NAB boss Andrew Irvine to skip Australian Banking Association drinks and dinner when he returns from holiday
The CEO had always planned to miss the Australian Banking Association’s networking dinner, but his imminent return from annual leave to manage investor concerns about behaviour on the social scene mean the absence won’t go unnoticed.
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National Australia Bank boss Andrew Irvine will not attend the peak banking body’s dinner and networking function at its night of nights next week amid outsized interest in his leadership style and drinking habits.
Mr Irvine, who has run NAB since taking on the top job in April 2024, chairs the Australian Banking Association, a role rotated among the CEOs that confers unique responsbilities as a figure of banking unity.
But he will not appear at the ABA 2025 conference dinner, held at Sydney’s International Convention & Exhibition Centre on Wednesday.
Mr Irvine will instead attend only a single session at the event, appearing alongside its outgoing chief executive Anna Bligh and ING Australia boss Melanie Evans.
NAB sources said the Melbourne-based Mr Irvine had always planned to miss the dinner and drinks.
However, his absence coincides with reported investor disquiet over Mr Irvine’s management style and the opinion of some NAB investors that his drinking at client-facing events is inappropriate for someone of his executive stature. Several market figures shared this opinion with The Australian, too.
NAB’s former business banking boss is no stranger to networking events and he appeared at a function with members of the media alongside acting chief financial officer Shaun Dooley on May 8 at the bank’s Sydney offices.
His management style has invited attention amid the departures of several staff close to the top of the bank. These include former Institutional bank boss David Gall, who decided to leave NAB in April last year. Chief financial officer Nathan Goonan jumped to Westpac on March 17 in a trading of allegiances.
Mr Irvine moved to replace business bank boss Rachel Slade at the same time, announcing his recruitment of former Canadian banking colleague Andrew Auerbach.
And NAB’s former chief of staff Damien Callachor left the bank that same month.
Mr Auerbach, his former Bank of Montreal colleague, started at NAB in June.
Banking sources noted Mr Irvine was known for his affable air, cultivated from years in competitive business banking.
However, others said he was a hard driver of results at NAB which could rub people the wrong way, amid a broader industry grab for business banking market share that he intends to protect.
Former NAB sources said Mr Irvine was best placed to quell his critics by persisting with plans to recover the market share and improve returns, after investors were spooked in February by a weak first quarter trading update.
NAB is due to report its third quarter trading update on August 18.
The ABA event comes as Mr Irvine returns from annual leave (he is still on holiday) and the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Canada-born Mr Irvine owns a lake house in the country where he forged his reputation as a high-achieving banker.
His leave has also been accompanied by the absence of two senior figures in the bank’s communications team, general manager communications Mark Alexander and head of external communications Jo Beckwith.
NAB was left flat-footed after an initial report of investor concern over Mr Irvine’s drinking was published. The board has subsequently backed Mr Irvine but took a day to respond.
A NAB spokeswoman said the board would “not engage with ongoing media commentary”.
“Company and leadership performance is tracked through key financial and operational metrics that serve customers, colleagues, and shareholders,” she said.
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Originally published as NAB boss Andrew Irvine to skip Australian Banking Association drinks and dinner when he returns from holiday
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