Bernard Byrne

Bernard Byrne was appointed Chair-Designate and independent non-executive Director of Cairn Homes in August 2024, effective from January 2025, succeeding John Reynolds who retired at the end of April 2025. Byrne is a Chartered Accountant who qualified with PwC and is a Certified Bank Director. He brings an impressive track record of leading very large private and public Irish companies.

Byrne stepped down as chief executive of Davy at the end of June 2024. Most recently, Bernard served as CEO of J+E Davy, Ireland's largest independent stockbroking and wealth management business, and led the subsequent sale of the business and its integration into the Bank of Ireland Group plc. Prior to this, Bernard served as CEO of AIB Group plc leading the successful rationalisation and IPO of the bank. Byrne was in charge when the Government finally sold a 28.8 per cent stake in AIB in June 2017 for €3.4 billion in an IPO – dubbed Project Viking – that was two years in the planning.

Before joining AIB Group, Bernard was Group Finance and Commercial Director at ESB, Deputy CEO and Finance Director of IWP International plc and Commercial Director of ESB International. Byrne began his career as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 1988.

Career history

• CEO of J+E Davy, Ireland's largest independent stockbroking and wealth management business (2021–2024)
• CEO of AIB Group plc (2015–2019)
• Group Finance and Commercial Director at ESB (2004–2010)
• Finance Director with IWP International plc (1998–2003)
• Commercial Director at ESB International (1994–1998)

What Bernard Byrne could bring to Chairman at Cairn Homes: Based on his documented career, Byrne brings deep expertise in managing large-scale transformations and financial restructuring. During his tenure at AIB, the bank achieved a €12 billion turnaround and successfully executed one of Europe's largest IPOs. His background in both utilities (ESB) and financial services positions him to guide Cairn Homes through operational optimization and capital management challenges in the Irish residential property market.