Bank of Ireland’s (BOI) group chief executive Francesca McDonagh will leave the firm in September, having been in the role since 2017.
McDonagh joined the firm in 2017 from HSBC, where she worked for over 20 years in various senior roles including group general manager and regional head of retail banking and wealth management for UK and Europe.
During her tenure at HSBC, she also worked as regional head of retail banking and wealth management for the Middle East and North Africa and head of personal financial services for Hong Kong.
Gavin Kelly in as interim
The BOI board said that it was making “good progress” in appointing a permanent successor and that Gavin Kelly, chief executive officer retail Ireland, would be interim group chief executive from 3 September.
BOI’s chairman Patrick Kennedy said: “I would like to congratulate Gavin on his appointment as interim group chief executive officer. Gavin brings a wealth of experience to this role.”
Kelly was appointed as retail Ireland executive and member of the executive committee in 2018, where he oversaw the provision of banking products and related financial services to personal, business and wealth and insurance customers.
He has worked at the firm since 2007 in various senior positions including chief information officer, director of distribution channels and director of consumer banking.
At the beginning of August, Mortgage Solutions reported that BOI’s retail UK division completed £400m in gross mortgage lending for the six months to June 2022.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
