The bank has announced the appointment of Clare Petre as ‘independent customer advocate’ for customers of NAB’s wealth products and advice services.
In the role, Ms Petre will lead NAB’s “customer response initiative” and advise the bank on reform of its remediation, complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms.
She previously had a career in government and NGO leadership, including as chair of the consumer advisory panels for ASIC, and the Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO).
Ms Petre is also deputy chair of the Asylum Seekers Centre, a board member of City West Housing and Energy Consumers Australia, and a commissioner for the Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission. She spent 16 years as energy and water ombudsman for NSW.
Ms Petre will replace Professor Kingsford-Smith, who was appointed NAB customer advocate in 2015 and returns to the UNSW law school.
“Ms Petre is continuing the work of her predecessor and challenging us to think differently about how we can achieve the best outcomes for our customers, including supportive and fair complaints processes, with a particular focus on supporting customers who may be vulnerable such as the elderly in the complaints process,” said NAB chief customer officer Andrew Hagger.
“This continues to be a very important step for NAB to become more open, transparent and responsive in the way we interact with our customers.”
The appointment follows NAB’s decision to demerge from most of its MLC wealth business in May.
