The company has seen lending to Irish SMEs in the first half of 2017 increase by 243% on the same period last year.
So far, €33m (approximately £29.2m) has been lent via Linked Finance’s online platform, with more than €2.5m (approximately £2.2m) in interest earned by its lenders.
Michael will replace Kingsley Aikins as chairman, one of the company’s original investors, who will continue to sit on the board as a non-executive director.
Michael is currently a director of Ryanair, Kingspan and Paddy Power, and is also the chairman of Hostelworld and Failte Ireland.
Niall Dorrian, CEO of Linked Finance, said: “I’m very pleased that Michael has joined Linked Finance as chairman and I look forward to working with him.
“Linked Finance is at a really exciting juncture.
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“We’ve done all of the groundwork, developed the technology, built a popular platform and assembled a top team.
“Now we’re ready to focus on our next phase of growth.”
Michael added: “Linked Finance is one of Ireland’s most exciting fintech companies and I am delighted to be able to support them as they embark on their next phase of growth.
“I enjoy working with companies that are innovating and disrupting old models.
“Linked Finance is doing just that; providing hard-working, local entrepreneurs with a fast, fair and innovative way to access much-needed finance.”
Linked Finance recently celebrated its 1,000th loan since its launch in 2013, raising €100,000 (approximately £88,618) for accounting software specialists Big Red Cloud.
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