Existing Customer Hub
Luc Popelier
Chairman
Luc Popelier is Chairperson of KBC Bank Ireland. He has over 30 years of experience in the financial sector. Between 1988 and 1995 he held various commercial positions within the corporate banking division of Kredietbank.
Between 1995 and 1999 he worked at SBC Warburg (now UBS), primarily in the Corporate Finance division. Luc rejoined the KBC Group in 1999 and assumed responsibility for the M&A advisory team at KBC Securities. In 2002 he became general manager of the Strategy and M&A department of the KBC Group.
In 2008 he was appointed as general manager of the Trade Finance division and in 2009 he joined the Executive Committee of KBC Asset Management. That same year, Luc Popelier was appointed to the Executive Committee of the KBC Group where he took responsibility for the market activities of the Merchant Banking unit and for the wind down of all of the legacy market and investment activities.
In 2011 he was appointed as the Group Chief Financial Officer and in 2017 moved to his current position as the CEO of the International Markets Business Unit and the international product factories such as Markets, Asset Management, Specialised Finance and KBC Securities. Luc Popelier was appointed Chairperson of KBC Bank Ireland in 2017.
Peter Roebben
Chief Executive
Peter Roebben joined KBC Bank Ireland in April 2019 when he was appointed Chief Executive and a member of the Board of Directors of KBC Bank Ireland. During his 29 years working with KBC Group, Peter has held a number of international assignments and senior management roles in the UK, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Hungary and Belgium.
Most recently he was the Executive Director for Corporate Banking at CSOB, Czech Republic, a member of the Executive Committee of K & H Bank, Hungary and, later, Senior General Manager with responsibility for Group Credit Risk at KBC’s Corporate Headquarters in Brussels.
He graduated from Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven with a Master’s Degree in Law (1989) and a Master’s Degree of Business Administration (1990) from the Vlerick School of Management.
Frank Jansen
Executive Director
Frank Jansen graduated from University of Antwerp (Belgium) in 1984 with a master’s degree in law. In 1985 he obtained a degree in Notary Public from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and in 1992 an Executive Master’s Degree from the University of Antwerp. He started his career in 1986 as a branch manager in KBC Belgium.
After several years as branch manager of different retail and corporate branches, he became Executive Director of CSOB Bank (Czech Republic), responsible for business architecture and programme management in 1999.
In 2001 he was promoted to Deputy President Kredyt Bank Poland, responsible for credit risk management and consumer finance. Between 2003 and 2008 he was General Manager of KBC France. In 2008 he joined CIBANK (Bulgaria) as CFRO, responsible for Finance, Risk, Credits and Administration departments.
From 2011 until 2017 he was CFO for KBC Group in Bulgaria and Executive Director Corporate and SME Bank. From July 2017 he has been Executive Director United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), responsible for SME and Corporate Banking, member of the country management team and chairman of the boards of UBB Interlease and UBB Insurance Broker. Frank was appointed Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer in KBC Bank Ireland on 1st January 2019.
Barry D'Arcy
Executive Director
Barry D’Arcy is Chief Risk Officer of KBC Bank Ireland and is a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Barry joined the Bank in 2011 and has undertaken a number of roles in KBC Bank Ireland including Head of the Finance function of the Bank prior to his current appointment.
Barry has accumulated extensive experience in his career across the financial services and technology industry. Barry is responsible for the risk, compliance and regulatory activity of KBC Bank Ireland. Barry holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Limerick and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Christine Van Rijsseghem
Non-Executive Director
Christine Van Rijsseghem graduated in 1985 from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ghent (Belgium).Subsequently she completed an MBA in Financial Sciences at Vlerick Management School in Ghent (Belgium).
She started her career at KBC (formerly Kredietbank) in 1987 at the Central Foreign Entities Department. Initially she was responsible for risk management and controlling and international acquisition strategy, and later on became head of that department. In 1994 she was appointed Head of the Credit Department of KBC Bank Ireland (formerly Irish Intercontinental Bank).
In 1996 she became CEO of KBC France and in 1999 CEO of KBC’s London branch. From 2000 to 2003 she was Senior General Manager of the Securities & Derivatives Processing Directorate of KBC Group. She was appointed Senior General Manager of KBC Group Finance in 2003 and was appointed Chief Risk Officer of KBC Group and a member of the KBC Group Executive Committee in May 2014.
She was appointed to the Board of KBC Bank Ireland in 2014 and is Chairperson of the Risk and Compliance Committee.
Marc Wittemans
Non-Executive Director
Marc Wittemans was appointed as Non-Executive Director of KBC Bank Ireland in October 2018. He holds a master degree in Applied Economics (Catholic University of Leuven – Belgium) and he also graduated in Taxation (Fiscal College, Brussels) and in Actuarial Sciences (Institute of Actuarial Sciences, Catholic University of Leuven).
He is a former Professor Auditing in the master program of VLEKHO Business School (Association of Catholic University of Leuven) and he is a Registered Accountant and Tax Consultant of the Belgian Professional Institute of Accountants and Tax Consultants. Mr. Wittemans started his professional career in 1979 as an Internal Auditor of the Group Boerenbond in Belgium and performed audit and consulting assignments within the different companies of the Group, mainly in the insurance, industrial and service industry.
In 1995 he became general manager of the holding company (M.R.B.B.) of the Group Boerenbond and in 2008 he was appointed as CEO. M.R.B.B. is one of the core shareholders of KBC Group. In this position he coordinated or was actively involved in several M&A projects for the Group Boerenbond and he is responsible for the management of a portfolio of investments. Mr. Wittemans holds non-executive directorships in several entities of KBC Group and in a number of subsidiaries of M.R.B.B. He is Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk and Compliance Committee of KBC Group.
Philippe Debaillie
Non-Executive Director
Philippe Debaillie was appointed Non-Executive Director of KBC Bank Ireland in October 2018. He holds a Master of science: Bio-engineer Chemistry and MBA general management (PUB)from the University of Ghent.
He served as non-executive director in several companies of the KBC group from 1997 (Krefima (1997- 2003), Fidea (2003 – 2010), KBC Lease – member ARCC (2007 -2012), KBC verzekeringen (2010 – 2012), KBC Securities NV – (2012 - present) and member Audit Committee and Nomination Committee (April 2017 - present).
Philippe started as a nutritionist in the family owned feed mill and after acquiring expertise and experience in different departments of the group, he is now managing director of the group Debaillie and director in Belgian Pork Group, the largest Belgian pig processor.
Tom De Witte
Non-Executive Director
Tom De Witte graduated in 1987 from the Military Academy in Belgium with a master’s degree in Aviation Science and subsequently obtained a master’s degree in Applied Information Technology from the Free University in Brussels in 1992.
He joined KBC Belgium in 1996, where he initially held various positions in the IT domain. In 2005, after leading an organisational restructuring programme of KBC Group, he became General Manager of Retail Insurance Back-Office in Belgium. In 2008 Tom was appointed General Manager of Insurance Distribution, responsible for the insurance agency network and sales in Belgium.
In 2015 Tom returned to the IT domain as Chief Technology Officer, responsible for all datacentres of KBC Group and IT infrastructure support to all Group countries. In 2017 he became the COO of KBC Bank Ireland, responsible for Operations, IT and the Digital Transformation departments. At the end of 2019 he transitioned into the role of General Manager of the International Markets Business Unit in KBC Group, responsible as senior programme director for business and IT transformation.
Tom De Witte was appointed Non-Executive Director of KBC Bank Ireland on 1st September 2019.
Kevin Cardiff
Independent Non-Executive Director
Kevin Cardiff became a Non-Executive Director of KBC Bank Ireland in September 2018. He has previously been a senior government official and Secretary General of the Irish Department of Finance, where he was centrally involved in measures to support the banking system and to protect the economy during the worst periods of the financial crisis.
He subsequently served a six year term of office as a member of the European Court of Auditors, on the nomination of the Irish Government. He was responsible for a range of audit products, including in relation to the ECB and the Single Resolution Board, and also had various internal management and governance responsibilities.
Mr. Cardiff has been a member of the governing board of the Central Bank of Ireland (“the Commission”), a director and alternate director on the European Investment Bank’s board of directors and a member of the advisory board of the National Treasury Management Agency, Ireland’s national debt management agency, as well as of other high level steeringgroups and similar bodies.
He served for three years as chairperson of the Board of Auditors of the European Stability Mechanism, and is a board member of the think tank TASC. He also has some other pro-bono roles.
Mr. Cardiff was educated at the University of Washington, in Seattle (BA), and at University College Dublin (Master of Business Studies), and is an occasional speaker on economic, management, financial and budgetary matters. He is the author of an account of the financial crisis as it affected Ireland, entitled ‘Recap: Inside Ireland’s Financial Crisis’ (published in 2016).
David Browne
Independent Non-Executive Director
David Browne has over 35 years’ experience in debt capital markets, treasury and investor relations. Prior to joining KBC Bank Ireland as Non-Executive Director in December 2018, he was on the board of CYBG PLC – owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks where he was a member of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Remuneration Committees between 2012 and 2018.
He was previously Head of Group Funding and External Relations at Man Group PLC and spent a significant part of his career at JP Morgan where he held the positions of Assistant Vice President, Vice President and Managing Director. He started his career with IDA Ireland. David is a founding partner of Pinnacle Partners Limited, a treasury consulting firm.
Michael O'Donovan
Non-Executive Director
Michael O’Donovan was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of KBC Bank Ireland in May 2019. He has over twenty five years leadership experience in the international technology sector. He is currently head of Customer Success at Dropbox and previously was Chief Operating Officer at a FinTech company with a global presence. Over a period of fifteen years, he held a number of senior roles in Licensing, Channel and Customer Operations at Microsoft.
He has always been a strong advocate for customers and he recognizes the importance of creating and protecting great culture. In 2016 he was appointed by the Minister for Arts and Heritage to the board of the National Concert Hall in Ireland. In this capacity he chaired a board committee on Strategic HR and was a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Mr O’Donovan has a BA in Economics and Psychology, post graduate diplomas in Management, Accounting and Finance, and an MBA. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and is a Chartered Director.
Damian O’Neill
Company Secretary
Damian O’Neill was appointed the Company Secretary of KBC Bank Ireland in January 2010. He joined the Bank in 1990 as a qualified accountant and has held a number of senior positions in Finance, Risk Management and Compliance.
He previously worked in PwC and in Australia. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors, the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland and the Corporate Governance Association of Ireland. He is a Law graduate of UCD and holds a diploma in Corporate Governance from UCD.
Lavinia Morris
Chief Operations Officer
Lavinia Morris was appointed Chief Operations Officer at KBC Bank Ireland in September 2019. Prior to this, Lavinia held the position of Senior Vice President of Information and Technology at SMBC Aviation Capital, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies.
Before joining SMBC in 2014, Lavinia held various senior Technology and Operations positions in Friends First Group, Fujitsu and AIB. She is a graduate of Electronic Engineering from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).
Lavinia is actively involved in the technology industry in Ireland, serving as a member for the Technology Ireland ICT SkillNet Innovation Forum Expert Group, National Mirror Committee Member of the NSAI Blockchain International Standards Committee and former Chair of the Cloud Computing Working Group of the Irish Internet Association.
Jo Reynaerts
Chief Commercial Officer
Jo Reynaerts was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer in KBC Bank Ireland at the beginning of 2020. Jo studied commercial engineering and started her career as academic researcher in the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL).
In 2001 she switched to consultancy within EDS (now HP/DXC). After this, she started a career in financial services in KBC Group where she went from Financial Engineer in KBC Asset Management to Head of Private Banking in 2010.
In 2016, she took up the challenge of transforming KBC into the digital age, in her role as advisor to the Chief Innovation Officer. In 2018, Jo was appointed as Head of Transformation & Customer Experience in KBC Belgium.