Press release

Lorcan O’Connor joins UK Insolvency Service Board

Founder of Ireland’s Insolvency Service joins the UK Insolvency Service Board as a non-executive member

Lorcan O'Connor, new Insolvency Service Board member

  • Chartered accountant Lorcan O’Connor has joined the Insolvency Service Board as non-executive member 
  • Mr O’Connor was the founder of the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) and led the organisation for seven years 
  • He joined the UK Insolvency Service Board on 2 April and was inducted on 2 May 2024 

Lorcan O’Connor, founder and former leader of the Insolvency Service of Ireland, has joined the UK Insolvency Service’s Board as a non-executive member. 

Mr O’Connor, who founded the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) in 2012, joined the UK’s Insolvency Service Board on 2 April 2024, and was inducted on 2 May 2024. The Board is the agency’s main decision-making body and is responsible for the long-term success of the agency 

Mr O’Connor said:  

I look forward to working with my Board colleagues and the great team in the Insolvency Service.  

I hope that my 20 years of experience across both corporate and personal insolvency will assist as the Insolvency Service delivers on its wide-ranging transformation plans and undertakes a strategic review of personal insolvency options. 

Mr O’Connor led the Insolvency Service of Ireland between 2012 and 2019.  The ISI is responsible for administering bankruptcy cases in Ireland and regulates personal insolvency practitioners.  

He is a chartered accountant, and currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of CIE, Ireland’s largest public transport operator. 

Mr O’Connor has extensive experience across different sectors within debt and business restructuring and corporate insolvency, including 15 years at Deloitte Restructuring Services, along with previous corporate governance and board experience. 

Under Mr O’Connor’s leadership, the Insolvency Service of Ireland introduced innovative alternatives to bankruptcy, based largely outside the court system.  

Mark Austen, Chair of the Insolvency Service Board, said: 

We look forward to welcoming Lorcan O’Connor to the Insolvency Service Board. Having led the Irish Service he has much to contribute, especially in supporting the proposed UK reform programme of personal bankruptcy.

Dean Beale, Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service, added: 

We are very pleased to welcome Lorcan to the Insolvency Service Board. His experience of corporate governance, leadership and vast knowledge of insolvency will bring valuable expertise to the Board. 

We are looking forward to working with Lorcan, and to the undoubted contribution he will make to support the governance of our agency. 

The Board’s responsibilities include setting strategic aims and objectives and ensuring leadership and resources are in place to meet these aims. The Board also challenges and supports management performance and reports to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). 

Further Information 

Published 7 May 2024