Somers resigns as CEO of the Irish Stock Exchange

Deirdre Somers has resigned s chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange. Photo: Bloomberg

Ellie Donnelly

Deirdre Somers has resigned as chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange, now known as Euronext Dublin.

Ms Somers had served in the role of CEO for almost ten years.

Commenting on her decision, she said that she was very proud of what the ISE had accomplished since she joined in 1995.

“I have decided to begin the next chapter of my business career. I am leaving, confident that the integration of the Irish Stock Exchange within Euronext offers the best opportunities for all our clients and stakeholders,” Ms Somers said.

The ISE announced its takeover by bigger, pan-European rival Euronext in a deal valued at €137m at the end of last year.

The parent of Euronext Dublin, Euronext N.V., confirmed that it has nominated Daryl Byrne as CEO of Euronext Dublin, subject to formal approval.

Mr Byrne will also serve as head of debt & funds listings and ETFs and be a member of the managing board of Euronext N.V.

Ms Somers and Mr Byrne will transition over the summer, Euronext said.

Mr Byrne joined the Irish Stock Exchange in 2000 and has held a number of senior management roles.

Since 2011, as Chief Regulatory Officer, he has led a team of 30, with responsibility for regulation and operations relating to the listing of financial instruments on Euronext Dublin's markets, across multiple asset classes including equity, debt and funds.

He has been responsible for Euronext Dublin's regulatory engagement with issuers and market participants, as well as domestic and EU regulatory authorities.

Euronext also said that Mr Byrne has been instrumental in the development of Euronext Dublin's global markets for securities.

Previously he held the position of head of strategy planning and brand.

Although relatively obscure, compared to share trading, there are more than 36,700 individual securities from 90 countries listed in Ireland. Those deals can be large, and internationally important. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia listed the world's largest ever sukuk issuance in Dublin last year. The Sharia law compliant debt totalled US$9bn.

Last year also saw debt issued by companies like Ryanair, Nokia and RSA Insurance as well as governments from as far afield as Kuwait and Oman and from the Irish Government itself.

More mainstream shares listings in 2017 included the €3.4bn AIB share flotation, the largest anywhere in Europe in the year, and initial public offerings by housebuilder Glenveagh Properties and wind energy investor Greencoat Renewables.