Executive profile: David Thorburn

David has been a Board Director of Clydesdale Bank PLC since 2002. In 2008, he became Executive Director UK and also joined the Board of National Australia Group Europe Ltd. He was appointed CEO designate in March 2011 and took up the role of CEO for Europe on 1 July 2011. He is a member of the Group Executive Committee.

David joined Clydesdale Bank in 1978 as a graduate trainee with a degree in law from the University of Glasgow. In 1999 he completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Graduate Business School. David is a Chartered Banker and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland.

David was appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer, Clydesdale Bank in 2002 and assumed the same responsibilities for Yorkshire Bank in late 2004; having previously been General Manager, Business Banking , for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.

During the period from 1984-1993, David held a variety of roles with TSB Scotland PLC.

David was Chairman of CBI Scotland 2007-2009; he is a past President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland (CIOBS) and is an Ambassador for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. He is a former Director of Scottish Financial Enterprise and a former Chairman of the Advisory Board of Strathclyde Graduate Business School.

David currently chairs the Scottish Financial Services Industry Skills Gateway and is a member of the CIOBS Professional Standards Board.