Outgoing ASB chief tipped for airline job

By DANIEL RIORDAN

ASB Bank head Ralph Norris has announced his retirement, fuelling speculation he will take over as Air NZ chairman once the airline's ownership issues have been resolved.

Mr Norris, 52, has worked for the bank for 32 years, the past 10 as managing director. He will leave at the end of September and chief operating officer Hugh Burrett will replace him.

Mr Norris said that his contract with ASB expired at the end of this month and he wanted to spend more time with his wife pursuing shared interests. He did not plan to seek another chief executive job but would continue as an ASB director.

He could not be reached for comment yesterday but last month he acknowledged he had held discussions about the Air NZ chairmanship. He was appointed to the national carrier's board in August 1998.

Speculation on which Air NZ director will replace Sir Selwyn Cushing as chairman has been rife.

The names include Liz Coutts, former National cabinet minister Philip Burdon and Australian John Rose, but the favourite remains Mr Norris.

Sir Selwyn confirmed in April he would relinquish his chairmanships of Air NZ and Brierley Investments near the end of the year, but when Air NZ was forced to examine its ownership structure after a proposed Qantas buy-in a month ago, he stepped aside early, though he remains a director.

Independent director Jim Farmer, QC, has since been chairing the airline and leading deliberations that are now centred on greater investment from Singapore Airlines.

That work has overshadowed the operations of a four-man nominations panel, headed by Dr Farmer, formed two months ago to choose the new chairman.

The panel includes Air New Zealand chief executive Gary Toomey, Brierley Investments chief executive Greg Terry and Charles Goode, a Singapore Airlines appointment.



Whoever is chosen as chairman is unlikely to take up the role until the airline's future ownership and structure have been settled. That could take several weeks.

Air NZ made a formal proposal to the Government on Thursday for increasing Singapore's stake and Mr Toomey hopes to meet officials on Monday and ministers later in the week.

Mr Norris will become an adviser to David Murray, head of the ASB's parent, Commonwealth Bank Group. He has headed Commonwealth Bank's international financial services division since last August - a role he will also relinquish after September.

Mr Norris is also a director of Fletcher Building, a trustee of Team New Zealand, chairman of the Business Roundtable and a member of several Government advisory groups.