Drumm succeeds FitzPatrick at Anglo

ANGLO IRISH BANK ended months of speculation yesterday when it announced that David Drumm had won the race to succeed Seán FitzPatrick as chief executive.

Mr Drumm, 37, will be one of the youngest chief executives in Irish corporate history. He is Anglo’s head of banking with responsibility for Ireland and the USA. He will take over when Mr FitzPatrick steps down in January. Banking analysts expressed surprise at the appointment, but said Mr Drumm was a strong candidate who had done well to beat off high-quality competition for the top job. He had been seen as a good outside bet and was on most observers’ shortlists, along with chief operating officer Tiarnan O’Mahony, head of wealth management Tom Browne, and British chief John Rowan.

The markets adopted a “wait-and-see” approach to the appointment, with Anglo shares down 2% at €14.85 yesterday. Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes expected Mr Drumm to hit the ground running and make his presence felt among institutional investors in the coming weeks by setting out his vision for the bank in the post-FitzPatrick era. Mr FitzPatrick will maintain his involvement with the bank by becoming chairman when he vacates the hot seat.

Mr Drumm has a high profile within the bank, but was less well known to outsiders and, unlike his three main rivals for the Anglo crown, did not have a seat at the board table. Anglo moved to rectify this yesterday by co-opting him as an executive director with immediate effect.

Anglo chairman Peter Murray said the new chief executive had been chosen for the quality of his experience, his understanding of the bank’s culture and his strong leadership skills.

Mr Drumm’s meteoric rise began in 1993 when he joined Anglo after a spell working in venture capital. He moved to Boston in 1998 to set up Anglo’s American banking division, which has since worked out well for the bank and broadened its appeal to investors. His five-year stint ended in July last year when he returned to Ireland to take charge of the combined Irish and USA banking units, which between them delivered almost half of the bank’s €228 million profits last year.

Mr Drumm already sits on the bank’s strategic management board, the elite 11-member group charged with the future development of the business.