About

Michael Cooney is the general counsel of Aviva Ireland with overall responsibility for the Aviva’s life and non-life operations in the country. With over 10 years’ experience in the in-house sector, having spent over 10 years with Zurich Insurance as a legal counsel, Cooney is a trusted in-house lawyer with a strong pedigree within the insurance industry. While Cooney is relatively new to the position of general counsel, having joined Aviva at the start of the year, he has certainly impressed by hitting the ground running in such a demanding role. Cooney joined at a particularly challenging time with Brexit contingency plans ongoing, the integration between the business of Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland UK and Aviva Life and Pensions Ireland, formerly Friends First Life Assurance Company, at a critical stage. This major restructuring as well as business as usual projects demanding much of his time. Cooney leads a team of lawyers in Aviva and manages the majority of the legal work in-house. He has an excellent blend of technical, legal and people skills, which are invaluable in a busy organisation such as Aviva. A nominator highlights that, ‘since joining Aviva, we have witnessed Michael Cooney’s commitment to delivering value for the business, supporting the development of this team and fostering excellent working relationships with the business. In our view, he is truly a trusted advisor within Aviva’.