The National Australia Bank (NAB) has announced that CEO John Stewart will step down at the end of 2008.
Stewart will be replaced in January by head of NZ’s operations, Cameron Clyne who has previously worked for accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Mr Stewart believes that after 18 months of preparations by the bank’s board, Mr Clyne is the best candidate to lead the bank in the future.
“This isn’t just one person running the bank,” he said. “So you should think of me as team captain. At the end of the season I intend to hang my boots up and Cameron will then lead the team going forward … so it’s a smooth transition.”
NAB spokeswoman Felicity Glennie-Holmes denied that Mr Stewart was going now because of the large and unexpected write downs announced last week.
“We can understand that this announcement will be the subject of that sort of intense scrutiny but in fact the two events are unrelated,” she said.
“The board’s been preparing for this event for over 18 months, the transition and the handover, and had the intention to make the decision at this week’s board meeting.”
Michael Chaney, NAB chairman, praised Mr Stewart’s time at the helm of Australia’s biggest lender.
“John has worked tirelessly to create a great culture, develop a deep talent pool and deliver strong operating performances in all our businesses” said Mr Chaney.
Since rescuing the NAB in the wake of the $360 million foreign currency trading scandal during 2004, Mr Stewart he has rebuilt the NAB’s reputation, and was highly regarded for his ability to deliver billions of dollars in profit for shareholders.