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Ármann Þorvaldsson

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Ármann Þorvaldsson (born in Reykjavík in 1968) was an Icelandic badminton player and was the UK CEO of Kaupthing Bank at the time of its collapse in 2008.

Early life

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Ármann graduated from Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti in 1989, taking a BA in history from the University of Iceland in 1992 and an MBA at Boston University in 1994. He married Þórdís Edwald; both played badminton at an international level.[1]

Banking career

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In 1994, Ármann joined the Icelandic company Kaupthing as Director of Planning and Budgeting, subsequently serving as managing director of investment banking from 1997 to 2005. He became a director of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Group PLC on 26 July 2005, and on 25 October 2005 he became CEO of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Group PLC (formerly, Singer & Friedlander Group PLC) at Kaupthing Bank hf.[2]

After the collapse of Kaupþing, Ármann wrote an autobiographical account of Iceland's boom and the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis which was intended as a defence of his role and his colleagues'.[3]

While Ármann was investigated by the UK's Serious Fraud Office following Kaupþing's collapse, he was not charged.[4] The UK's Financial Services Authority 'said it had not found any regulatory breaches against' Ármann.[5]

Ármann became CEO of Kvika banki in June 2017.[6][7] In May 2019, it was announced that he'd become deputy CEO.[8]

Badminton career

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Ármann won the Icelandic National Badminton Championships in the men's doubles event in 1988 and 1989. He clinched the Iceland International tournament partnered with Þorsteinn Páll Hængsson in 1991.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Armann Thorvaldsson, Frozen Assets: How I Lived Iceland's Boom and Bust (Chichester: Wiley, 2009), pp. 2, 58.
  2. ^ "Bloomberg Business Week: Executive Profile, Armann Thorvaldsson"[dead link]. "Gjaldþrot Seðlabanka Íslands og Toronto Dominion" 17 October 2009.
  3. ^ Armann Thorvaldsson, Frozen Assets: How I Lived Iceland's Boom and Bust (Chichester: Wiley, 2009); Ármann Þorvaldsson, Ævintýraeyjan: uppgangur og endalok fjármálaveldis, trans. by Svanborg Sigmarsdóttir (Reykjavík: Bókafélagið, 2009).
  4. ^ "SFO drops investigation into two more Kaupthing suspects", 19 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Kaupthing directors could run bank again", 26 June 2012.
  6. ^ "Kvika Management Team", 26 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Ármann tekur við Kviku", 27 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Ármann hættir sem forstjóri Kviku", 27 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Iceland", Badmintonsamband Íslands, 26 January 2019.