I wonder whether National Australia Bank’s chief executive, Andrew Irvine, has decided to participate in “Dry July”, following the explosive report that some major shareholders have expressed concerns about his drinking and his management style.
Shareholders airing their grievances about executive behaviour at top 20 companies is pretty unusual. And for institutional investors to draw attention to a chief executive’s drinking as a red flag, as reported by The Australian Financial Review, is even rarer.
National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Irvine took the top job in April last year. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
It has left Irvine in the invidious position of whether to respond to a “do you beat your wife” type of question. And NAB will now undoubtedly be engaged in a fishing expedition to find out who said what to the media.
So far, there has been no official response from the bank’s chairman, Phil Chronican. NAB has gone to ground, which can sometimes lead to more drama, as it leaves the door open to the spread and amplification of rumours.
The complaint was apparently made directly to Chronican, at a lunch at which fellow director Simon McKeon also attended, is not one he can ignore, even if no disciplinary action will be taken against Irvine.
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Instead, NAB’s internal response has been to step up external mentoring of key personnel, including the chief executive. Whether the complainants, one of which is reportedly fund manager Pendal’s head of investments, Crispin Murray, have a broader beef with the management or performance of the bank isn’t clear.
In a general sense if a business is doing well, shareholders are unlikely to take issue with how it is being run. And it is unusual for shareholders to play the role of the “sobriety police”.
Irvine’s predecessor, Ross McEwan, is credited with turning the bank around after years of mishaps under previous regimes in which the bank displayed an uncanny accuracy in shooting itself in the foot.
