BOI appoints new board directors

Bank of Ireland has announced the appointment of Patrick Haren and Kent Atkinson to its board as non-executive directors with immediate effect.

Haren is a former CEO of the Viridian Group, having joined Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the regional electricity supplier, in 1992 as chief executive. He led the privatisation of NIE by IPO in 1993 and grew the business under the new holding company Viridian between 2000 and 2007.

He previously worked with the ESB, including as director, new business investment. Haren, who has an MBA from UCD, served as a board member of Invest Northern Ireland for a number of years.

Atkinson was group finance director of Lloyds TSB Group for eight years between 1994 and 2002. Prior to that, he held a number of senior executive appointments in retail banking with Lloyds, including regional executive director for its South East region, and worked for 22 years in South America and the Middle East with the Group.

Atkinson is the senior independent director, chair of the audit committee and a member of the risk committee of UK Asset Resolution Ltd (which includes Bradford & Bingley plc and Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc), and the senior independent director and chair of the audit committee of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company SA. He is also a board member of Gemalto NV and sits on its audit committee and its strategy and M&A committee.

Until recently he was a board member, chair of the audit and compliance committee, and a member of the risk and the investment committees of Standard Life plc. He was the senior independent director, chairman of the audit committee and a member of the remuneration and nominations committees of Telent plc (previously Marconi Corporation plc) until November 2007. And he was non-executive director of Millicom International Cellular SA and a member of its audit and compensation committees until May 2010.

Haren will be joining the bank’s audit and remuneration committees, while Atkinson will be joining the audit and risk committees.