BEHIND THE NUMBERS: A custodian through a decade of change

When Shayne Elliott was tapped as ANZ chief in 2016, he proposed a vision of transforming the lender. But even he could not predict the seismic changes – from transforming the bank in Asia to handling the COVID-19 Pandemic – that would occur during his almost decade-long tenure.

"The only way to survive and thrive is to be adaptable, and in order to be adaptable, you need to have a culture that's got a growth mindset, but it also has the ability to move resources around at pace." - Shayne Elliott

Talking with ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan on a bluenotes video Shayne said he believes: "the only way to survive and thrive is to be adaptable". “Things continue to evolve really, really fast,” Shayne said. “And you just can't predict what the future is going to be. But our world has changed, and [the bank] is better for it. Our customers are better for it.”

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Click here to view the transcript.

The ability to see through economic disruption while also planning for the future – through acquisitions like Suncorp Bank - characterises his leadership. Shayne’s adaption of the Asian expansion strategy, selling 30 non-core businesses in total and reinvesting that money back into technology, enabled products to better serve customers, such as ANZ Plus and Transactive Global.

“What I would really prefer to be known for, is preparing ANZ for the future,” Shayne said. “The only way to survive and thrive is to be adaptable, and in order to be adaptable, you need to have a culture that's got a growth mindset, but it also has the ability to move resources around at pace.”

“I think today ANZ is more adaptable than it was […] when I began.”

Shayne is clearly focused on ensuring a smooth transition to new CEO Nuno Matos on Monday, 12 May. He and Nuno spent time in recent weeks discussing the big strategic priorities and aspirations for the bank, all the while taking into account that there are limits on what can be discussed before Nuno formally joins the bank.

“I've spent lots of time with Nuno, giving him an update on what's it like running not just a large company, but a bank that is headquartered in Australia,” Shayne said in the interview.

Jeffrey Whalley is a Journalist at ANZ