Andrew Thorburn

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Andrew Thorburn (born 13 April 1965) is an Australian-based businessman. Andrew Thorburn is a former CEO of Bank of NZ (BNZ), and also of National Australia Bank (NAB). [1]

Contents

Early life

Thorburn was born in Melbourne and is a dual Australian–New Zealand citizen. His mother is a New Zealander. [2]

Banking career

Thorburn joined ASB Bank in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1986. He moved to Sydney to join the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 1997, and he then joined St George Bank in 2002. He moved to NAB in January 2005 as Head of Retail Banking. In 2008, he was appointed to be CEO of BNZ, and in 2014 the CEO of NAB. [1]

At NAB, he moved to divest of non-core assets [3] and focus on Australian and New Zealand interests. He launched a transformation of NAB in 2017 involving greater investment in technology, a reduction in costs, and an investment in business banking. [4] [5]

As a result of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking and Superannuation industry Thorburn resigned from NAB in February 2019. It was widely reported that Thorburn was pressured by the NAB board. [6]

Essendon Football Club Controversy

In October 2022, the announcement of Thorburn's appointment as CEO of Essendon Football Club was widely criticised by then Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, the media, and Essendon supporters due to the fact that at that time he also served on the board of City on a Hill, a controversial Christian church in Melbourne. [7] [8] [9] It came to light that some sermons preached at that church were critical of homosexuality and were comparing abortion to murder and the Holocaust. [7] [10] [11] Thorburn's role at the church led him to resign the day after his appointment announcement was made public, and nearly a month before he was due to begin as Essendon FC CEO in November. [12]

The reason cited by the club was "a clear conflict of interest with an organisation whose views do not align at all with our values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for our staff, our players, our members, our fans, our partners and the wider community." [13]

Thorburn published a statement shortly afterwards, stating: "today it became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square… People should be able to hold different views on complex personal and moral matters, and be able to live and work together, even with those differences, and always with respect. Behaviour is the key. This is all an important part of a tolerant and diverse society… Despite my own leadership record, within hours of my appointment being announced, the media and leaders of our community had spoken. They made it clear that my Christian faith and my association with a Church are unacceptable in our culture if you wish to hold a leadership position in society. This grieves me greatly - though not just for myself, but for our society overall. I believe we are poorer for the loss of our great freedoms of thought, conscience and belief that made for a truly diverse, just and respectful community." [14]

Soon after, Thornburn issued legal action over his abrupt sacking, which was settled in December 2022. He also stated he was resigning from all formal responsibilities in his other roles in February 2023. [15]

Essendon stated that Thorburn's resignation was not about "vilifying anyone for their personal religious beliefs", but rather due to a "clear conflict of interest with an organisation whose views do not align at all with our values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club", [16] with the media at large calling Thornburns appointment in the first place as a failure of leadership and a conflict of interest. [17]

Former West Coast Eagles CEO Craig Vozzo was announced as his replacement.

Education

Thorburn holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) from the University of Auckland, and an MBA from the University of Durham, UK. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance. [1]

Personal

Thorburn has been married to his wife Kathryn (also a New Zealander) since 1987, and they have three adult children. [18]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "NAB Announces the Retirement of Cameron Clyne".
  2. ↑ "NAB's low-profile CEO pick, Andrew Thorburn, surprises market". Australian Financial Review. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "National Australia Bank's Andrew Thorburn gets to grips with his to-do list". Australian Financial Review. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "NAB 2017 Financial Results" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Banking royal commission isn't the only fire under NAB chief Andrew Thorburn". Australian Financial Review. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Grattan, Michelle (7 February 2019). "NAB's Andrew Thorburn and Ken Henry quit after royal commission lashing". The Conversation. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Premier says he won't quit Bombers membership despite 'absolutely appalling' views of new CEO's church". ABC News. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Leaders". City on a Hill. 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Sciberras, Allanah. "Essendon under fire after Andrew Thorburn quits job after 24 hours". Nine News (Australia). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Abbott, Anna Patty, Lachlan (7 October 2022). "Thorburn church pastor regrets 'sloppy analogy'; legal options against Essendon grow". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Homosexuality - Him and Her - City on a Hill". resources.cityonahill.com.au. 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "Essendon Fallout: CEO Resigns After One Day Because Of Links To Controversial Church". YouTube. The Project. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  13. ↑ ""Statement on behalf of Dave Barham"". 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Andrew Thorburn on LinkedIn: Statement re. Essendon Football Club CEO: Yesterday was one of the… | 627 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  15. ↑ "Essendon 'apologises' to short-lived CEO as settlement revealed over ugly exit". Fox Sports. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Kemp, Emma (4 October 2022). "Andrew Thorburn resigns as Essendon CEO after one day over links to controversial church". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Andrew Thorburn's Essendon exit wasn't a religious freedom failure – it was a recruitment failure". The Guardian. 8 October 2022. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  18. ↑ Wilkins, James Eyers, Joyce Moullakis and Georgia (3 April 2014). "NAB surprises market by naming Andrew Thorburn as next CEO". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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