Derville Rowland, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, has been chosen as The Irish Times Businessperson of the Month for May, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.
The Irish woman was appointed during the month to the plum role of executive board member of the European Union’s (EU) newly-established Anti-Money Laundering Authority (Amla), based in Frankfurt.
Amla will co-ordinate national authorities to supervise the application of legislation on anti-money laundering and the countering of financing of terrorism.
First conceived in 2021, the new agency effectively starts its work this summer, by consulting on implementing rules and appointing an executive director.
It expects to have a staff of 80 by the end of this year before gradually ramping up its activities in 2026. Its staff numbers are expected to increase to 430 by the end of 2027 and it will be fully operational and begin its direct supervision work in January 2028.
As noted by Central Bank of Ireland governor Gabriel Makhlouf, Amla’s “mission is critical to the integrity of the EU’s financial system”.
He said Rowland’s appointment reflected her “significant contribution to the Central Bank’s public service mission over the last 20 years”.
In reacting to her appointment, Rowland said she was “acutely conscious of the urgency of Amla’s task to make our financial system cleaner, our economy more resilient” by ensuring that “money laundering and terrorist financing are systematically combatted”.
A barrister by profession, Rowland spent 21 years with the Central Bank before moving to Amla.
