The Chairman of National Australia Bank Limited, Michael Chaney, announced yesterday that Cameron Clyne had advised the Board that he will retire as Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Bank in August this year.
The Board has appointed Andrew Thorburn as Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective 1 August 2014, and he will be invited to join the NAB Board at this time. His appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.
Mr Clyne said leading more than 42,000 NAB employees and strengthening the culture and reputation of the organisation was the most rewarding role of his career. But he said the job had taken a personal toll and it was now time to retire from executive life.
“We have built a strong foundation for future growth with the revitalisation of the Personal Bank, grown our already strong position in business banking, and achieved material improvements in customer satisfaction and reputation. We have also worked methodically through our legacy issues while still making transformational change in our technology,” Mr Clyne said.
“I am leaving to spend some much-needed time with my young family. I am proud that I leave NAB as a strong, customer-focused bank.”
Mr Chaney paid tribute to the exceptional leadership of Cameron Clyne and said Cameron had advised the Board of his desire to retire from executive roles.
“Cameron took over as CEO during the global financial crisis and developed an effective strategy to steer the Bank through a challenging period during which it has undergone significant cultural and structural change,” Mr Chaney said.
“He is highly regarded throughout the Bank and externally, and we are sorry to see him leave at this time. Cameron has built strong leadership across the organisation, a stronger balance sheet, improved the Bank’s culture, enhanced its reputation and dealt with a number of legacy issues.”
“As a result of his efforts, NAB is well positioned for the future.”
Mr Chaney said he was pleased that the company’s succession planning processes had enabled the Board to choose someone from within the organisation who has the ability and the vision to take on the role of CEO of the Group.
He described Andrew Thorburn as an outstanding banking executive who has been part of the NAB Group Executive team that developed the Bank’s successful strategy focusing on building a stronger Australian and NZ franchise.
“Andrew Thorburn has done a superb job leading Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) since 2008 where he continued to build the bank’s performance, increasing cash earnings by more than 40 per cent, improving market share on the back of strong customer satisfaction and developing a strong leadership culture. As CEO of BNZ, Andrew has gained extensive experience in all of the component parts of running a full service commercial bank. BNZ has delivered consistently strong results, reflecting a focused and disciplined approach to implementation of the strategy. In the course of his time at the Bank, Andrew has also had responsibility for NAB’s Asian and US operations. As a member of the Group Executive team, his energy, vision and ability to motivate employees have been obvious as has his business acumen,” Mr Chaney said.
Before being appointed CEO of BNZ in 2008, Andrew was Executive General Manager, Retail Banking at NAB for three years. He is a career banker who has spent more than 27 years working in the industry in Australia and NZ.
A replacement for Andrew as Managing Director and CEO of BNZ will be announced in due course.
