Name: Matthew Barrett.
Age: 56.
Position: Group chief executive Barclays Bank.
Background: Born in Tralee, Co Kerry, he grew up in Kells, Co Meath.
Career: He started working in London but moved to Canada at 18 to work for the Bank of Montreal. He rose through the ranks to become chairman and chief executive for a decade. He retired after his attempts to merge the bank with the Royal Bank of Canada foundered. He then turned his attention to developing international interests and was appointed chairman of Newbank, the financial institution that was to be created through the now-abandoned merger and flotation of ACC and TSB Banks. Some months later he resigned to join Britain's third-largest bank, Barclays, as group chief executive, where he commands a salary of more than £6 million a year. He lives in Central London.
Family: Currently single. Was married twice and has four grown-up children from his first marriage.
Why is he in the news? He has revitalised Barclays, with the bank reporting further strong growth this week under his stewardship. The City of London is awaiting his next move in a rapidly consolidating British banking market.
