Mr Brian Goggin will succeed Mr Willie Cotter as chief executive of Bank of Ireland's asset management and securities services division when he retires in April.
Mr Goggin is chief executive of the bank's wholesale financial services division and a director of the bank. He was considered a front runner to succeed Mr Maurice Keane as Bank of Ireland's chief executive when he retired last year. He has held his current role for six years and has served in a range of senior management positions in the group in the Republic, the UK and the US.
He will remain as chairman of the group's risk policy committee and will retain responsibility for group credit and group market risk functions, the bank said yesterday.
Mr Cotter has been chief executive of Bank of Ireland Asset Management since 1986. He will retire on April 1st, 2003 but will remain as chairman of Iridian Asset Management, the US investment management group it acquired in September. He will also be available to the division as a special adviser.
BIAM has been a successful part of the bank's business winning a large number of customers in the Republic, the UK and in the US. It generates more than 10 per cent of the group's profits.
Mr Cotter joined the Bank of Ireland group in 1972 and worked at IBI Corporate Finance for 12 years before moving to his current position.
Bank of Ireland's group chief executive, Mr Mike Soden, said the appointment of an executive of Mr Goggin's calibre and seniority to head this division was a signal of the bank's intent for the future of these activities.
"Mr Cotter and his team have created a very successful set of businesses for the group. Both Bank of Ireland Asset Management and Bank of Ireland Securities Services are domestically and internationally respected and commercially successful," he said yesterday.
The bank has also announced that Mr Denis Donovan will replace Mr Goggin as chief executive of its wholesale financial services division. He will also join Bank of Ireland's senior executive group.
