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. 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 and the Board Audit 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.
Brynjólfur is an Alternate on the Board of Fergusson ehf. and a board member of Marinvest ehf. og ISAL hf.
Vice Chairman
Paul Horner
Paul was born in 1962. 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 and the Board Audit 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.
Paul serves as on the board of AIB Group P.L.C, and is member of the AIB audit committee, operational resilience committee and chairs the risk committee. He serves on the board of LHV (UK) Ltd and as a member of its risk, audit and nominations committees. At the time of publication of this statement, subject to pending approval by the UK regulator, he will also chair the risk committee.
Director
Gunnar Sturluson
Gunnar was born in 1967. He was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 9 August 2019. He is not a shareholder of Arion Bank and is an independent Director. Gunnar is a member of the Board Credit Committee and was also appointed to the Board Audit Committee in May 2020, which he briefly chaired following Herdís D. Fjeldsted’s interim appointment as CEO of Valitor and subsequent absence from Board activities.
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 practiced law at the law firm Málflutningsskrifstofan in 1992-1999 and became partner in 1995. He joined Logos Legal Services in 2000 as a partner and was managing partner in 2001-2013. Gunnar lectured in competition law in 1995-2007 at the University of Iceland, Faculty of Law.
Gunnar has 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, president of the International Federation of Icelandic Horse Associations, chairman of the board of directors of the Icelandic Dance Company 2013-2016 and was voted by the Icelandic parliament to serve on the National Electoral Commission in 2013-2017.
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. 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 is a Vice President (associated) within financial services at Capgemini Invent, Norway, and serves on the boards of Posten Norge AS and Intrum AB. 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.
Director
Steinunn Kristín Thórdardóttir
Steinunn was born in 1972. She was first elected as a Director at a shareholders’ meeting on 30th November 2017. 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 is CFO of Arundo Analytics AS in Oslo, Norway. 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 worked with investments and consulting in the role of a 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.
Steinunn has previously held several directorships in Europe and was a board member of the Icelandic State Financial Investment (ISFI). Steinunn is the chairman of the board of Acton Capital AS and Akton AS and a board member of Cloud Insurance AS. She is also a board member of the Norwegian-Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. Steinunn is a member of the nomination committee of Síminn.
Alternate directors
Sigurbjörg Ásta Jónsdóttir, lawyer, and Thröstur Ríkhardsson, Supreme Court attorney.
CEO
Benedikt Gíslason
Benedikt was born in 1974. He was appointed CEO on 1 July 2019.
Benedikt joined FBA (later Íslandsbanki) in 1998, held a variety of managerial positions at Straumur-Burðarás, 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 2021
Business segments
Deputy CEO and Managing Director of Corporate & Investment Banking
Ásgeir H. Reykfjörd Gylfason
Ásgeir H. Reykfjörd Gylfason was born in 1982. He became Deputy CEO and Managing Director of Corporate & Investment Banking in September 2019.
Ásgeir joined the investment bank Straumur in 2004 and later became the group’s compliance officer. He then worked for the law firm LOGOS in Reykjavík and London from 2009 to 2012 and was chief legal officer at MP banki from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the task force for capital account liberalization in 2015 and was managing director of the corporate division at Kvika from 2015 to 2019. Ásgeir taught in the faculty of law of Reykjavík University from 2010 to 2015 and has served on the boards of several companies in Iceland and abroad.
Ásgeir is licensed to practise before the district court and graduated with a degree in law from Reykjavík University.
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.
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 Markets
Margrét Sveinsdóttir
Margrét was born in 1960. She was Managing Director of Asset Management at Arion Bank from February 2009 to September 2019 when she took on the position of Managing Director of Markets.
Between 2007 and 2009 she was head of financial institutions client relations at Glitnir. From 1990 to 2007 she was head of securities brokerage and advisory at Íslandsbanki Securities Ltd, later the asset management division of Glitnir. Between 1985 and 1988 she worked in the credit division of the Industrial Bank of Iceland. Margrét has served on a number of boards of directors, including: The Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund on behalf of SFF, Okkar Life Insurance and several funds in Luxembourg.
Margrét graduated with an MBA from Babson College in Massachusetts in 1990 and a cand. oecon. degree in business administration from the University of Iceland in 1986. She is also 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
Hákon Már Pétursson
Hákon was born in 1981. He was appointed Compliance Officer of Arion Bank in April 2011.
From 2009 to 2011 Hákon worked for Kvasir Legal as a specialist in financial services and financial restructuring. Between 2006 and 2009 Hákon worked as a specialist in the securities market division at the Financial Supervisory Authority of Iceland (FME). During this time he was the FME’s representative on various expert groups, including the Takeover Directive expert group and the MiFID expert group at the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). He was also a guest lecturer at the University of Reykjavík and Reykjavík University.
He graduated from the faculty of law at the University of Iceland in 2007. He is also a licensed securities broker and holds an international advanced certificate in anti-money laundering.
Chief Audit Executive
Sigrídur Gudmundsdóttir
Sigríður was born in 1974. She was appointed Internal Auditor of Arion Bank in February 2019.
Sigríður was Internal Audit Director at Marel hf. from 2010 until she joined Arion Bank. Prior to that she worked in the finance division of Alcoa Fjarðaál and in the internal audit division of Landsbankinn. Sigríður was a member of the audit committee of Stefnir, the Bank’s subsidiary, from 2014 to 2018 and the audit committee of Sparisjóður Austurlands from 2009 to 2019.
Sigríður graduated with an MSc in finance and accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2007 and a cand.oecon. from the University of Iceland in 2003. She completed a CIA certification in internal auditing in 2006. Other certifications she has completed from The Institute of Internal Auditors are CFSA, CRMA and CCSA.
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 licensed securities broker.
Changes in 2021
In September 2021 changes were made in the Executive Committee. Ólafur Hrafn Höskuldsson took over from Stefán Pétursson as Chief Financial Officer and Steinunn Hlíf Sigurðardóttir joined the committee as managing director of Customer Experience, a new division within the Bank. The creation of the new division adds one more member to the Bank’s executive committee.