In a statement released to the market today, the NAB's chief executive, John Stewart, described his new group chief information officer as "one of the most experienced business leaders at the [institution]" who would "bring an operational perspective to the development and implementation of information technology within the National".
Crouch is to leave the NAB next month.
Stewart said he "would like to thank Ian Crouch for his leadership of the technology function within the National over the last two years and wish him every success for the future".
MacDonald is part of a team -- which also includes the new executive general manager, institutional markets and services, John Hooper and executive general manager, wealth management, Peter Scott -- who will be working with the chief executive officer, Australia, Ahmed Fahour, to finalise an integrated regional operating model for Australia.
Fahour -- whose appointment was confirmed earlier this month -- is responsible for integration of the bank's core business operations, including corporate banking, custodian services and transactional services. He will take on MacDonald's financial services Australia responsibilities in a staged transition.
The NAB kicked off its management restructure after a rogue trading scandal involving four currency traders cost the institution more than AU$350 million.
A subsequent report into the scandal by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority uncovered a raft of organisational problems at the NAB, including a failure to supply documentation that would have allowed investigators to assess the integrity of the information technology systems used to facilitate currency option transactions.
Well, it is indeed not surprising that software systems will fail badly if testing process methodologies utilising CMMI, ISO or Six Sigma processes haven't been implemented and adequate testing resources have not been invested into on systems, which is most likely the case in most organisations today. It is indeed appalling that most organisations, including financial bodies, use a non structured testing methodolgy which will guarantee to open a pandoras box of software failures which end users and stakeholders will have to bear the brunt of. It's time we use processes to make our software 100% reliable and which will give the software industry a good name.