By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance has released the annual CEO 100 Index, recognising the leading chief executives operating in Ireland in 2024.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Ciara Foxton, Managing Partner Ireland,
Circle K
Ciara Foxton is the Managing Director of Circle K Ireland, a position she assumed on January 1, 2024. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Finance at Circle K. Foxton has worked for Circle K since 2018 and has a strong background in finance, having held senior finance roles at Life Style Sports, Arnotts, Kefron, and Diageo. She is responsible for leading the business in Ireland and has expressed her excitement to build on the progress made in recent years, further elevating Circle K’s standing as Ireland’s leading forecourt and convenience retailer.
Conor Galvin, Chief Executive Officer,
Ornua
Conor Galvin is the current CEO of Ornua, a Dublin-headquartered Irish dairy cooperative. He joined Ornua in May, succeeding Donal Buggy, who had been the interim CEO since September. Galvin has a deep knowledge of the dairy sector and extensive senior executive experience. He previously served as CEO of Dairygold Co-operative Society since January 2022, and has worked at Dairygold since 2014, holding various senior leadership roles. Prior to joining Dairygold, Galvin was finance director with DCC’s food and beverage division, and country finance manager with Procter & Gamble in Ireland. Originally from a farming background, Galvin is a science graduate from University College Dublin and holds an MBA from the Smurfit Business School.
Stephen Garvey, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Glenveagh Properties Plc
Stephen Garvey was appointed chief executive officer in August 2019. Stephen is responsible for delivering on the Glenveagh’s vision to create Ireland’s leading and most sustainable homebuilder. Stephen has over 20 years’ experience in the construction and property industry in Ireland. Prior to founding his own successful residential development business, Bridgedale Homes, Stephen worked with a number of Ireland’s largest property developers. From 2014 to 2017, Stephen advised and managed the acquisition of Irish residential development opportunities on behalf of TIO RLF. A co- founder of Glenveagh, Stephen had led the growth and development of Glenveagh since IPO.
John Goulding, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder,
Workvivo
John Goulding is CEO and co-founder of Workvivo, the employee experience platform built around employee communications and engagement. In April, Workvivo was acquired by Zoom, becoming the digital employee experience business unit led by John. John founded Workvivo along with his co-founder and CTO Joe Lennon in 2017 with a mission to elevate the digital employee experience. Workvivo now works with some of the biggest global brands on the planet, becoming a digital heart for the organisation, boosting retention and bringing their workplace culture to life digitally. John was previously CEO of CoreHR, a global leader in the HCM space, and Senior Director of Global Support in Dell-EMC.
Séamus Hand, Managing Partner,
KPMG in Ireland
Seamus is the Managing Partner of KPMG in Ireland and is a member of KPMG’s Global and EMA boards. Seamus previously was a partner in KPMG’s financial services practice in Ireland and worked with many global and domestic clients in the asset management, aviation, banking and insurance sectors.
Jason Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer,
Carbery Group
Since January 2018, Jason Hawkins has been the Chief Executive Officer and a board member of Carbery Group, a leading international manufacturer of nutritional ingredients, flavours and an award-winning cheese producer. Headquartered in Ballineen, Co. Cork, Carbery is owned by four Irish co-operaKtives; Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh and Lisavaird, and employs almost 1000 people across eight locations including Ireland, the UK, the USA, Brazil, Italy, Indonesia and Thailand. Originally from Tralee, Co Kerry, Jason’s previous role was Chief Operating Officer with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), where he had responsibility for the organisation’s global ingredients business. DFA is a leading global dairy co-operative, based in Kansas, USA. Prior to DFA, Jason had a long and distinguished career with Kerry Group, which he joined as a graduate accountant in 1999, after completing his business degree at the Institute of Technology Tralee. For most of his career, Jason has lived and worked in the United States, holding several leadership positions within the Taste & Nutrition division of Kerry Group, where he was responsible for the vision, strategy and growth of several of Kerry’s businesses in the region. Jason is a qualified accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Paddy Hayes, Chief Executive Officer,
ESB
Paddy is Chief Executive of ESB, a leading Irish electricity company. ESB is investing in technologies, infrastructure and services to support customers and communities to achieve net zero through clean electricity. Before his appointment as Chief Executive in 2021, Paddy headed up two of ESB’s main operating divisions, as Executive Director of ESB’s Generation & Wholesale Markets business and then as Managing Director of ESB Networks. A chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Chair of the Open Doors Initiative.
Paul Healy, Chief Executive Officer,
Skillnet Ireland
Paul is the Chief Executive of Skillnet Ireland, the Irish Government agency dedicated to the development of leading-edge talent for the enterprise sector. He is a respected commentator in the arenas of enterprise and labour market policy, human resource development and public affairs with 20 years’ executive level experience spanning both the semi-State and multinational sectors. Paul is a member of Ireland’s National Skills Council, National Training Fund Advisory Group, the EU Commission Skills for Industry Policy Group and the European Digital SME Alliance.
Margaret Heffernan, Chief Executive Officer,
Dunnes Stores
Margaret Heffernan is the CEO of Dunnes Stores. In 1956, Margaret left school and started working at Dunnes Clothing Shop, her family business, at the age of 14. In 1988, Heffernan founded the People In Need Trust. Since its founding, the trust has raised millions of euro in support of local charity work. Her charity work has earned her the City of Dublin’s Millennium Award in 1988 as well as the Lord Mayor’s Award in 1989. She became the director of the store in 1964. By 1995, Heffernan was appointed as head of all of the Dunnes Stores. In 2007, Heffernan was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the National University of Ireland. She also received an honorary degree from University College Dublin.
Paul Henderson, Chief Executive Officer,
DMG Media
Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer,
National Broadband Ireland
Peter Hendrick is the CEO of NBI, responsible for delivering the Government of Ireland’s €2.7 billion National Broadband Plan. Recognised as one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the world and Ireland’s biggest investment in rural Ireland since electrification, Peter oversees a workforce of approximately 2,000 people who are working to bring connectivity to over 1.1 million people. The project currently sits in the top 0.5% of global megaprojects for being on time, on budget and delivering against original policy objectives. With a track record of developing and scaling businesses from start-up to mature growth, Peter is highly regarded for his ability to build and grow company culture and create world-leading customer-first experiences. Peter has over 20 years of engineering, sales and executive experience across technology and telecom businesses, and has held senior roles in Siemens and enet. In 2006, he co-founded AirSpeed Telecom and led the business to a successful sale. As an investor and board member, Peter continues to hold interests in a number of high growth ventures where he provides astute knowledge of corporate & operational strategic planning, organisation & leadership development, corporate & board governance, legal & contract management, fundraising & equity exit strategy, media and political relations, and policy & regulatory development.
Neil Hosty, Chief Executive Officer,
Fexco
Neil Hosty was appointed CEO of Fexco Group, a pioneer, and a leader in innovative fintech solutions in January 2022. He is responsible for driving Fexco’s technology and innovation led growth agenda across its core business areas of Fintech, Payments and Business Solutions, and into new sectors such as sustainability.
Harry Hughes, Chief Executive Officer,
Portwest
Harry is CEO of Portwest, a world-leading protective wear company owned and operated by brothers Cathal, Harry and Owen Hughes. Harry studied and worked for seven years in the UK and then returned to the family business in 1978. Portwest operate in over 130 countries. Harry won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year international category and the overall award in 2017.
Devan Hughes, Cofounder & Chief Executive Officer,
Buymie
Devan Hughes is CEO & Co-Founder of buymie, the same-day, big-basket grocery delivery provider. By using local personal shoppers picking from local stores, the buymie grocery delivery service has been delighting time-poor customers in Ireland and the UK since launching in 2016. When a customer places an order big or small, a personal shopper is appointed to take care of their entire order, with the buymie app providing seamless communication during the entire shopping process, ensuring the best substitutions and highest quality fresh produce are selected and delivered in as little as 1 hour. buymie employs 70 employees across its Dublin, London and Armenian offices and boasts a network of circa 400 personal shoppers nationwide. In 2022 buymie was acquired by Ireland’s largest retailer Dunnes Stores, a long term retail partner, of buymie, following which saw Devan Hughes take on the additional role of Chief Digital Officer of the Dunnes Stores Group alongside his role as CEO of buymie.
Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director,
AIB Group Plc
In March 2019, Colin was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AIB and an Executive Director on the AIB Board. He joined AIB in August 2016 as Managing Director, Wholesale, Institutional & Corporate Banking Division and immediately became a member of the executive committee. Prior to joining AIB, he was Managing Director at Macquarie Capital where he led the development of its business in Ireland. Previously, he was a Special Policy Adviser at the Departments of Transport and Finance, Research Director and Chief Economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers, Head of Trading Research and Senior Economist at Bank of Ireland Group Treasury and a country risk analyst at NatWest. He has a Phd in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and degrees in Commerce & Economics from University College, Cork. He served as a Non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus Group plc from 2008 to 2014. Colin is also a Director of the Ireland Funds, Ireland Chapter.
Imelda Hurley, Chief Executive Officer,
Coillte
Imelda Hurley has extensive executive and non-executive experience in public company, state owned, private equity and venture capital backed businesses. She has built that experience in multiple geographies including Ireland, UK, Eastern Europe, and Asia, and across a variety of sectors including forestry, agriculture, food, technology related product development and supply chain management. Imelda is the CEO of Coillte, Ireland’s state forestry company which is responsible for managing 440,000 hectares of primarily forested lands. Coillte is the nation’s largest forester and producer of certified wood, a natural, renewable, and sustainable resource. Coillte is also the largest provider of outdoor recreation space in Ireland. It enables wind-energy on the estate, processes forestry by-products and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects of scale. Imelda’s focus is on delivering a sustainable future for all by ensuring that Coillte balances and delivers the multiple benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood, and people. Imelda is also a non-executive director and past President of Ibec, and a non-executive director of Dole plc. In addition, she is a patron of Chapter Zero Ireland, a community of non-executive directors that lead Irish boardroom discussions on the impacts of climate change. Prior to joining Coillte, Imelda was an executive director and CFO with agri-services group Origin Enterprises plc and, earlier in her career, she held a range of senior leadership positions at PCH International and Greencore Group plc. She has also previously served as a non-executive director of Total Produce plc, Valeo Foods and Ervia. Imelda is a graduate of University of Limerick, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer
Flutter Entertainment
Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer, of Flutter Entertainment, Peter was Chief Executive Officer of Worldpay UK, an operating division of Worldpay Group plc. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Travelex Group. He then joined Banco Santander as Head of Global Innovation and a Director of Santander UK Group Holdings plc. Peter’s previous experience includes senior positions at Lloyds and Halifax Bank of Scotland, as well as time at McKinsey & Company. He holds an MEng degree. He is the Non-Executive Director of Deliveroo plc and has been Non-Executive Director of Betfair Group plc since April 2013 and Paddy Power Betfair plc since February 2016.
Tommy Kearns, Chief Executive Officer,
Xtremepush
Tommy Kearns is CEO of Xtremepush, a global customer engagement, personalisation, and data platform. It provides brands with rich engagement capabilities across multiple channels including email, website, mobile app, SMS and social messengers. The platform also empowers brands to unify their data for a true Single Customer View, and combines enterprise-grade analytics with a full suite of campaign optimisation tools.
Séamus Keating, Chief Executive Officer
FD Technologies
Séamus was appointed as CEO in January 2020. He was first appointed to the FD Technologies Board as an independent Non-Executive Director in December 2012 and was appointed Non-Executive Chairman in July 2013. He has over 20 years’ experience in the global technology sector in finance and operational roles and has held a number of non-executive roles since 2012. He was chief financial officer of Logica plc from 2002 until 2010 when he became Chief Operating Officer and head of its Benelux operations. Prior to his role at Logica plc, he worked for the Olivetti Group in senior finance roles in the UK and Italy.
Noel Keeley, Group Chief Executive Officer,
Musgrave Group
Noel Keeley is group CEO of Musgrave, and Irish food retail, wholesale and foodservice company with 11 market leading brands across the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Spain including SuperValu, Centra, Frank and Honest, Donnybrook Fair and Musgrave MarketPlace. Noel has over 30 years’ experience in senior and executive leadership roles in both private and public sector organisations. He has previously held the positions of Managing Director for Musgrave Wholesale Partners and Group HR Director with Musgrave. Prior to joining Musgrave in 2005 Noel was Vice President for Human Resources with University College Cork. He has also held a number of senior leadership roles with the Canadian Government in Northern Canada where he lived and worked for 10 years. Noel holds an MBA from the Smith School of Business, Queens University, Canada.
Caroline Keeling, Chief Executive Officer,
Keelings
Caroline Keeling is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Keelings and has led the business in this role since 2012. During that time, Keelings has expanded significantly, developing the business in Ireland, UK and Europe with more recent developments in Central & North America. Keelings love of produce and vision to inspire more people to eat more fresh produce is central to the Keelings Brand, which with the launch of the “Love that Keelings feeling” campaign has continued to grow strongly in 2024. The company employs over 2,700 employees from 58 nationalities across 7 different countries. Keelings farms over 800 hectares, producing more than 200 million strawberries, and 18 million pineapples annually. Keelings source from over 46 countries and supply more than 1,000 customers across 30 countries worldwide. Caroline is also a Board and National Council member of IBEC and a member of Enterprise Ireland's scaling advisory panel. In addition to her corporate roles, Caroline is a board member of the following charities, the Ifrah Foundation, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, and Valid Nutrition. She is also a supporter of Lust for Life.
Ryan Keeling, Chief Executive Officer,
Diaceutics
As a member of the Executive Management Team, Ryan has overall operational responsibility for the organization including overseeing R&D, product development and client delivery operations for the Diaceutics Group. His clients include 20 of the top 30 pharma organizations globally for which we provide data analytics and implementation services to support the integration of diagnostics into various treatment pathways.
Derek Kehoe, Chief Executive Officer & Head of Country Ireland,
BNP Paribas
Derek Kehoe was appointed as Chief Executive and Head of Country for the BNP Paribas Group in the Republic of Ireland in March 2015. Derek has executive responsibility for the bank’s Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) operations in Ireland. In addition, Derek has a non-executive and co-ordination role for the bank’s non-CIB activities, chairing the Boards of Greenval Insurance, Darnell DAC and Vartry DAC. Derek also sits on the Boards of BNP Paribas Real Estate, a commercial property services company and BNP Paribas Fund Administration Services Ireland Limited as a Non-Executive Director. Derek was appointed as Chairperson of the Federation or International Bank in Ireland (FIBI) in January 2019. Derek started his career with BNP Paribas in 2002, to develop the banks Fixed Income Franchise in Dublin with a remit of ensuring the integration of the Corporate, Public sector and Financial Institutions strategies in Ireland.
Aengus Kelly, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer,
AERCAP
Mr. Kelly was appointed Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AerCap on May 18, 2011. Previously he served as Chief Executive Officer of AerCap’s U.S. operations from January 2008 to May 2011. Mr. Kelly served as AerCap’s Group Treasurer from 2005 through December 31, 2007. He started his career in the aviation leasing and financing business with Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) in 1998 and continued working with its successors AerFi in Ireland and debis AirFinance and AerCap in Amsterdam. Prior to joining GPA in 1998, he spent three years with KPMG in Dublin. Mr. Kelly is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a Master’s degree in Accounting from University College, Dublin.
Business & Finance CEO 100 (alphabetical by surname):
View part one (B–F)
View part two (F–K)
View part three (K–N)
View part four (N–V)
