By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance has released its 2025 annual CEO 100 Index, recognising the leading chief executives in Ireland today, in association with KPMG.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Ciara Foxton, Managing Director
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, CEO
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 has previously served as CEO of Dairygold Co-operative Society since January 2022, and has worked at Dairygold since 2014, holding various senior leadership roles.
Before 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 & CEO
Glenveagh Properties PLC
Stephen Garvey was appointed chief executive officer in August 2019. Stephen is responsible for delivering on 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 the IPO.
Angello Gatto, CEO
Chanelle Pharma
Chanelle Pharma is Ireland’s largest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals for human and animal health. It was founded in 1985 by Michael H Burke. With 25 years of experience in life sciences with roles in operations, commercial and general management, Angelo became CEO of Chanelle Pharma in August 2024.
Previous to his CEO role, Gatto was the owner of Gatto Management, a strategy and management consultancy firm. Angelo holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Open University, and a Master of Science from the Sapienza Università di Roma.
John Goulding, Co-founder & CEO
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 at Dell-EMC.
Jason Hawkins, CEO
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.
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.
Jason is a qualified accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Paddy Hayes, CEO
ESB Networks
Paddy is the 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 he was appointed 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.
Margaret Heffernan, CEO
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 euros 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, CEO
DMG Media
Paul Henderson has been the Chief Executive Officer of DMG Media Ireland since 2008, driving consistent revenue and profit growth each year. Under his leadership, DMG Media has become a leading publisher in this market, boasting a vast digital network of Ireland’s most popular media brands and reaching over 3.6 million adults monthly, including Digital consumer brands such as EVOKE and Extra.ie.
Parenting websites, RollerCoaster and everymum, reach 75% of mothers in Ireland. Print titles: Irish Daily Mail and The Irish Mail on Sunday. In the B2B sector, it publishes Business Plus Magazine and its more recently created online offering BusinessPlus.ie.
Paul is a Chartered member of the Institute of Directors. He holds a BA in Marketing from the Marketing Institute of Ireland and a Graduate Diploma in Business Finance from the Irish Management Institute.
Tom Hickey, Managing Director
Kenmare Resources
Tom has been the Managing Director of Kenmare since 2024. Prior to his role, Tom worked as a non-executive director at VorTech Water Solutions, urfurnish.com, Teamwork, and United Oil & Gas. Tom has 25 years of experience as an executive, adviser, and Board Member (exec and non-exec) in a variety of public and private businesses primarily focused on natural resources and growth equity. He also has extensive international oil and gas exploration, development and production, financing and M&A experience.
Neil Hosty, CEO
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.
Devan Hughes, Co-founder & CEO
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.
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.
Harry Hughes, CEO
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.
Colin Hunt, CEO
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, CEO
Coillte
Imelda Hurley has extensive executive and non-executive experience in public companies, state-owned, private equity and venture capital-backed businesses. She has built that experience in multiple geographies, including Ireland, the 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 on scale. 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.
Imelda is a graduate of the University of Limerick, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Andrea Iucci, CEO
Norbrook Laboratories Ltd
Andrea Iucci is the CEO of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd. He started his role as CEO in October 2023. Before his role, Andrea worked at IDEXX for six years, where he held several Vice President roles for different regions, such as Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Europe.
Andrea is a mission-focused and growth-oriented enterprise leader with wide geographical and sector experience, with a track record of delivering short and long-term results in globally dispersed markets. Through effective capital allocation, creating effective teams and utilising expertise in change management, corporate turnarounds, and cost-efficient strategies, consistently drives top-line growth and increased profitability while prioritising sustainability and enhancing customer experience
In his statement upon taking the role, he mentioned that he has a commercial background and years of experience. He will leverage this experience to build on Norbrook’s strong foundation and drive significant growth globally.
Peter Jackson, CEO
Flutter Entertainment plc
Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer, Peter was Chief Executive Officer of Worldpay UK, an operating division of Worldpay Group plc. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Travelex Group. He then joined Banco Santander as Head of Global Innovation and was 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 and is a Non-Executive Director of Deliveroo plc.
Mark Jordan, CEO
Skillnet Ireland
Mark Jordan was appointed Skillnet Ireland’s New CEO in March 2025. Prior to his new role, Mark was Chief Strategy Officer at Skillnet Ireland for six years. Mark is an experienced leader with a strong track record in delivering results across operational management, risk and compliance, systems and process transformation, program management, and execution.
He has also contributed to business acquisitions, divestitures, commercial strategy, and talent development. Mark Jordan graduated from the University of Colorado Denver and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Financial Management Services.
Tommy Kearns, CEO
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.
Seamus Keating, CEO
FD Technologies
Seamus was appointed CEO of FD Technologies in January 2020. He was first appointed to the 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 including Version1, Comparethemarket, Callcredit and Mediclinic plc.
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 CEO
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.
Ryan Keeling, CEO
Diaceutics
As a member of the Executive Management Team, Ryan has overall operational responsibility for the organisation, including overseeing R&D, product development and client delivery operations for the Diaceutics Group. His clients include 20 of the top 30 pharma organisations globally for which we provide data analytics and implementation services to support the integration of diagnostics into various treatment pathways.
Caroline Keeling, CEO
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 and North America. Keeling’s 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.
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.
Derek Kehoe, CEO & Head of Country Ireland
BNB 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 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.
Derek has 30 years’ experience in various Capital Markets, Leadership and Board roles, graduating from UCD with an Honours degree in Pure Economics in 1987. Derek became a Chartered Director and a Fellow of The Institute of Directors in 2018, having completed a Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction in 2016.
Aengus Kelly, CEO
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.
