Macquarie Group executive joins Commonwealth Bank's CEO candidate list
​Commonwealth Bank of Australia and headhunters at Russell Reynolds are leaving no stone unturned as they seek out external candidates to replace Ian Narev in the bank's top job.
​Commonwealth Bank of Australia's board and headhunters at Russell Reynolds are leaving no stone unturned as they seek out external candidates to replace Ian Narev in the top job.
Street Talk understands the latest name to emerge on the CBA candidate list is longstanding Macquarie Group executive Greg Ward.
Ward joined Macquarie in 1996 and had a long stint as chief financial officer before being appointed deputy managing director and head of the Macquarie Bank unit.
In 2013, he became head of banking and financial services and was tasked with dealing intensely with the corporate regulator on a two-year enforceable undertaking at Macquarie Private Wealth.
That regulatory experience would certainly tick a few boxes as CBA seeks to defend explosive court action brought by AUSTRAC, which alleges wide-spread failure to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.
Other candidates in the CBA frame are said to include Royal Bank of Scotland chief and former CBA retail boss Ross McEwan, head of Westpac Banking Corp's institutional unit Lyn Cobley and Medibank Private boss Craig Drummond.
Former Westpac executive and new CBA non-executive director Rob Whitfield can also not be ruled out.
Ward hasn't run a large division at a big four bank which would work against him, but he does oversee Macquarie's retail and business banking operations as well as wealth management.
A renewed push into the mortgage market and cost cutting have seen the Ward-run division more than double its net profit contribution in the four years ended March 31.