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NAB takes Bartlett into custody
After a walk down memory lane, Patrick Liddy* meets the new boss of NAB Asset Servicing and is suitably impressed.
Level 34, 500 Bourke Street, Melbourne, is a floor coated in art and NAB history. Walking through it you get the feeling that the less powerful are compelled to whisper. I certainly did (whisper that is). For it was from here that Don Argus ruled. It was from here the decisions to buy MLC and BNZ were made. And it was here that I was to meet with the deputy chief executive and group executive of wholesale banking, Richard J Sawers (he prefers to be called Rick) and the new executive general manager of NAB’s Asset Servicing business, Christine Bartlett. If they meant to impress me they were on the right track.
What NAB Asset Servicing lacks in antiquity, compared with the rest of the bank, it makes up with continuity. For over 61 years men have run it up and down. But the last few years have seen it lose its competitive edge. The losses of two of the three largest Queensland-based funds, QSuper and SunSuper, and a few other prestigious clients have put a dent in the credibility of NAB’s offering in the master custody sphere. However, it is still number one by a long shot in the Australian market, as well as the only Australian bank left.
Custody is a game of momentum. And one could not help but feel that NAB needed a pick-me-up.
Enter Christine Bartlett. On paper she looks impressive. She ran the NAB’s Next Gen program – the name given to replacing of NAB’s core banking, finance, risk and customer analytics. Prior to that, as chief executive of property group Jones Lang LaSalle she increased revenue growth by 55 per cent and profit growth by 350 per cent. Before that, as chief operating officer for IBM’s Asia Pacific Consulting and Systems Integration business, she implemented and presided over an exceptional business turnaround. She also ran tenders and RFP’s and has been a head of relationships and sales in big ‘pipeline’ projects. She has an extremely intense IT background coupled with a successful track record.
Put simply, she has all the skills needed to put shine onto the red star of NAB. And although this is a senior position you get the feeling she is slotted for even higher roles. Both she and custody would benefit from her success.
However, the business of custody is still very much dependent on relationships and interfacing with key customers. The question in my mind was how she would interact with people. In a nutshell she was impressive.
Bartlett has a firm grip on her brief, although only a few weeks into the job. She was knowledgeable without being showy, she has candour that is engaging, she likes customers and is impressed with the passion of her own people in custody.
All in all, I reckon her competitors have a definite threat to be very worried about. Watch this space with interest.
*Patrick Liddy is principal of the efficiency firm MSI Group and a former head of strategy, sales and marketing and long-time executive of NAB. He is also assisting with the IO&C conference business.
