Paddy Power's former boss has been appointed chair of Bank of Ireland
Patrick Kennedy will succeed Archie Kane, who retires in July.
THE FORMER CEO of betting behemoth Paddy Power has been appointed chairman and governor of Bank of Ireland.
Patrick Kennedy, who headed up the betting giant from 2006 to 2014, will succeed Archie Kane when he retires from the bank’s board on 31 July.
As well as being known for his six years at Paddy Power, Kennedy is also the current chair of Dublin-based travel tech outfit Cartrawler. He also worked for six years at food manufacturing group Greencore, including a stint as chief financial officer.
Kennedy has sat on Bank of Ireland’s board since 2010 as a non-executive director. He took up the role of deputy governor in 2015 and was appointed chair of the company’s risk committee in 2016.
He is also a member of the company’s nomination and governance and audit committees and a former member of its remuneration committee. He is a trustee of the bank’s staff pension fund since 2015.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Bank of Ireland director Patrick Haren thanked Archie Kane for his six years’ of service as chair and deputy governor at the company and said he was of “great assistance to the bank through a challenging period”.
Noting that Kane is leaving shortly after the bank paid its first dividend in a decade, he said, “Archie leaves the bank in a strong and sustainable position.”
On Kennedy’s appointment, Haren said the ex-Paddy Power chief “combines a deep knowledge of the bank with exceptional commercial acumen” from his career.
Bank of Ireland’s annual report for 2017 showed that Kane received a gross salary of €394,000 in addition to a fee of €59,000 as well as a car allowance and other benefits in kind worth €37,000.
Kennedy, for his role as deputy governor, received a gross salary of €126,000.
