NAB CEO Andrew Irvine: Leading NAB through global shifts for customers

9 October 2025
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In a recent interview NAB CEO Andrew Irvine spoke about how NAB is harnessing global trends including technology, talent and changing customer needs to deliver better outcomes for customers and colleagues.

“There’s a lot going on in the world, but we think we’ve got distinctive capability in the bank and are driving and leveraging that to the benefit of our customers,” Mr Irvine said.

Shifting global dynamics: 2025 and beyond

In setting the scene for change, Mr Irvine described a global economy at a crossroads.  

“Customers want more immediacy, they’re less patient – around the clock service, cyber threats – you’re 24/7 now in terms of managing those capabilities,” he said. 

“We're looking at how we work when the pace of change is faster than it’s ever been.” 

He said this environment is fuelling a global war for talent, especially in finance, technology and engineering. 

“NAB is meeting this challenge by building a diverse, global workforce, ensuring the best and brightest are working together to deliver for customers”.  

Building global capability

Mr Irvine said NAB’s approach is about getting the right people doing the right work, wherever they are.

NAB’s teams in Vietnam and India are a key part of its global workforce, bringing deep expertise and fresh perspectives. In Vietnam, NAB has capability in both Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, as well as a large centre in Gurugram, outside of Delhi in India.

“We’re one of the few global banks in Vietnam where we’re getting access to software engineering talent.”  

India, meanwhile, provides deep capability in mainframes and cybersecurity, supporting NAB’s technology needs at a global scale.

“India has been looking after global financial services for the best part of 50 years. They have deep capability in things like mainframes and cybersecurity.” 

The power of AI

Mr Irvine’s of the view AI is transforming banking for the better, automating low-value tasks and enabling colleagues to focus on higher-value work. 

“AI is enabling us to automate rudimentary low value tasks,” he said. 

“This is giving us more enjoyment in our work, because we can focus on the things that require more cognitive thought and energy.” 

NAB is already seeing the benefits of GenAI and is preparing for the next wave, agentic AI, which will further enhance productivity and customer experience.

Mr Irvine foresees AI, in all its forms, as having a transformative impact on the shape of workforces in the future.  

“AI isn’t going to take our jobs. Humans using AI are going to take the jobs of humans not using AI.”

He expects the mix of staffing at the bank to shift over time from what he describes at ‘run the bank’ roles to ‘change the bank’ and ‘grow the bank’ roles. 

People at the heart of customer experience

While technology is critical, Irvine emphasised that people remain central to NAB’s customer experience. 

“How our bankers show up in branches and with our customers every day, is still going to be one of the most important drivers of customer experience for a long time to come. I don’t subscribe to this notion that people aren’t going to matter. I think that’s a long way away.”