Jón Birgir Jónsson appointed Kvika Bank chief executive
Monday 14th September 2026 on 00:45 in
Iceland
mbl.is reports that Jón Birgir Jónsson has been appointed chief executive of Kvika Bank and will take over from Ármann Þorvaldsson on 1 December. Þorvaldsson announced earlier this year that he intended to step down.
According to a notice to the stock exchange, Jón Birgir has extensive experience in international financial markets and has spent most of his career abroad, working in London and New York for two of the world’s largest asset management firms.
He worked at Neuberger Berman in London from 2013 to 2025, where he was one of the firm’s owners and held a management position. He joined the company to strengthen its international fixed-income investment operations and later focused increasingly on relations with professional and institutional investors.
Before that, he worked from 1998 at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York and London as a fund manager specialising in bonds and international interest-rate markets. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Iceland and a postgraduate degree in financial engineering from New York University.
Despite his long career abroad, Jón Birgir has maintained strong ties to Icelandic business, including as a board member of the British-Icelandic Business Council.
“We are pleased to welcome Jón Birgir to Kvika’s strong team,” said Sigurður Hannesson, chairman of Kvika Bank, in the announcement. He said Jón Birgir’s extensive financial-market experience and strong international connections would benefit the bank as it continued to develop in Iceland and the United Kingdom.
Hannesson also thanked Ármann for his contribution, saying the bank had grown significantly and developed a strong and diverse business during his tenure as chief executive.
Jón Birgir said he was proud and grateful for the trust placed in him. “This is a truly exciting project, and the bank is exceptionally well positioned for continued progress, with strong infrastructure, a solid balance sheet and outstanding staff,” he said. “Our goal is, and will remain, to provide our customers with strong financial services.”