Ex-AMP chair Simon McKeon recruited to NAB board

Four years after his abrupt exit from AMP’s chair, Simon McKeon says he can help improve banking ‘from the inside’.

Simon McKeon has been recruited to NAB’s board. Picture: David Geraghty.

National Australia Bank’s newest board recruit and former AMP chairman Simon McKeon says the transformation required at the Melbourne-based bank presents a “big job”, despite it already being on a path to change.

NAB chairman Philip Chronican on Monday said Mr McKeon, also a former Macquarie Group stalwart and 2011 Australian of the Year, would begin as a director from February, pending regulatory approval.

Mr McKeon described the financial services sector as his “base for a very long time” as he returned to the board of a large listed financial group, after an abrupt exit from AMP in 2016.

“I’m not leading a charge, I’m joining something that is transforming,” he told The Australian.

“Is it a big job? Yes.”

Mr McKeon said Mr Chronican had already made key changes at NAB, including “the coup” of attracting new boss Ross McEwan to the top job.

“It’s easy to throw rocks and stones at the banking sector. My judgement is that I want to give this a good shake.

“It is so easy to be critical of how our big banks have been found wanting.”

Mr McKeon said while it fixed its shortcomings, it was important to remember the banking sector also made a large contribution to Australia’s economy and “underpinned a lot” of philanthropic activities.

He joins NAB as it confronts a string of legal action - including by the corporate regulator - and continues to work with Austrac after reporting a series of potential breaches of anti-money laundering requirements. That coupled with soft credit growth and sizable customer compensation costs makes for a difficult operating environment.

Mr Chronican – who has underscored the importance of board renewal - said Mr McKeon was “a respected and experienced director and business leader with extensive experience in banking, risk management and governance”.

While well regarded in business circles, Mr McKeon was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 when he abruptly departed his post as AMP chairman and stepped down from the board, blaming a change in his “circumstances”.

Two years later, The Australian reported Mr McKeon had quit the AMP role after agitation from a group of directors objecting to his management style. Mr McKeon resolved to walk away rather than lead a divided board.

The AMP board endured turmoil during the royal commission hearings in 2018 when it was accused of making changes to an independent report submitted to the corporate regulator. The furore led to an overhaul of the board and departure of several directors and chairman Catherine Brenner.

Former NAB chairman Ken Henry was also a victim of the fallout from the royal commission and he and former CEO Andrew Thorburn parted ways with the bank last year.

“He (Mr McKeon) ticks all the boxes really. He’s a man of vast experience in a whole range of areas,” said Dennis Shore, the NAB monitor for the Australian Shareholders’ Association. “If there are suitable people then we think it’s certainly time for board renewal.”

But Mr Shore added that the NAB board “had a lot to do” to restore the bank’s ethical standing and battered shareholder value.

Mr McKeon is well aware of the challenges facing the sector.

“In recent years these organisations including NAB have been subjected to significant and well-founded criticism while also becoming increasingly complicated and challenging entities to run,” he said.

“Joining NAB as a director gives me an opportunity to assist the improvement process from the inside, while also supporting the bank’s ambitions at a time of seriously enhanced competition.”

Mr McKeon said Australia’s largest financial services groups provided stability and essential services to consumers and businesses and employed tens of thousands of staff.

NAB’s new CEO Mr McEwan took the helm in December and adds to Mr Chronican’s appointment of former Reserve Bank board member and banking executive Kathryn Fagg to the NAB board last year.

Mr Chronican said the NAB board looked forward to “the insights” Mr McKeon would bring to the role from sectors including financial services, the law, government, education and charities.

Mr McKeon is the Chancellor of Monash University and a director on the boards of Rio Tinto and Spotless. He served as inaugural president of the Banking + Finance Oath’s Review Panel and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

After working as a solicitor, Mr McKeon had 30-years at Macquarie and his career has also included a stint as CSIRO chairman.

The 2011 Australian of the Year was recognised for his contribution to the philanthropic and business sectors.