By Héloïse Chaudot 
Deehan is Country Manager for Ireland at Monzo, leading the team delivering a new banking experience for Irish customers and businesses. She brings more than 20 years of experience across fintech, payments and banking, with a strong track record of launching and scaling financial services products in Ireland and across Europe.
What was your first job? My first proper job was as an office administrator within a newly established division of Citilife, a Life Assurance business launched in Spain, where I had many opportunities to work on projects across the business. After a year, I became a Business Analyst, which set me on the path for the rest of my career. Looking back, joining something new, learning quickly and getting involved beyond my role shaped how I’ve approached my career ever since. What are your main priorities and goals in your current role? Growing Monzo in Ireland and building something that genuinely works for Irish customers. That means understanding the local market, identifying problems customers still need solved and bringing those insights into our products, marketing and growth plans. We co-create with our customers, so listening, learning, and constantly improving our offering is a huge part of the job. What pushed you to pursue a career in this field? The rise of Fintech started when I was at Citi Innovation Lab; this was where I developed a real interest in the intersection between technology and finance. I could see we were on the cusp of transforming how people engaged with financial services, which was really exciting and made me want to be part of building what came next. How do you motivate yourself and your team? Building something better for Irish customers, challenging banking frustrations people have accepted for years, and creating something that feels simpler, more useful and more human motivates me. For the team, it’s hearing how something we’ve built made managing money easier, reduced stress, or even changed someone’s life. Staying close to our customers keeps us focused on what matters. In one sentence, how would you define success? Success is building something that genuinely makes a difference, bringing people with you and leaving things better than you found them. How do you relax? The piano is my favourite way to switch off. If I’m getting wound up, I’ll sit down and tinkle the ivories, or stick in my earphones and go for a long walk. But I’m most relaxed around the kitchen table with friends and family, sharing good food, stories and laughter. What is your favourite (non-business) book? It has to be the Ross O’Carroll-Kelly series by Paul Howard. I’ve read all of them, and they made me laugh out loud — the characters, observations and Irish sense of humour are brilliant. I even shed a tear at the final chapter of Don’t Look Back in Ongar. Ross is such a ridiculous character, but after following his escapades for so long, I genuinely felt sad saying goodbye to him. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? The best advice I’ve received is a combination of two things. My mother always told me that you become who you surround yourself with, so I’ve always tried to keep good people around me and learn from them. And my very first boss, Dara Westby, encouraged me not to be afraid of stepping into something new, to go for opportunities even when I didn’t feel completely ready. How do you handle adversity? I focus solely on what’s in front of me. It can be easy to get distracted by the bigger picture, so I try my best to break things down, focus on what’s in my control and take each challenge as it comes. What are the aspirations for the future of the business? Having only launched in Ireland a few months ago, our focus right now is listening to our customers and growing Monzo here. Longer term, our ambition is to build on that foundation and bring Monzo’s new way of banking to more people across Europe.
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