Ármann Þorvaldsson (born in Reykjavík in 1968) was an Icelandic badminton player and was the UK CEO of

Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank (, ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were ...

at the time of its collapse in 2008.

Early life

Ármann graduated from

Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti (The polytechnic school in Breiðholt Breiðholt () is a southeastern district of Reykjavík, Iceland. It includes three neighbourhoods: ''Neðra-Breiðholt'' (Bakkar , Mjódd and Stekkir ), ''Efra-Breiðhol ...

in 1989, taking a BA in history from the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern co ...

in 1992 and an MBA at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1994. He married Þórdís Edwald; both played badminton at an international level.

Banking career

In 1994, Ármann joined the Icelandic company

Kaupthing Kaupthing Bank (, ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were ...

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. After the collapse of Kaupþing, Ármann wrote an autobiographical account of Iceland's boom and the

2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis The Icelandic financial crisis was a major financial crisis, economic and political event in Iceland between 2008 and 2010. It involved the default (finance), default of all three of the country's major privately owned commercial banks in late 2 ...

which was intended as a defence of his role and his colleagues'. While Ármann was investigated by the UK's Serious Fraud Office following Kaupþing's collapse, he was not charged. The UK's Financial Services Authority 'said it had not found any regulatory breaches against' Ármann. Ármann became CEO of Kvika banki in June 2017. In May 2019, it was announced that he'd become deputy CEO.

Badminton career

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."Iceland"
Badmintonsamband Íslands, 26 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorvaldsson, Armann Armann Thorvaldsson Armann Thorvaldsson Living people 1968 births Armann Thorvaldsson 20th-century Icelandic sportsmen