Ralph Norris

Sir Ralph Norris (born 1949) is an Australasian business leader, knighted for services to New Zealand business in 2009. He transitioned from CIO to CEO, leading business and culture transformations across different industries. Currently the chairman of Craigs Investment Partners, Norris has held several chair and board roles and was previously CEO of ASB Bank (1991–2001), Air New Zealand (2002–2005) and the Commonwealth Bank Group (2005–2011). While at ASB, Norris was instrumental in the launch of New Zealand’s first automatic teller machines and Eftpos technology. He is known for his business turnaround acumen and 'no surprises' approach, demonstrating a practical and down-to-earth style. He led the banking industry globally in moving executive long-term incentives (LTIs) away from purely financial performance, linking them for the first time to customer satisfaction. Norris is a honorary Fellow of the Institute of IT Professionals, an ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business by the University of New South Wales in 2012, and was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a strong advocate of tertiary education. Norris was appointed Distinguished Companion of NZ Order of Merit in the 2006 New Year Honours List. This was later redesigned as Knight Companion in August 2009 as a result of the reinstatement of the appellations of "Sir" and "Dame" to the New Zealand Royal Honours System. Early career Starting as a cadet at the Mobil Oil Company, Sir Ralph soon joined the Auckland Savings Bank (now ASB Bank) in 1969. He was employed in the technology department, promoted to Chief Information Officer (CIO) and then became ASB’s CEO in 1991, at the age of 41.