O’Sullivan: building on legacy

Incoming ANZ Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos brings vast international experience, running retail and wholesale banks while also overseeing bank integrations and migrations, ANZ Chairman Paul O’Sullivan said.

“What a great legacy and what a great starting point for us today for the next lap” - ANZ Chairman Paul O’Sullivan

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Speaking to bluenotes on the announcement of the successor to longtime CEO Shayne Elliott, O’Sullivan said Matos was widely praised as a strong leader who had delivered complex projects.

“He's worked in over nine markets. Although he's not Australian, he'll be coming to Australia with a track record of successfully adopting different countries,” O’Sullivan said.

“What attracted us to Nuno was a few aspects. First of all, the fact that he’s got a retail and wholesale banking experience, the fact that he's actually been involved in bank integrations and migrations, which are very important to our success moving forward.”

Portuguese-born Matos has a 34-year banking career, with deep global experience across retail, commercial, corporate and markets. Most recently he served as CEO, Wealth and Personal Banking, at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Matos will assume the role in July next year. Until then, Elliott remains in the position of CEO.

O’Sullivan said the board had been “spoilt for choice” in having a range of strong external and internal candidates as they searched for a successor to carry on Elliott’s legacy.

“We’ve found an external candidate who is just a really good fit for ANZ and for fulfilling our ambitions,” O’Sullivan said of Matos.

O’Sullivan said Matos would be taking over a bank which was in strong shape after delivering its second highest ever revenue and best year in the Institutional bank.

He also said the retail offering of ANZ Plus continues to pick up a significant number of customers every month, with a very high net promoter score.

“Any number of metrics … will reveal ANZ is in strong shape. We are making these (leadership) changes at a very strong time,” he said.

O’Sullivan paid tribute to the work of Elliott, who has been at the helm since 2016.

Elliott this year successfully delivered the acquisition of Suncorp Bank and more broadly during his tenure transformed the bank’s financial position and culture, including selling non-core assets and investing in leading technology platforms to underpin growth.

“What a great legacy and what a great starting point for us today for the next lap,” O’Sullivan said.

“What he has led is the adoption of a purpose-led strategy,” he said. “About helping individuals and communities thrive.”

O’Sullivan said ANZ’s strong position was “full marks” to Elliott’s leadership. “I want to say a big thank you to him.”