AIB has appointed Bernard Byrne as it new CEO with immediate effect.

He succeeds David Duffy, who announced he would be stepping down in January.

Byrne, 47, is an existing Executive Director of the Group, and joined AIB in May 2010 as Group Chief Financial Officer. Since 2011, he has held a number of roles, successfully leading the retail, business and corporate segments. He took up his current role as Director of Retail & Business Banking earlier this year.

He began his career as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 1988 and joined ESB International in 1994, where he was the Commercial Director for International Investments. In 1998, he took up the post of Finance Director with IWP International plc. He returned to ESB in 2004 where he held posts, including Group Finance and Commercial Director, until he left to join AIB.

Bank Chairman Richard Pym said:

"The Board of AIB is delighted to appoint Bernard as the Group CEO. 

"Bernard is the ideal candidate to succeed David Duffy and to lead the organisation forward. Having been one of the leading architects of AIB’s customer-led strategy over the last number of years, Bernard is very well positioned to ensure that the momentum created by David Duffy and the Senior Management Team is maintained.

"He is ideally suited to the task of continuing AIB’s delivery of its strategic objectives for customers and stakeholders."

Pym also expressed his gratitude for Duffy's service:

"On behalf of the Board I wish him every success in the future."