New ANZ CEO Nuno Matos is focused, genuine, tech-savvy … and crazy about sport
He’s mad about sports but when it comes to the high-octane world of banking incoming ANZ CEO Nuno Matos is described as a keen adopter of technology and ‘very focused’.
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He’s mad about sports, including tennis and legend Rafael Nadal, but when it comes to the high-octane world of banking incoming ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos is described as a keen adopter of technology and “very focused”.
According to a person who worked with Matos in Britain and Hong Kong on several projects, he is a seasoned banking executive and displays plenty of leadership qualities.
“He (Matos) was very focused and genuine and always focused on getting the job done,” the person said on the basis of anonymity. “He’s keen on adopting technology and open to transformation pathways.
“All bankers, without exception, are arrogant people … they put on that demeanour for keeping people at a distance.”
The person said once he was able to get to know Matos better, he’d describe him as a “great leader” who he expected to bring a fresh and more global perspective to ANZ.
Matos – who was born in Portugal and whose financial services career has spanned Portugal, Peru, Brazil, the US, Mexico, Britain and Hong Kong – will start in ANZ’s top job in July when Shayne Elliott formally steps down. Elliott has led the bank since early 2016, making it a crucial transition as ANZ navigates a regulatory investigation and the integration of the purchase of Suncorp’s bank.
Hong Kong-based Matos, 57, flagged his departure from HSBC in August after losing out on the CEO role there to colleague Georges Elhedery.
Matos had made the final round of the HSBC CEO appointment process. He spent some nine years at HSBC and prior to that had 21 years at Spain’s Santander across many markets.
Matos – who speaks three languages at home with his wife and two sons – was also in the contest to become Westpac’s next CEO before that gig went to internal candidate Anthony Miller, who starts in the role next week.
Matos has long wanted to nab a CEO role and ANZ has provided that opportunity. He did not speak to journalists on Monday, but told ANZ’s media team in an interview: “This is a moment where you feel you achieve your dreams. You deliver your personal goals.”
About a year ago, in his former role as HSBC’s head of wealth and personal banking, Matos visited the bank’s Sydney operations, posting on LinkedIn at the time:
“Australia is a highly diverse, dynamic and forward-looking country. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and will be returning in 2024.”
Another LinkedIn post by Matos around the time he arrived in Hong Kong with HSBC gives insight into his energy and drive. A photograph was posted three years ago of him writing: ‘Great team! Great energy! Great Results!’ on a digital whiteboard before he signed his initials.
ANZ investors will hope that enthusiasm and drive translates into execution and results, particularly after mixed results from the bank’s other external appointments. Elliott unpicked a lot of the Asian expansion pursued by his predecessor Mike Smith, who also joined ANZ from HSBC.
ANZ’s chairman Paul O’Sullivan told The Australian on Monday that Matos had prevailed over a long list of external candidates in winning over the bank’s board.
“I’ll give you a sense of scale: we would have profiled and looked at over 50 external candidates in our time, and that helped us get a sense as to what the benchmark was, what sort of talent is available externally,” he said.
“We also worked hard on internal candidates, and we had a very structured approach to developing our internal potential, and we will continue to invest in developing our internal potential.”
Matos spent Monday meeting and greeting ANZ’s executive team and 120 top leaders in Melbourne, ahead of jetting back to Hong Kong in the evening.
One ANZ insider who met with Matos on Monday said: “He seems like a decent guy,” noting his engaging style and banking experience. “He’s got the agility to adjust (to the Australian market).” The senior ANZ employee refused to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Matos started his career as a regulator at Portugal’s central bank Banco de Portugal before moving to Santander. His career took him far and wide, including Peru where he met his wife and Spain and Brazil where his sons were born.
Matos is a self-described history buff and told ANZ’s media team on Monday he looked forward to conducting a “deep dive” on the history of Australia and New Zealand.
He is a keen ocean swimmer, loves sports and is an avid fan of tennis great Rafael Nadal, as well as being passionate about NFL in the US. However, Matos is said to still be grappling with the concept of Test cricket.
O’Sullivan was on Monday pushing the story of an evolution of ANZ’s strategy under Matos, and the latter said: “The (strategic) direction is correct. ANZ has fantastic competitive position foundations.’’ He wants the bank to “double down” on ANZ’s strengths.
But interestingly, in a Bloomberg interview last year, Matos said wealth management was the “most compelling” opportunity in the consumer banking segment and also spoke about the “power of Asia” given the region’s relative economic growth profile.
So ANZ’s shareholders will want to understand his plans when he finally takes the hot seat next year.
Investors were not thrilled with ANZ’s CEO appointment on Monday, with the stock slumping 3.6 per cent to $30.03. Barrenjoey analyst Jon Mott said investors were jittery about the bank again opting for an external CEO.
“The market may be somewhat apprehensive as Nuno Matos is the third external hire of the last four ANZ CEOs,” he said in a report. “He (Matos) follows: John McFarlane 1997-2007 (joined ANZ as CEO from Citi and Standard Chartered); Mike Smith 2007-2015 (joined as CEO from HSBC) and Shayne Elliott 2016-present (joined ANZ in 2009 from EFG-Hermes and Citi). Internal succession planning has not been successful at ANZ over the last 30 years.”
Mott noted that external CEO appointments led to disappointed internal candidates and could trigger executive turnover.
He also highlighted issues around ANZ having a long leadership transition period.
“With Nuno Matos not starting until July 2025, he is unlikely to speak to the market before ANZ’s result for the 2025 financial year in early November. In our view, this will lead to an overhang on the stock,” Mott added.
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Originally published as New ANZ CEO Nuno Matos is focused, genuine, tech-savvy … and crazy about sport
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