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Ralph Norris

Australasian business executive

Sir Ralph Norris (born 1949) is an Australasian business leader, knighted for services to New Zealand business in 2009. He transitioned from CIO to CEO, leading business and culture transformations across different industries.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Ralph Norris (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born 1949.1

About

The chairman of Craigs Investment Partners since 2021, Norris has held several chair and board roles and was previously CEO of ASB Bank (1991–2001), Air New Zealand (2002–2005) and the Commonwealth Bank Group (2005–2011). While at ASB, Norris was instrumental in the launch of New Zealand's first automatic teller machines and Eftpos technology. He is known for his business turnaround acumen and 'no surprises' approach, demonstrating a practical and down-to-earth style. He led the banking industry globally in moving executive long-term incentives (LTIs) away from purely financial performance, linking them for the first time to customer satisfaction. Norris is an honorary Fellow of the Institute of IT Professionals, an ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business by the University of New South Wales in 2012, and was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a strong advocate of tertiary education.

Norris was appointed Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit in the 2006 New Year Honours List. This was later redesignated as Knight Companion in August 2009 as a result of the reinstatement of the appellations of "Sir" and "Dame" to the New Zealand Royal Honours System.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ralph Norris, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedLynfield College3

Career

Occupation: banker.7

Starting as a cadet at the Mobil Oil Company, Sir Ralph soon joined the Auckland Savings Bank (now ASB Bank) in 1969. He was employed in the technology department, promoted to Chief Information Officer (CIO) and then became ASB's CEO in 1991, at the age of 41.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ralph Norris (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • CitizenshipAustralia, New Zealand8

Commonwealth Bank Group (CEO 2005–2011)

Sir Ralph was approached by the Commonwealth Bank Board to become CEO, taking over from David Murray in mid-2005. Over the next six and a half years, Sir Ralph transformed CBA in terms of culture, shareholder value, market share and technology. He also invested in the redevelopment of the branch network and growth of business banking. Sir Ralph linked executive long-term incentives to customer satisfaction and this move, amongst others, drove an improvement in customer experience levels which saw the bank rise from worst to best of the major Australian banks, across every business area, closing a 23-point gap. In 2010, Sir Ralph was named Customer Service CEO of the Year by the Australian Customer Service Institute, the only bank CEO to ever be awarded this accolade. The same year, he was also named Banker of the Year and Banker of the Decade by Banking & Finance Magazine, along with being named New Zealand CEO of the Decade and Maori Business Leader of the Year in his home country. Over his time as CEO, CBA's share of industry Ombudsman complaints fell dramatically from 30% to 18%, at the same time as the bank's market share grew from 21% to 24%. Sir Ralph oversaw a rise in employee engagement to world's best practice levels and a two third increase in the share price. The rise in shareholder value saw CBA Group move from being the fifth largest company on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), to the largest and, in 2009, CBA purchased BankWest from UK-based HBOS Group. Also in 2009, Sir Ralph launched the replacement of the bank's then 40-year-old core banking system – a project that achieved international note for its unique project management approach and successful delivery.

Private Life

Ralph Norris lives in Auckland; he owns homes in Epsom and Waiheke Island.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ralph Norris (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2009Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit‎9 11
  • 2005Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit9 10

Sources

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