The continuing overhaul of strategy, business process and technology at the National Australia Bank (NAB) has seen another veteran IT strategist take the option of comfortable retirement, with 34-year veteran and group chief information officer Ian MacDonald announcing he will retire in 2006.

Appointed in 2004 to oversee the NAB's group corporate IT restructure, MacDonald has been directly responsible for shaking up the bank's group IT management, moving it from a heavily centralized, directly controlled model to four, largely autonomous IT shops controlled by regional divisions: Australia, UK, New Zealand and NAB's institutional bank.

Effectively writing himself out of his current job, MacDonald appointed five CIOs within the NAB's regional institutions over the last 12 to 18 months, not least Michelle Tredenick as NAB Australia's current CIO.

According to an NAB spokesman, an exact date for MacDonald's departure is yet to be determined and remains dependent on "finalizing a project".

Similarly, the spokesman declined to estimate the potential value of MacDonald's separation package saying any pay-out would not be calculated until a date has been finalized.

"I think it is safe to say he will not be a burden on the public purse," the spokesman said.

Prior to becoming NAB's global IT strategist, MacDonald, who is 51 years old, was the bank's executive general manager for financial services in Australia, having served his time with NAB's UK operations as head of retail services with Clydesdale Bank and COO for Yorkshire Bank.