Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris is to retire in November and will be replaced by Group Executive Business and Private Banking Ian Narev.

Mr Norris has been CEO since 2005, having previously been CEO of Air New Zealand.

Mr Narev, who like Mr Norris is a New Zealander, joined Commonwealth Bank in May 2007 as Group Head of Strategy, where he led the acquisition of Bankwest and the investment in Aussie Home Loans.

Prior to joining the bank, he was a global partner at McKinsey & Co while also being head of the firm’s New Zealand office.

Mr Narev graduated with a Master of Laws in International Corporate Law with first class honours from Cambridge University in 1994 and Master of Laws in International Relations from New York University in 1998.

He joined McKinsey New York as a consultant in the firm’s financial institutions practice working in strategy and organisational change engagements for four of the 10 largest financial institutions in the US.