Board of directors
and senior management

Chairman

Brynjólfur Bjarnason

Brynjólfur was born in 1946. He was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 20 November 2014, and is a non-executive director. He is not a shareholder in Arion Bank and is an independent Director. Brynjólfur is Chairman of the Board, and sits on the Board Remuneration Committee, the Board Credit Committee, the Board Audit Committee and the Board Tech Committee.

Brynjólfur graduated with an MBA from the University of Minnesota in 1973 and a cand. oecon. degree in business studies from the University of Iceland in 1971.

He was managing director of the Enterprise Investment Fund from 2012 to 2014. Between 2007 and 2010 he was the chief executive officer of Skipti. Brynjólfur was chief executive officer of Síminn from 2002 to 2007 and chief executive officer of Grandi hf. from 1984 to 2002. Between 1976 and 1983 he was managing director of the publisher AB bókaútgáfa. He was also head of the economics department of VSÍ from 1973 to 1976. Brynjólfur has broad experience as a director and has served on numerous boards and been chairman of several of them.

Brynjólfur is currently an Alternate on the Board of Fergusson ehf. and a board member of Marinvest ehf. and ISAL hf.

Vice chairman

Paul Horner

Paul was born in 1962. He was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 8 August 2019, and is a non-executive director. He is not a shareholder in Arion Bank and is an independent candidate. Paul is Vice Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Board Credit Committee and member of the Board Risk Committee, the Board Audit Committee and the Board Tech Committee.

Paul graduated with M.A. Honours in music from the University of Oxford in 1983 and is an associate of the UK Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Paul has extensive experience of risk and general management in retail, commercial, investment and private banking, gained across various International markets. Paul held various executive and risk management roles at Barclays PLC between 1988 and 2003. In 2003 Paul joined The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and served as an executive and senior manager of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and was appointed to various senior risk and general management roles until June 2019. In 2012 to 2017, Paul was the chief risk officer of Coutts & Co Ltd. and CEO of Coutts & Co Ltd, Zurich, in 2016-2017. In 2018 Paul was chief risk officer of Ulster Bank DAC, Dublin, and a non-executive director at Coutts & Co Ltd. in Zurich from 2018-2021.

Today Paul serves on the board of AIB (UK) P.L.C., chairs its risk committee and is member of its audit and operational resilience committees. He also serves on the Board of LHV (UK) Ltd and chairs its risk committee, as well as sitting as a member of its audit, remuneration and nomination committees.

Director

Gunnar Sturluson

Gunnar was born in 1967. He was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 8 August 2019, and is a non-executive director. He is not a shareholder of Arion Bank and is an independent Director. Gunnar is a member of the Board Credit Committee and the Board Risk Committee. He was also appointed to the Board Audit Committee in May 2020, which he is currently chairing.

Gunnar graduated as Cand. Jur from the University of Iceland in 1992, gained an LL.M. degree in Law from the University in Amsterdam in 1995 and received a license to practice before the District Court in Iceland in 1993 and before the Supreme Court in 1999.

Gunnar has practised law at LOGOS legal services since 1992 and became a partner in 1995. He was the managing partner of LOGOS from 2001-2013. Gunnar has been the president of the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations since 2014 and a board member of the Performing of the Arts Center in Iceland since 2021. Gunnar has previously held various directorships, including the board of directors at Gamma hf. in 2017-2019, chairman of the board of directors of the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) 2016-2017, director at the Nordic Arbitration Center, chairman of the board of directors of the Icelandic Dance Company 2013-2016 and was elected by the Icelandic parliament to serve on the National Electoral Commission in 2013-2017. Gunnar also lectured in competition law in 1995-2007 at the University of Iceland, Faculty of Law.

Director

Liv Fiksdahl

Liv was born in 1965. She was first elected as a Director at Arion Bank’s Annual General Meeting on 20 March 2019, and is a non-executive director. She is not a shareholder in Arion Bank and is an independent Director. Liv is chairman of the Board Remuneration Committee and the Board Tech Committee and member of the Board Audit Committee.

Liv holds a degree in finance and management from Trondheim Business School (today NTNU) in 1986. In 2018, Liv completed programs at Stanford University in Big Data, strategic decisions and analysis, and the Innovative Technology Leader. She has also completed an advanced management program for executives in management, innovation and technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Liv has held various senior roles at DNB and was part of the executive management team for 10 years, and her most recent role was as the Group EVP, CIO/COO, for IT & Operations. Liv has a broad experience from DNB and has held different positions across the value-chain within the bank. Before DNB she had key account roles for corporate clients within Danske Bank/Fokus Bank, and Svenska Handelsbanken. Liv has served on numerous boards, including Scandinavian Airlines SAS AB, BankAxept, Sparebankforeningen, Doorstep, Finans Norge and Trondheim Kommune Bystyret.

Today, Liv is a Vice President within Financial Services at Capgemini Invent, Norway, and serves on the boards of Posten Norge AS and Intrum AB. At Intrum AB she is also a member of the Transformation Committee.

Director

Steinunn Kristín Thórdardóttir

Steinunn was born in 1972. She was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 30th November 2017, and is a non-executive Director. She is a shareholder in Arion Bank (her shareholding is 12000 shares) and is an independent Director. Steinunn is the chairman of the Board Risk Committee and a member of the Board Remuneration Committee and the Board Tech Committee.

Steinunn holds a master’s degree in international management from Thunderbird, Arizona, and a BA in international business and politics from University of South Carolina.

Steinunn has previously held several directorships in Europe and was a board member at the Icelandic State Financial Investment (ISFI). Steinunn was previously a partner and CEO of Beringer Finance Norway in 2015-2017 and interim CEO of Beringer Finance in Iceland and global head of food and seafood in 2017. She founded Akton AS and Acton Capital AS, a management consulting and investment company in Norway, where she works with investments and consulting in the role of a founder and managing director. Steinunn worked at Íslandsbanki (later Glitnir) as the managing director and head of the bank’s UK operation and prior to that she was an executive director heading the international corporate credit and syndications.

Today Steinunn works actively with tech companies in Norway both as an investor and advisor in regards to strategy. The software companies she works with are international scale-up companies. She is also the chairman of the board of Acton Capital AS and Akton AS, a board member of Cloud Insurance AS and the chairman of the board for the Norwegian-Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. Steinunn is a member of the nomination committee of Síminn. Finally, she is a mentor to young talented women and founded Women Empower Women and is the chairman of a charitable organization in Norway.

Alternate directors

Sigurbjörg Ásta Jónsdóttir, lawyer, and Thröstur Ríkhardsson, Supreme Court attorney.

More information on the Board of Directors can be found on the Bank’s website.

Chief Executive Officer

Benedikt Gíslason

Benedikt was born in 1974. Benedikt was appointed CEO on 1 July 2019.

Benedikt joined FBA (later Íslandsbanki) in 1998, held a variety of managerial positions at Straumur-Burdarás, was managing director of capital markets at FL Group and was managing director of the investment banking division of MP Bank. Benedikt worked as a senior advisor for Iceland’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and was vice-chairman of a government task force on the liberalization of the capital controls between 2013 and 2016. He served on the board of directors of Kaupthing from 2016 to 2018 and was an advisor to Kaupthing on matters relating to Arion Bank. Benedikt was elected to the Board of Directors of Arion Bank in September 2018 and served on the Board until his appointment as CEO.

Benedikt gained a C.Sc. in mechanical and industrial engineering from the University of Iceland in 1998.

Organizational chart 2022

 

Business segments

Deputy CEO and Managing Director of Retail Banking

Ida Brá Benediktsdóttir

Ida Brá was born in 1976. Ida Brá was appointed Managing Director of Retail Banking in July 2017 and Deputy CEO in April 2022.

Ida Brá has worked for Arion Bank and its predecessor since 1999 when she joined the research department. She has held various positions within the Bank including Head of a department within treasury and Head of Corporate Communications. Ida Brá was Managing Director of Investment Banking from 2016 to 2017. Ida Brá served on the board of numerous companies, including Ólafsfjördur savings bank, AFL – savings bank, Landfestar and HB Grandi hf. Ida is the vice chairman of the Board of Directors at Vörður tryggingar hf.

Ida Brá graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of Iceland in 1999 and has a Master's in finance from the Erasmus Graduate School of Business. She is also a certified stockbroker.

Managing Director of Corporate & Investment Banking

Hákon Hrafn Gröndal

Hákon Hrafn Gröndal was born in 1988. He was appointed managing director of Corporate & Investment Banking in April 2022.

Hákon Hrafn Gröndal joined Arion Bank in 2012, initially working at the Bank’s Höfði branch in Reykjavik. Since then Hákon has held various financial advisory and credit roles at the Bank and served on several boards of directors and committees on the Bank’s behalf. Since 2013 Hákon has worked in Corporate & Investment Banking.

Hákon is a business graduate from Griffith University, has an MSc in corporate finance from the University of Iceland and is a licensed securities broker.

 

Managing Director of Markets

Jóhann Möller

Jóhann was born in 1979. He was appointed managing director of Markets in May 2022.

Jóhann Möller has been the managing director of Stefnir since 2020. Jóhann has worked in the financial markets for more than 20 years and joined Stefnir in 2006, managing domestic equities funds and he was head of the company’s equities team between 2017 and 2020.

Jóhann is a business graduate from the University of Iceland and is a licensed securities broker.

Support units

General Councel

Birna Hlín Káradóttir

Birna Hlín was born in 1978. She was appointed General Counsel of Arion Bank in September 2019 and joined the Bank’s Executive Committee in June 2020.

From 2016 until joining the Bank, Birna Hlín was a partner and general counsel at Fossar. She was general counsel at Straumur fjárfestingabanki from 2011 to 2015. Birna Hlín worked for Straumur-Burðarás Investment Bank hf. between 2007 and 2011 and was the company’s general counsel from 2009. She has taught financial market law at the Reykjavík University and the University of Iceland. She has served on the boards of directors of several companies in Iceland and abroad and is currently a board member of the Icelandic Bar Association.

Birna Hlín has completed an Advanced Management Program at IESE Business School Barcelona and has a Cand. Jur. degree from the University of Iceland. She is a district court attorney and a licensed securities broker.

Chief Financial Officer

Ólafur Hrafn Höskuldsson

Ólafur Hrafn was born in 1981. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer in September 2021.

Ólafur Hrafn joined Arion Bank in 2019 as head of strategy and development in the CEO’s Office. Between 2010 and 2016 Ólafur Hrafn worked for Royal Bank of Scotland in London and New York. In 2016 he was appointed managing director of the investment company Títan, a position he held until 2019. He previously worked for CreditInfo in Germany and Straumur Investment Bank. Ólafur Hrafn sits on the boards of directors of Vörður and Landey.

Ólafur Hrafn graduated with a cand.oecon. from the University of Iceland in 2006, majoring in accounting and auditing. He is an FSA approved person in the United Kingdom and has passed the FINRA Series 79 exam in the United States.

Managing Director of customer Experience

Steinunn Hlíf Sigurdardóttir

Steinunn Hlíf was born in 1974. She was appointed managing director of Customer Experience in September 2021.

Steinunn Hlíf was managing director of customer service and advice at Vörður and was on the company’s executive committee from 2008 until 2021. She worked at Kaupthing/KB Bank from 1999-2005 where her roles included managing director of marketing. Between 2005 and 2008 she was marketing director at Sjóvá and held a management role within sales and marketing at Landsbankinn.

Steinunn has a BA in Business Administration from Flagler College in Florida.

 

Managing Director of Information Technology & CTO

Styrmir Sigurjónsson

Styrmir was born in 1974. He was appointed Managing Director of Information Technology and CTO in March 2020.

Styrmir worked for Natera in the United States from 2009. Natera specializes in genetic testing and diagnostics and is listed on the NASDAQ CM. Since 2012 Styrmir held a number of managerial roles at the company and, since 2017, lead the company’s research and development team as senior vice president of R&D. Before joining Natera, Styrmir worked for Straumur Investment Bank, FL Group and Citi.

Styrmir has a Ph.D. and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford and a C.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Iceland.

Internal control

Compliance Officer

Andrés Fjeldsted

Andrés Fjeldsted was born in 1984. He was appointed Compliance Officer of Arion Bank in April 2022.

Andrés joined Arion Bank’s Legal division in 2015. His key assignments were in the fields of asset management, senior management and he was secretary to the Board of Directors for several years.

Andrés has a Master’s degree in law from the University of Iceland and has a BA in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Essex.

Chief Audit Executive

Anna Sif Jónsdóttir

Anna Sif was born in 1971. She was appointed Arion Bank’s Internal Auditor in September 2022.

Anna Sif was Kvika Bank's internal auditor from 2013. Prior to that she was chief financial officer at Reginn hf. from 2009 to 2013 and at Landic Property Iceland from 2007 to 2009. Anna was a specialist and team manager at KPMG from 2000 to 2006.

Anna Sif has a BA degree from the University of Iceland and a cand. oecon from the same university. She is a certified auditor and a licensed securities broker.

Chief Risk Officer

Úlfar Freyr Stefánsson

Úlfar was born in 1981. He was appointed Chief Risk Officer in May 2020.

Úlfar joined the Bank’s Risk Management division in 2013 after having worked at Kaupthing since 2010, where his positions included Head of Risk Management. Úlfar was Head of Portfolio Risk at Arion Bank from 2013 to 2015, when he took over as Head of Balance Sheet Risk.

Úlfar has a doctorate and a master’s in mathematics from Georgia Institute of Technology. He also has a BSc in mathematics from the University of Iceland and is a certified securities broker.

Changes in 2022

In April Iða Brá Benediktsdóttir, managing director of Retail Banking, also took on the position of Deputy CEO. At the same time, Hákon Hrafn Gröndal, who had been a credit manager in Corporate & Investment Banking, took over as managing director of the division and Jóhann Möller, CEO of Stefnir, was appointed managing director of Markets.