I'm delighted to welcome Suresh to Lloyds Banking Group. As a highly accomplished marketing leader with an outstanding track record in financial services, his passion to create digital and data-led change will help us make a huge difference for our customers. I know he'll be a great addition to our team."