National Australia Bank (NAB) has recruited former Visa ANZ and South Pacific marketing leader, Natalie Lockwood, as its new Chief Marketing Officer (Executive, Group Marketing), ending months of speculation and recruitment for the role.

Lockwood has spent the last eight-and-a-half years with Visa, including three-and-a-half years as Vice President Brand and Marketing for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific at Visa. She officially assumes her new role at NAB in January 2025.

She's replacing Suzana Ristevski, who finished up at NAB earlier this year to become the new Country Marketing Manager for Google ANZ.

Lockwood brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services and payments industry to her new role, both within Australia and globally. Prior to her tenure at Visa, she held senior leadership positions including General Manager of Marketing at the ASX Ltd.

Her international experience is extensive, having served as Managing Director of Edge Asia Vietnam, a digital marketing agency within the STW Group (WPP), and Group Head of Regional Marketing for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa at MasterCard, where she spent 12 years.

NAB Group Chief Operating Officer Les Matheson expressed his enthusiasm for Lockwood's appointment, stating, "Natalie is an accomplished marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience working in the financial services and payments industry, both in Australia and around the globe. It’s clear Natalie is passionate about delivering for customers and we’re looking forward to her bringing her vast global experiences and insights to help us make NAB the bank of choice for as many Australians as possible."

Lockwood also shared her excitement about her new role.

"I’m really excited about joining NAB, one of Australia’s most well-known brands and helping to deliver great experiences for NAB’s customers. NAB has more than 10 million customers so the ability to positively impact the lives of so many people every day through the experiences they see and feel is something I look forward to most.

"NAB has a bold customer-centric ambition and I’m looking forward to working with the team on how we deliver a truly great experience for NAB’s customers."