Arion Bank's Capital Markets Day
1 March 2024
Arion Bank
Borgartún 19
105 Reykjavík
1 March 2024
Arion Bank
Borgartún 19
105 Reykjavík
Arion Bank hosted its Capital Markets Day at the bank’s headquarters in Iceland on Friday, March 1st, from 9:00 to 12:30 GMT. The meeting was also streamed live, and a breakfast reception was held from 8:30.
During the event, investors, analysts and other participants gained fresh insights into the bank’s strategy, objectives and operational landscape.
The event was led by CEO Benedikt Gíslason, together with members of the management team.
Speaker | |
Building on a strong foundation: Attractive market - unique position - track record of delivering | Benedikt Gíslason, CEO |
Maintaining digital leadership | Björn Björnsson, CIO |
Enhancing the value of being a customer of Arion | Iða Brá Benediktsdóttir, Deputy CEO and Managing Director of Retail Banking |
Leading market position with digital innovation | Jóhann Möller, Managing Director of Markets |
Delivering sustainable growth through client relations and capital management | Hákon Hrafn Gröndal, Managing Director of CIB |
Capturing the value of bancassurance | Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir, CEO of Vörður |
Drivers of continued financial performance: Resilience - efficiency - growth | Ólafur Hrafn Höskuldsson, CFO |
Q&A Session |
CEO
Benedikt Gíslason was appointed CEO 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 managing director of the investment banking division of MP banki. 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.
Managing Director of Information Technology and CIO
Björn Björnsson was appointed Managing Director of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Arion Bank in March 2023.
From 2015, until joining the Bank, Björn worked for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Australia and the Nordics, with focus on financial institutions, information technology strategy and transformation. Before joining BCG, he held several executive roles in the Icelandic financial services sector, including Chief Risk Officer at Byr Savings Bank.
Björn has a BS in computer science and an MS in industrial engineering from the University of Iceland and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.
Deputy CEO and Managing Director of Retail Banking
Iða Brá Benediktsdóttir was appointed Managing Director of Retail Banking in July 2017 and Deputy CEO in April 2022.
Iða 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. Iða Brá was Managing Director of Investment Banking from 2016 to 2017. Iða 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.
Iða 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 licensed securities broker.
Managing Director of Markets
Jóhann Möller 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.
Managing Director of CIB
Hákon Hrafn Gröndal was appointed managing director of Corporate & Investment Banking in April 2022.
Hákon 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 on the Bank’s behalf. Since 2013 Hákon has been a credit manager 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.
CEO of Vörður
Guðbjörg Heiða Guðmundsdóttir was appointed CEO of Vörður in December 2022 and took office in April 2023.
From 2011, until joining Vörður, Guðbjörg worked for Marel, most recently as EVP for Marel fish and location manager for Marel Iceland. Prior to that she was innovation cluster manager for Marel in Iceland and the UK.
CFO
Ólafur Hrafn Höskuldsson 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.