Mark Bourke named ‘Irish Times’ chief financial officer of the year

AIB's Mark Bourke has clinched the award for The Irish Times chief financial officer of the year at an awards ceremony held in Dublin's Mansion House on Wednesday.

A key player in AIB’s return to the main stock markets in Dublin and London last May, Mr Bourke aided the first sale of shares since it was taken into State ownership in 2010.

The initial public offering (IPO) delivered €3.4 billion to the State, which reduced its stake in AIB to 71 per cent.

Now the bank says it is conceivable that the majority of its shares could be in private investors’ hands within three to five years – a remarkable turnaround in a decade.

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Mr Bourke has also presided over another strong year of profitability for the bank, with pretax profits at €1.6 billion and an increased dividend payment to shareholders.

Mr Bourke began his career as a trainee accountant with PwC back in 1989, working his way up to become partner in 2000. But a lifetime in practice was not for him, and he joined financial group IFG in that same year, eventually assuming the role of group chief executive officer in 2006. He stayed with the group until 2014, when he moved to AIB, taking on the role of driving the bank's finance agenda within a restructured and sustainable profitable organisation.

Other awards being distributed at the ceremony include business person of the year, deal of the year, company of the year and distinguished leader in business for 2018.