Prominent West Australian businessman Mark Barnaba has resigned as Macquarie Capital's head of global resources and will take up a coveted position on the board of the Reserve Bank.
Mr Barnaba, a director of Fortescue Metals Group and former chairman of AFL club West Coast Eagles, will join the nine-member RBA board on August 31, when he will also depart Macquarie.
He replaces John Akehurst.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said Mr Barnaba's appointment would ensure the RBA retained a West Australian perspective.
"It was 10 years ago that my predecessor Peter Costello appointed Mr Akehurst to the Reserve Bank Board to ensure the West Australian perspective was understood in the board's important deliberations, a perspective that will continue with Mr Barnaba's appointment," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Barnaba declined to comment.
Under the Reserve Bank Act, a board member is not permitted to be a director, officer or employee of an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution, which meant Mr Barnaba could not remain at Macquarie and take up the RBA post.
As well as steering its global resources business, Mr Barnaba is the face of Macquarie in WA. He has been Macquarie WA chairman since 2012.
Outstanding contribution
Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore wrote to staff on Thursday advising them of Mr Barnaba's departure.
"On joining Macquarie in February 2012 Mark was appointed chairman of our Western Australian business, with the mission to further expand our Western Australian operations," Mr Moore wrote in a letter to staff.
"Under Mark's leadership our Perth office has grown significantly with Macquarie Group invested capital in Western Australia having nearly doubled to over $8 billion in that time."
Macquarie executive director Abe Anad will become head of the Perth office.
Mr Barnaba is the third West Australian to secure a prominent national role this year. Outgoing Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder was appointed chairman of the AFL in February while James Edelman was appointed to the High Court of Australia in January.
Mr Morrison said Mr Akehurst, whose second term ends on August 30, had "made an outstanding and important contribution to Reserve Bank Board deliberations through a challenging period for the Australian economy".
"I thank him for his exceptional service over the past decade. I wish him every success for the future," Mr Morrison said.
Mr Barnaba is also chairman of the University of Western Australia's business school board and the Black Swan Theatre Company.
