AIB chief Doherty names new top management

THE GROUP managing director at AIB, Colm Doherty, has announced a new management team and has confirmed that the new chief financial officer (CFO) of the bank is to be an external appointment.

The position of CFO would be particularly important in the context of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and the bank’s need to recapitalise, market sources said yesterday.

Likewise, an external appointment was being earmarked for the position of chief risk officer, staff at the bank were told yesterday by Mr Doherty. He said he was hopeful he would be able to announce the external appointments in the “near future”.

“In my first communication as managing director, I said that among my key objectives for the immediate future were appointing a new management team and rebuilding our credit and risk infrastructure.

“I also placed a strong emphasis on the importance of our relationship with the Government. We need to ensure that not only do we acknowledge the support we have received but repay it by delivering on our obligations to Nama and other programmes in a timely and effective manner.”

The changes to management structure include the creation of the new role of head of corporate development and Government relations. Maeliosa Ó hOgartaigh, currently the bank’s acting group chief financial officer, has been appointed to the role.

“I have asked Maeliosa, and he has agreed, to continue to act as chief financial officer pending an external appointment,” Mr Doherty said. “The challenge of ensuring that an appropriate credit culture is redeveloped is an absolute priority for me.

“To provide a coherent response to the credit challenge embedded in our books and to harvest future opportunities, I am integrating the credit functions across the group.”

Mr Doherty told staff that Joe O’Connor, currently chief credit officer at AIB Capital Markets, has been appointed to the new position of group chief credit officer responsible for credit underwriting, credit risk policy and strategy, best practice and standards. Mr O’Connor would join the group executive committee, he said.

Michael O’Farrell, currently general manager credit, AIB Bank in the Republic, has been appointed to the new position of group general manager credit and will be Mr O’Connor’s deputy.

Mr Doherty said the bank was establishing a Nama unit that would be headed by Kieran Bennett, currently group chief credit officer with the bank.

“A critical requirement of the Nama unit will be the management on behalf of Nama of the credit risks in this portfolio.”

Jerry McCrohan, currently head of corporate banking, is to become managing director AIB Capital Markets, Mr Doherty’s former position with the bank. He will join the group executive committee, as will John Conway, currently head of human resources Capital Markets, who is to become head of group HR. He replace Mary Toomey, who is to retire in April.

Marcel McCann, currently general manager group business architecture, is to replace Steve Meadows who has announced his retirement as head of operations and technology. Mr McCann will join the group executive committee.

Mr Doherty said the other committee members – Robbie Henneberry, Gerry Byrne and Nick Treble – would continue in their current roles as, respectively, managing director in the Republic, managing director central and eastern Europe and managing director in the UK.

Mr Doherty has centralised the office of the company secretary, corporate relations and investor relations into a new corporate services unit under the leadership of Alan Kelly, currently general manager group finance.