Mr. Dermot Divilly:

I thank the committee for the invitation to come before it today. I am honoured to be asked by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, to become chairman of PIAB. I would like to give the committee some background information on my career to date and in particular my specific experience relevant to this position.

I was born and raised in the west of Ireland and went to secondary school there. I attended University College Dublin where I graduated with a first class honours degree in agricultural science. I immediately completed a masters in business administration, MBA, in Trinity College Dublin and was one of the first agricultural graduates to secure an MBA. That was a long time ago.

I joined the Industrial Development Authority, IDA, after graduating for two years and thereafter went into private industry as marketing and sales director of Gateaux, which in those days was a large exporter of cakes to Marks and Spencer and other such shops. When I was in my late 20s I was appointed chief executive officer, CEO, of Thorn Domestic Appliances and after that served as CEO of Toyota and Coal Distributors over the next decade.

In 1993, I completed a management buy-out of Allegro Limited, which at the time was Ireland’s largest distributor of grocery products. The arrival of Tesco in the late 1990s and its central distribution model which sought to bypass the distributors had a serious impact on Allegro but I successfully managed a profitable exit for shareholders.

For the past 15 years I have been operating as a private equity investor in a wide range of private companies. I have done this on a hands-on basis, in other words, I have not just put in money but have been an executive chairman of these companies. I have gained a lot of experience in doing that and have had quite a success with the investments.

In addition to my own investments, since 1993 I have been a non-executive director of SIAC Limited, a private family company, and am currently chairman of the company, which was one of the largest construction companies in Ireland where it built most of the roads. Unfortunately, the company got into serious problems in Poland, which is a long story and has been the subject of much publicity. Effectively we were not paid. We had no alternative but to go into administration which we have come through. I guided the company through a successful exit from administration, albeit it is now a smaller company.

I also served as a non-executive director of Hibernian Plc and, since 1998, of Aviva. Hibernian Plc was quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange, ISEQ, and was Ireland’s largest supplier of motor, household and public liability insurance. It was acquired by Aviva, the sixth largest insurer in the world, which also acquired a health insurer in 2007. Normally, in line with the regulator’s terms, the period for such service is a maximum of nine years, but because there were problems I was asked several times to stay on and finally retired last December. In addition to my non-executive directorships, I served at various times as chairman of the nomination committee, the audit committee in Aviva, and was for 15 years chairman of its pension trustees, which I resolved very satisfactorily for all involved before I retired, and in latter years I was chairman of the board of Aviva.

I have a good, deep knowledge of the general insurance industry. I am not an actuary but I understand the cut and thrust of the business and the different perspectives on it, depending which side of the fence one is on. I would hope to be able to bring that type of experience to PIAB. I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to speak and I welcome any questions.