NAB hires former Royal Bank of Scotland CEO as its COO

By Edil Corneille

National Australia Bank (NAB), one of the big 4 banks in the country, has appointed Les Matheson to its Executive Leadership Team. Matheson has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for UBank, Group Marketing, Corporate Affairs and other key strategic initiatives.

Priorly, Matheson was Chief Executive Officer for Personal and Business Banking at the Royal Bank of Scotland until he finished with RBS in September this year. He has held senior executive banking roles in the UK and the Asia Pacific during more than two decades in the industry, including Citigroup’s Country Officer for Australia and Retail CEO for Australia. He was also a member of the Citigroup Global Management Committee.

“Les is a globally experienced banker and I am very pleased he is joining NAB,” NAB CEO Ross McEwan stated.

“During our time working together in the UK, he demonstrated his deep knowledge of what it means to really deliver for customers and colleagues. This experience and the strong leadership Les brings will be important as we look to grow our bank safely and earn the trust and respect of customers and the broader community.

“His appointment completes my executive leadership team. I look forward to working with Les and all our colleagues at NAB to get on with the job of supporting our customers.”

Matheson enthused, “I’m very pleased to be returning to Australia and joining NAB. This is a terrific opportunity to work with Ross and his team to deliver on NAB’s refreshed strategy and ambition to serve customers well and help our communities prosper. That’s what good banks should do.”

Matheson will join NAB on January 11, 2021. His appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.

Matheson joined the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010 and in 2014 was appointed CEO Personal and Business Banking. In 2015, he was also given responsibility for the Ulster Bank in Ireland. He joined RBS as Managing Director for Retail Products and added Marketing a year later. Matheson started his career with Procter & Gamble in Brand management in the UK.

Matheson was Deputy Chairman at the ABA, Deputy Chairman of the FCA’s Practitioner Panel (UK), a Director of Visa Europe and a past member of the Edinburgh University Court. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Edinburgh University. He is a Certified Bank Director and a Fellow of the Chartered Banker Institute (UK). Matheson is a dual Australian and British citizen, and is married with two sons and is based in Sydney.