Management Team

Gail was appointed in January 2024 to lead the delivery of the next phase of Bank of Ireland’s UK strategy.

She joined Bank of Ireland from Tesco Bank where she served as Chief Banking Officer, prior to which she held senior management positions in Barclays (UK) including, Managing Director, Unsecured Lending and Managing Director, Premier Banking. Gail also previously held leadership roles in Santander (UK), and American Express.

Gail is a graduate of the University of Warwick (BSc Management Science).

Tom was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc in October 2022.

Tom has extensive experience in finance as well as strategy development and execution, across a broad range of industries including Financial Services, Retail, FMCG and Media.

With over nine years’ experience in the Bank of Ireland Group, Tom has held a number of senior management roles within Finance.

Tom is also a Director of a number of Bank of Ireland Group subsidiaries, including NIIB Group Limited.

Tom previously held senior finance roles in Tesco Ireland Limited and Sony Music Entertainment Limited. Prior to that, he held roles at Communicorp Group Limited; Tedcastles Oil Products; and KPMG.

George was appointed Managing Director Everyday Banking in 2024, leading the team that supports customers across the Bank’s consumer, business banking and partnership services.

George previously held senior management positions in Bank of Ireland UK including Managing Director for Homebuying & Ownership. George is also Chair of Northridge Finance, Bank of Ireland UK’s motor finance subsidiary.

With more than 30 years of financial services experience, with particular expertise in the UK Mortgage Market, George has held roles at both Board and CEO level both in the mortgage and wealth intermediary markets and within the banking sector.

This includes a number of senior roles across Sesame Bankhall Group and Zurich Financial Services.  George was also CEO of Alpha Beta Partners and a founding member of Intrinsic Financial Services.

Louise joined Bank of Ireland in February 2017 and was appointed to the role of UK HR Director in May 2018. Before joining Bank of Ireland, Louise worked at Standard Chartered Bank as the HRD for Europe and prior to that was a Leadership Consultant at the Gallup Organization, where she was responsible for embedding a strengths based culture through selection and development interventions in FTSE 100 companies.

Louise also holds a Board Directorship and has served on the City HR Board since May 2014.

Qualifications: BSc in Psychology & Criminology from Middlesex University; Certified Strengths CoachTM and KFLA Accredited.

Ali was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Bank of Ireland UK in June 2023, joining from John Lewis Financial Services where she held the position of Director of Credit and Banking.

Ali brings extensive consumer financial services experience across retail banking, credit cards, lending, fraud and product management, developed through her time at Lloyds TSB, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, where she held senior leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer for UK Cards and Global Head of Fraud Operations.

Ciara joined Bank of Ireland in January 2017 and was appointed to the role of Chief Data and Digital Officer in April 2021. Prior to this appointment, Ciara held a number of senior management positions across Bank of Ireland including in operations, UK risk, partnerships, strategy and CEO office.

Ciara has over 17 years’ experience in the UK and Ireland financial services sector, during which time she has worked for Deloitte, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Citi.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Business Studies and Master of Business Studies in Strategic Management and Planning.

Sinéad was appointed UK General Counsel for Bank of Ireland in January 2017 having held other management positions with Group Legal Services since joining the Bank in 2003. Prior to joining the Bank, Sinéad was a solicitor and latterly a Partner in private practice with London City firm, Harris, Rosenblatt and Kramer, subsequently known as Salans LLP (now Dentons), where she handled dispute resolution and the assessment of risk in banking, property and professional negligence matters as well as fraud, insolvency and multi-party claims.

Since 2009 and external to her role with the Bank, Sinéad has been on the Advisory Committee of the Irish Youth Foundation UK, a charitable trust dedicated to supporting vulnerable Irish youth living in disadvantaged circumstances across the UK.

Qualifications: University of Buckingham LLB (Hons) and College of Law, London, Solicitors’ Finals Examination.

Martin was appointed Head of Homebuying & Ownership at Bank of Ireland UK in 2022 to lead on the delivery of the Bank’s focused mortgage strategy.

A graduate of the University of Central Lancashire, Martin joined Bank of Ireland UK in 2001, and was appointed to the Senior Management Team of the UK mortgage business in 2014. He has held a number of roles across various areas within the UK business, including Bristol & West Mortgages and Personal Lending UK.

Lauren was appointed Interim Chief Risk Officer in February 2024.  Lauren joined Bank of Ireland in 2012 with previous roles including Head of Prudential Risk, Head of Risk, UK Transformation and most recently Head of Business, Strategic and Environmental, Social and Governance risk.  Lauren has more than two decades of risk, audit and advisory experience in financial services.

Lauren previously held roles in PricewaterhouseCoopers in Ireland and the US, is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and holds a Master of Science in Investment, Treasury and Banking.

Having started his professional career in branch banking for NatWest, Spencer has spent the majority of his 30-year career working in the motor industry, for both independent and manufacturer finance companies.

Appointed in January 2024, Spencer joined Bank of Ireland from BMW Group, where over 17 years he held a number of senior roles, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer of Alphabet where he brought his customer focus and entrepreneurial nature to the BMW Group fleet and leasing customers.