CBA and Quantium joint venture, CommBank iQ lands new CEO

CommBank iQ, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s joint venture with analytics company, Quantium, has appointed Makenna Ralston as CEO.

Makenna Ralston

The major bank's dual division with Quantium combines data capabilities from both the bank and Quantium to create insights that can help CBA’s clients deliver better products and services to their customers.

Ralston commenced her role at the end of July according to Quantium, after eight years at the company, most notably as chief of staff to its CEO, Adam Driussi.

A CBA spokesperson told Digital Nation, “Makenna brings extensive expertise in data science and artificial intelligence to the role, having spent the past eight years working at CommBank iQ joint venture partner Quantium in various roles.”

“Prior to joining Quantium, Makenna was a business development specialist at Macquarie Private Bank.
 
The spokesperson added Ralston now reports to David Watts, executive general manager, quants, data, analytics and technology (QDAT) at CommBank. 
 
CBA’s David Watts said, “I’m delighted to have Makenna lead the CommBank iQ team.

“CommBank iQ continues to be at the forefront of leveraging data and analytics to help Australian organisations make intelligent, customer-led decisions.

Watts added, “Makenna’s strong commercial and analytics expertise will be critical as we continue to build out our capabilities to help clients unlock value through data insights and artificial intelligence.”

In a Quantium LinkedIn post, the company said during Ralston’s time with the business “she saw the establishment of CommBank iQ that has since been transforming how businesses use data and AI by combining the data set from Australia’s largest bank with 20+ years of leading analytics.”

“Makenna understands our business inside and out and brings deep passion for both analytics excellence and nurturing the industry’s top AI talent. We’re excited to see the impact she and the CommBank iQ team deliver together,” the statement said.