Innovation and investment

Extending the footprint of Irish Life more generally has been a feature of activities in recent years, notably through the acquisition of Aviva Health in 2016. A commanding market position (see boxout) is carried with a light touch; Killeen observes that ‘when I talk to colleagues who have recently joined Irish Life, their perspective coming in and the reality afterwards is often quite different. The view externally is of an organisation that’s somewhat traditional. What people are surprised by is the level of innovation they find.’

Winning a prestigious 2024 award for the best application of artificial intelligence (AI) in customer service is a fair reflection of this and followed the development of CARA, an advanced AI system designed to enhance speed, accuracy and customer satisfaction in the claims process. ‘CARA was the result of a number of years of investment in AI by Irish Life,’ Killeen says. ‘It has helped streamline operations and improved processing times, but it also keeps humans very much at the centre of things.’

A more physical manifestation of current dynamism is the eye-catching remodelling of the Irish Life Building on Dublin’s Lower Abbey Street. Originally developed in the 1970s, when Dublin’s Northside was distinctly out of fashion among the country’s corporate elite, the revamp is also about ‘reinforcing the value of the location as our headquarters’, Killeen says. ‘We want to increase our connections with the community and part of the redesign is about creating opportunities for that.’

Value driven

Killeen was appointed Irish Life CFO in 2015, with his role broadening in 2023 to Ireland CFO with finance responsibility for Irish Life Group and Canada Life Group, and a seat at the global CFO table. Killeen acknowledges being somewhat unusual in today’s corporate landscape by having the same employer since leaving college. ‘What has convinced me to stay over the years are the values of the organisation,’ he says. ‘I come from a fairly modest background, growing up in Castlebar, Co Mayo. Protecting the most vulnerable in our society has always been important to me and I think that’s what Irish Life always tries to do in terms of the products and the advice we offer.’

Not that loyalty alone makes the rise to CFO inevitable. Killeen says his career began typically enough, ‘moving through the different grades in finance’. A pivotal change came when a manager placed him in operations – ‘a very different environment, which turned out to be one of the best things I’ve done in my career’.

A second pivot came after one of the most difficult periods in the organisation’s history. ‘When we were acquired by Great-West Lifeco in 2013, I was asked to run the integration programme across Ireland,’ Killeen recalls. ‘That broadened my perspective once again, this time in terms of understanding what having a parent company actually meant.’

If Irish Life didn’t suffer the kind of reputational fallout seen among other pillar institutions, the Financial Crisis years were nevertheless difficult, and Killeen says that the time since acquisition has been a welcome period of renewal and refocus. A clear sign of faith by the acquiring company was, he notes, that ‘local leadership has continued to drive the group forward. Obviously, Great-West Lifeco is deeply involved in our development and growth, but they’ve also very much listened and been influenced by our decisions.’

Change and transparency

With a new round of guidance from the Central Bank of Ireland set to have its own influence on decision-making in financial services, Killeen says that the group sees ‘nothing to be daunted by’, but also believes that ‘the regulation and the implementation process should be seen as a two-way street. The changes also need to work from the industry side, so that we can deliver the best solutions to our customers’.

A more longstanding concern in the pensions industry is the impending time bomb linked to changing demographics and inadequate personal planning. Killeen is strongly supportive of the move towards auto-enrolment, arguing that while the tax lures of past decades have brought some improvements, ‘nothing has really driven the uptake of pensions as much as we would like to have seen. As a leading partner to corporates in Ireland, we believe auto-enrolment is the right move at the right time.’

As well as being his work stronghold, Irish Life has the distinction of being the place where Killeen met his wife. With two, now adult, children, downtime centres on family, friends and sport. Golf and the gym are in the mix, but nothing surpasses his passion for GAA. Being from Mayo, ‘It’s probably the hope that kills you,’ he cordially admits, remaining an optimist on the county’s elusive quest for an All Ireland title.

New responsibilities within the parent company in recent years have also increased his air miles and, while Killeen says he has achieved many of his ambitions, he remains open to new opportunities. An analogy drawn from GAA illustrates a career in motion: ‘When I think about finance, I think about watching a match at Croke Park. The higher up you sit, the more you see of what’s going on and the clearer your perspective on where things are going.’