The Turnbull Government has named one-time National Australia Bank technology chief Gavin Slater as the new chief executive officer at its Digital Transformation Agency.
Mr Slater had been a member of the NAB;’s Group Executive Team until the middle of last year, most recently as the head of personal banking. He was a primary driver behind the bank’s Oracle-based core banking system transformation.
The seven-year NAB project – which is only now reaching the finish line – is one of the largest single corporate IT projects in Australian history. And it was one of the most ambitious too, with large tracts of design and development work far from the safety of an off-the-shelf platform.
Mr Slater will take over the role at the DTA from May 1 from interim CEO Nerida O’Loughlin.
Assistant Minister for Digital Transformation Angus Taylor said Mr Slater had a proven track record in driving transformational change in response to digital disruption.
The appointment makes good on Mr Taylor’s promise to bring in corporate transformation expertise into the public service. It would be reasonable to expect that Mr Slater will bring further private sector talent with him into the team.
“Gavin brings a wealth of experience from his roles as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer for the bank’s major business areas, as well as Group Executive of personal banking,” Mr Taylor said.
“He well understands the challenges faced by government agencies as they seek to transform their own services to better meet the needs of users.
“His experience will be invaluable as we move forward with whole-of-government improvements in digital delivery, a review of all major IT projects across government, as well as significant changes in the way we procure ICT services,” he said.