Second time lucky for Goggin as he gets top job

As soon as the news broke about Mr Michael Soden's abrupt resignation last weekend, Mr Brian Goggin was the name most often mentioned as his replacement.

The bank had to move quickly in the wake of Mr Soden's departure, making the appointment of an insider more likely. And as a widely experienced and respected senior executive, Mr Goggin (52) quickly emerged as the favourite.

Mr Goggin joined the bank in 1969 and has worked in a broad range of jobs in the group, covering financial services, retail and wholesale banking and capital markets. He was appointed to the bank's court - its board of directors - in 2000. Mr Goggin had applied for the chief executive job when Mr Soden was appointed two-and-a-half years ago, but was unsuccessful.

At that time, he was chief executive of the group's wholesale financial services division, a job he held for seven years. It was thought within the bank at the time that Mr Soden might appoint Mr Goggin to head the bank's capital markets operation.

In the event, he was appointed as chief executive of the bank's highly successful asset management services division and Mr Denis Donovan became head of capital markets.

Mr Goggin's background is as a certified accountant and he also holds an MSc in management from Trinity College Dublin.

He would be seen as a capable manager and is described as "calm, good-humoured and good with people".

While he will be seen as a safe choice by the bank, he will quickly come under pressure to clarify its strategic direction and point to where growth will come from. With long experience in capital markets, he will be known by investors and have a good sense of how the markets work.

Under Mr Soden, there was an abortive attempt to take over Abbey National in the UK. Subsequently, the bank linked up with the British Post Office, leading Mr Soden to opine that it was no longer searching for a "transformational" acquisition.

Investors will give Mr Goggin some time to get his feet under the table but, as an insider, they will expect him to have a developed view on the strategic direction of the bank and to articulate this clearly. Many analysts believe that the bank's shares are undervalued. If Mr Goggin can persuade the markets that this is the case, he will be well on the road to success.