Bank of Ireland appoints Matt Elliott as Chief People Officer

Bank of Ireland has appointed Matt Elliott to the role of Chief People Officer. Matt will take up the post in early 2019 and joins from Virgin Money where he was Group People Director.

Matt will report directly to CEO Francesca McDonagh and will be a member of Bank of Ireland’s Group Executive Committee.

Under Matt’s leadership Virgin Money introduced the UK Senior Managers Regime (SMR) and worked closely with the Virgin Money Board to successfully introduce and implement a new variable remuneration scheme for all employees. A passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity, Matt appeared as a leading ally in this year’s Financial Times lists for gender (HERoes), ethnicity (EMpower) and LGBT+ (OUTstanding), the only person to appear in all three lists.

Amy Burke has been Interim Head of HR for the last year. Amy has decided that the next stage of her career will be outside the Bank of Ireland Group. She will work with Matt for a handover period. Amy joined Bank of Ireland on the graduate programme, she has served as HR Director across all Divisions of the Group and has led the Group’s HR function as a member of the GEC for the past 12 months. During the past year Amy has overseen a transformational change of the HR function. She has been pivotal to the Group’s culture journey and has guided the Group through a complex OD process.

Discussing the appointment, Francesca McDonagh, Group CEO, Bank of Ireland said: “One of our strategic priorities is to transform the Bank and this includes our culture. Our culture is inextricably linked to our people. How we bring our purpose and values to bear in all our decisions and actions will determine the type of Bank we are – for our customers, our colleagues, and the communities we live and work in.

“I am therefore delighted to announce the appointment of Matt Elliott to the role of Chief People Officer. Matt brings with him exceptional experience of driving cultural change and transformation, which is particularly relevant to Bank of Ireland in the delivery of our strategy. While at Virgin Money Matt led the work to acquire and integrate Northern Rock into Virgin Money – which involved a high degree of people and cultural considerations. Virgin Money subsequently successfully listed on the London stock exchange.

“I want to thank Amy for the guidance and support she has offered me since I joined as CEO. I wish Amy every success in her future career and look forward to having her as a valuable member of our alumni network.”