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| Ian Narev | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ian Narev |
| Birth date | 1967 |
| Birth place | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Business executive, lawyer |
| Known for | Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Bank of Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland, University of Cambridge |
Ian Narev is a New Zealand-born business executive and lawyer best known for his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 2011 to 2018. He has held senior roles across Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom in institutions including McKinsey & Company, James Martin & Co., and corporate boards. His career spans intersections with notable figures and entities such as Alan Tudge, Scott Morrison, Mike Baird, George Brandis, David Murray, and regulators including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Born in Auckland in 1967 to a family involved in professional services, he attended Auckland Grammar School before studying law and commerce at the University of Auckland. He furthered postgraduate study at St Catharine's College, Cambridge at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a master's degree. During his formative years he was contemporaneous with alumni networks linking to institutions such as Oxford University, Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, London School of Economics, and University of Melbourne. His legal qualification allowed membership in professional bodies like the New Zealand Law Society and interaction with firms such as Magic Circle member chambers, Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, and regional firms including Chapman Tripp and MinterEllison.
Narev began his professional career training as a lawyer and then moved into management consulting with McKinsey & Company, where he worked on projects that interfaced with clients such as ANZ Banking Group, Westpac, National Australia Bank, HSBC, Barclays, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank. He joined the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2003 in senior executive roles overseeing retail and commercial banking, aligning with leaders like David Murray and Ian Narev's contemporaries at the time, including Ralph Norris and David Gonski. During this period he engaged with policymakers and regulators including Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Reserve Bank of Australia, and state premiers such as Gladys Berejiklian and Barry O'Farrell on financial services reform and consumer protection initiatives.
Appointed CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in December 2011, he succeeded Ralph Norris and led the bank through a period of regulatory scrutiny, technological transformation, and corporate strategy shifts. His leadership coincided with public inquiries and media attention involving figures like Kerry Schott, John Fraser, and Gina Rinehart-related commentary in the broader corporate sector. High-profile events during his tenure included engagement with the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, testimony alongside executives from Westpac and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and interaction with political leaders such as Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, and Bill Shorten on financial sector standards. Under his stewardship, the bank invested in digital platforms, partnering with technology firms and ecosystems connected to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and fintechs from Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and Singapore. His time as CEO involved negotiations and oversight of risk management practices, compliance enhancements with agencies like Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and responses to incidents that prompted investigations by the Australian Federal Police and parliamentary committees chaired by members like Shayne Neumann.
After stepping down in 2018, he took on advisory and board roles across sectors, including positions with investment firms and non-executive directorships that linked him to entities such as KPMG, PwC, EY, Deloitte, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Macquarie Group, Carlyle Group, BlackRock, and IFM Investors. He has been involved in public commentary and thought leadership forums alongside academics from University of Sydney, Australian National University, Monash University, and international institutions like INSEAD and IMD Business School. His post-bank engagements included philanthropic and cultural institutions connected to Sydney Opera House, National Gallery of Australia, Australian Museum, and educational foundations linked to University of Auckland and University of Cambridge. He has participated in conferences with speakers from World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum, and panels featuring leaders like Christine Lagarde, Kristalina Georgieva, and Jim Yong Kim.
He is married with children and has been active in community and professional networks tied to organizations such as Business Council of Australia, Australian Financial Review events, and legal societies including the New South Wales Bar Association. His honours and recognitions include industry acknowledgments and listings in business rankings alongside peers like Gensler, Elizabeth Broderick, Haruhiko Kuroda, and Christine Holgate. He has been associated with philanthropic initiatives and charities working with groups such as World Vision, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and local Australian foundations. Related public figures and commentators who have featured in coverage of his career include Peter Costello, Joe Hockey, Paul Keating, Peter Dutton, and journalists from The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Guardian.
Category:1967 births Category:New Zealand businesspeople Category:Australian chief executives