Ian Narev will be COO of Seek and will lead the company's Asia Pacific and Americas operations.

Ian Narev will be COO of Seek and will lead the company's Asia Pacific and Americas operations.Credit:Bloomberg

“There’s absolutely no masterplan beyond what we’ve said today,"Mr Bassat said.

"I think what has excited Ian and what has excited me is the opportunity to work together on the opportunity set that we have,so we’ve both made commitments to each other that we would be around for a while."

Mr Narev,whoran CBA for just over six years,will take up the role of group chief operating officer and Asia Pacific&Americas chief executive.

He replaces Michael Ilczynski,who was taking an indefinite sabbatical,Seek said in a statement on Tuesday.


As well as having executive responsibility for the Asia Pacific and Americas business,Mr Narev will work closely with Mr Bassat on strategy development and operating priorities for the overall company. He will start on April 29.

Of all the CEOs I’ve met,I found him by far the most impressive.

Seek CEO Andrew Bassat
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Mr Bassat said he approached Mr Narev about the role when Mr Ilczynski announced his departure earlier this year.

"When he first left CBA I didn’t know him well - I’d met him four or five times - but of all the CEOs I’ve met,I found him by far the most impressive. So when he first left CBA it was kind of more,‘I would love to work with you one day',and he said ‘let’s talk at some point’."

"When I started talking to him,I think he originally said he was a zero per cent chance of returning to public life. Ian and I then had a series of conversations where really he was just helping me with ‘what do we need for the business going forward?’ and I think he just got excited by the opportunity and excited by the purpose of the business."

Seek's dynamism and global scale also proved attractive,he said.

"Our opportunity set is enormous,and idea of solving new problems - rather than dealing with regulatory issues or a range of other issues that many other companies are forced to deal with - was very exciting to him,” Mr Bassat said.

In Ian Narev,Andrew Bassat said Seek will get a strategic thinker,but also somebody who knows the day-to-day running of a large business.

In Ian Narev,Andrew Bassat said Seek will get a strategic thinker,but also somebody who knows the day-to-day running of a large business.Credit:Photo:Luis Ascui

"Seek is already an extraordinary Australian global success story and is well known for its innovative and progressive culture,"Mr Narev said in the announcement.

"Playing a part in helping Seek to have a positive impact on an even bigger scale is tremendously exciting."

One analyst,who did not want to be seen to openly criticise an executive appointment,questioned what Mr Narev brings to the table as a former big bank chief executive - and as Seek's presumptive CEO-in-waiting. Neither gives him the hands on tech experience or culture of innovation and risk-taking associated with the sector.

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"What does he know about running a tech company?"the analyst said.

Especially at a time when the big banks are actively recruiting technologists to take senior roles in their business,like ANZ's appointment of former Google boss Maile Carnegie.

Mr Narev presided over a run of record profits at CBA,but his achievements were overshadowed by a string of public relations scandals,culminating in the bank'smoney-laundering breaches that led to a record $700 million fine and an excoriating regulatory report that concluded it was complacent from the top down.

Shares in Seek closed 2.4 per cent higher at $17.66 on Tuesday,more than 22 per cent down on September's record high $22.94.

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