The National Australia Bank has appointed former Bank of New Zealand Adam Bennett as chief information officer, replacing incumbent Michelle Tredenick as part of the bank's sweeping senior executive reshuffle announced yesterday.
NAB CIO Michelle Tredenick
(Credit: NAB)
Bennett had worked under NAB's new chief Cameron Clyne at the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) as its general manager banking delivery services. The new CIO, whose appointment was confirmed by an NAB spokesperson, will take over key projects previously under Tredenick's control, such as its $1 billion core banking replacement project, NextGen.
At yesterday's strategy update, Clyne said that NextGen would remain a key strategic priority over the next year, but avoided discussing appointments below Bennett's new boss, group executive of Group Business Services, Gavin Slater.
Slater had recently returned from the NAB's UK operations where he reported to Lynne Peacock. Slater also held a position on the board and was involved in the merger of its operations there as well as key telephony projects.
While other departmental executives had been locked in for some weeks now, the technology division has yet to be settled with a number of "transitions" expected to follow in coming weeks.
Slater's division will oversee technology and operations and will spearhead NAB's efforts to drive efficiencies throughout the banking group, according to an NAB spokesperson.
Tredenick is expected to make an announcement about her next move shortly, while Bennett, who is still at BNZ, is due to start the new role in April.
Today's appointment of Bennett ends Tredenick's four-year rein at the bank's top technology spot, after being appointed by recently departed chief executive, Ahmed Fahour, in 2004.
The previous NAB CIO, Ian Crouch, was against send Australian jobs offshore, although he did outsource some jobs to Australian IT providers. Tredenick was appointed to her role on plank of establishing an offshoring strategy. Tredenick drove this strategy like a person possesed, and set unrealistic deadlines for IT moving jobs offshoring. Staff warned Tredenick of the risks involved, only to fall on deaf ears. When it was revealed that Satyam, the Indian company that Tredenick had signed a contract with, was being investigated for major fraud, it was only a matter of time before Tredenick was sacked from her role of CIO. Make no mistake, Tredenick was not an inocent party here - she had sent the support of critical financial appliations offshore, and in doing so, lost control of those applications. If Tredenick received a golden handshake, it will be an abosolute disgrace.