Dr Colin Hunt. Image: AIB
Appointment of Dr Colin Hunt as AIB CEO follows a rigorous assessment process.
Dr Colin Hunt has been confirmed as the new CEO of AIB, one of Ireland’s largest banking institutions.
Hunt, whose appointment takes place with immediate effect, takes over from Bernard Byrne as CEO.
“This appointment from within our senior team is testament to the calibre of people we have in AIB,” said AIB chair Richard Pym.
“I want to thank Bernard for his leadership and commend his many achievements during his time with the bank. I look to the future with confidence and optimism that under Colin’s leadership AIB will continue to grow and prosper in the years to come.”
Hunt joined AIB Group in 2016 as managing director of wholesale and institutional banking.
He previously held a number of senior positions in Macquarie Capital, Goodbody Stockbrokers, Bank of Ireland and NatWest, as well as spending time as special adviser to former Ministers for Finance and Transport.
AIB is no slouch when it comes to digital
Hunt, during his time at Goodbody Stockbrokers, would have overseen a lot of activity in terms of investments in the Irish tech sector in the early- to mid-2000s.
Indeed, AIB has proven to be something of a forerunner in the tech stakes, being one of the first Irish banks out of the gate with open APIs (application programming interfaces), enabling fintech players to use its platform to offer services to customers.
The bank is already facilitating Apple Pay and Google Pay mobile wallet services, and in December enabled its customers to use their FitBit bracelets to make payments at store counters.
In 2017 the bank led a €30m investment in Irish fintech TransferMate, which reduces international payments costs for business customers.
