Why NAB's Ross McEwan will be a very tough act for Andrew Irvine to follow
McEwan has simplified, stabilised and rebuilt NAB's momentum following the dark days of the Royal Commission. Now Andrew Irvine is tasked with maintaining it.
National Australia Bank shares stumbled initially on the appointment of business banking head Andrew Irvine to replace highly regarded turnaround CEO Ross McEwan. But not because the market didn’t like the decision.
Indeed, the most surprising aspect of Irvine replacing McEwan is that it is, with hindsight, not remotely surprising. The only real uncertainty with the decision is momentum. Following the debacle of the Royal Commission which brought him to the role, McEwan has simplified, stabilised and rebuilt the bank’s momentum.
He restored focus on the basics, as he said today, and Irvine stressed there would be no strategic “pivots” from him, just a lot of listening. For chairman Phil Chronican, retaining that momentum is critical as even well telegraphed, widely accepted transitions cause disruption.
“There’re not many big moonshots in all of this, it’s about doing things better, the basics,” Irvine told a media conference, adding he was part of the executive team which had rebuilt the bank and established its strategic focus.
