ANZ Bank has appointed the Australian head of Google, Maile Carnegie, to lead a push to improve its technology offering to customers, one of the lender's top goals. 
Ms Carnegie, who has been the managing director of Google in Australia since 2013, was appointed to the newly created position of group executive for digital banking on Tuesday.
New chief executive Shayne Elliott has nominated technology as a key priority at the lender, and the bank said Ms Carnegie's brief was to deliver a "superior digital experience" to the bank's 8 million customers spread across consumer, business and institutional banking.
That will include responsibility for digital projects, innovation, and "strategic relationships" with the nascent "fintech" sector that is seeking to challenge the power of the big four.
Ms Carnegie's position is one of the most senior roles in the bank, reporting to Mr Elliott. 
The bank said she would also have shared responsibility for the financial results of its Australian and New Zealand divisions - which are the main source of ANZ's profits.
Mr Elliott said digital banking was a critical part of ANZ's strategy, and was vital to how it competed. 
"Maile's appointment recognises that digital is central to driving revenue growth and to successfully competing in a changing and disrupted environment where technology and brand are key sources of differentiation," Mr Elliott said in a statement.
Google has not named a replacement for Ms Carnegie, who will start at ANZ in   July.
The technology giant's president for Asia Pacific, Karim Temsamani, said he would miss working with Ms Carnegie.
"Maile's contribution to our Australia and New Zealand business and to the wider Asia Pacific region has been outstanding. I've loved working with her, as have her teams. Her enthusiasm for transforming the digital community is contagious, and I will really miss working with her," Mr  Temsamani said in a statement.
Before working at Google, Ms Carnegie worked at Proctor & Gamble for more than 20 years, where she rose to managing director for Australia.