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
Paul Kelly, CEO
RDS
Paul’s leadership led Fáilte Ireland to be listed in the top 20 best large organisations to work in for three consecutive years and listed in the top 5 most trusted organisations in the country. In 2020, Paul was named Ireland’s Most Trusted Leader by Great Places to Work. Paul was also awarded the 2024 Global Tourism Ambassador Award from Destinations International, which celebrates those who have transformed their destinations and have made a profound impact on the broader travel and tourism industry.
Paul Kelly is a native of Co. Wexford and a Commerce graduate from University College Dublin.
Dave Kirwan, Managing Director
Bord Gáis Energy
Dave was responsible for leading the Bord Gáis Energy business through the successful sale to Centrica in 2014, and prior to that, had worked in Bord Gáis Éireann for 15 years. He was responsible for the launch of its Northern Ireland business, Firmus Energy, the development of the Whitegate power station and the acquisition and subsequent merger of the SWS wind business. Prior to joining Bord Gáis Energy, Dave worked in the power generation sector for ESB/ESBI in Ireland, the US and Vietnam.
Dave holds a BE Electronics from UCD and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland. He also holds an MBA from UCC and a doctorate in business economics (DBA) from UCC. Dave also serves on the Centrica Group Executive Committee.
Mark Lee, CEO
Sysco Ireland
Mark holds a B.Sc. Mgmt from Trinity College Dublin and an Advanced Diploma in Marketing Techniques from the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Carolan Lennon, Country leader
Salesforce
Michael Lohan, CEO
IDA Ireland
Prior to this role, Michael was a member of IDA’s Executive Leadership team with global responsibility for Life Sciences and as organisational lead on the Talent, Transformation and Innovation agenda. Michael joined IDA Ireland in 2003 and has held various management positions across multiple functions. He has represented IDA Ireland in several fora, including as Board member of Digital Manufacturing Ireland, as governance member of the SSPC research centre for pharmaceuticals and also The Irish Medical Device Association.
Before joining IDA Ireland in 2003, Michael worked in the private sector in companies such as Nortel and IEC Electronics.
Michael is an engineer with an MSc in Technology Management from the University of Galway in Ireland and is a graduate of the Berkley Executive Programme.
Alice Mansergh, CEO
Tourism Ireland
Prior to that, Alice worked for Google in 2004 and has served in senior roles, including as Head of Operations for UK & Ireland; Head of B2B Customer Marketing, EMEA; Head of Chrome Marketing, Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Director of Consumer Marketing, UK. Alice has led Google’s international marketing teams, promoting consumer brands and developing multi-award-winning creative campaigns for TV, outdoor and digital media in key markets, including the UK, France, Germany and the Middle East.
T.J. Malone, CEO
NBI
T.J. Malone is the Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland (NBI), where he is responsible for overseeing the nationwide rollout and long-term operation of Ireland’s high-speed fibre broadband network — the largest infrastructure investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification.
T.J. joined NBI in 2019 as CEO of NBI Deployment, leading the design and build of the network from the ground up. He brings over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, having previously served as CEO of Actavo Network & In-Home and as General Manager for Public Access at Esat Telecom.
Cathal Marley, Chief Executive Officer
EirGrid plc
Throughout his career, Cathal has held key leadership roles, including Head of Group Treasury & Investor Relations at ESB and Group CFO at Ervia. He now serves as CEO of EirGrid and sits on the Board of Gas Networks Ireland.
Cathal is a graduate from the Michael Smurfit Business School, where he was awarded an MBA in 2003. He is also a graduate from the Fellow Institute of Chartered Accountants, where he studied between 1989 and 1992.
Geoff Martha, CEO
Medtronic
He became CEO in April 2020 and Chairman in 2021. Under his leadership, Medtronic has expanded its focus on innovation, including advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and remote care technologies. Before joining Medtronic, Martha spent nearly two decades at GE in various leadership roles across GE Capital and GE Healthcare. He holds a degree in finance from Penn State University.
Conor McCarthy, Founder & CEO
Flipdish
Conor is a graduate of Maynooth University, achieving a Master of Science in Software Development in 2008. Before these studies, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Technological University Dublin in 2004. During his time in college, Conor founded HandHQ.com, an online poker data-mining service, which was later sold in 2014.
Peter McCarthy, CEO
Speed Fibre Group
Peter has a demonstrable track record in managing, transforming and growing a diverse number of businesses, and now, as Group CEO, has overall responsibility for all Enet business activity, including business strategy and operations.
Ryan McCarthy, Managing Partner in Ireland
KPMG
Ryan is the Managing Partner of KPMG. Prior to this, Ryan advised Ireland’s leading private, listed, and state-owned companies. He led the Consumer and Industrial Markets audit practice, working with clients across the retail & manufacturing and energy, renewables & utilities sector . Ryan led the firm’s Board Leadership Centre, a forum developed to support directors in exploring critical boardroom challenges and helping them to drive their board’s agenda. He also co-led the firm’s Private Enterprise practice, until 2019.
Danny McCoy, CEO
Ibec
He has been a consultant for the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has been a member of the Irish National Competitiveness Council, the National Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Taxation and the National Training Agency. He led a European Macroeconomic Forecasting Network for the European Commission of eleven national research institutes. He is a former President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Engineers, a member of the Trade and Investment Council, the Executive Bureau of BusinessEurope, a member of MaREI, a founder of ChapterZero Ireland and a member of the Government’s Balance for Better Business Group, an Independent Non-Executive of Iput Real Estate.
His academic work in the early 1990s covered carbon taxation and Sustainable Development, for which he received an Economic scholarship and the Barrington Medal for researchers under 30. He was knighted by the Italian Government in 2022 for services to European business and the economy. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s highest academic honour.
Rosheen McGuckian, CEO
NTR
Prior to joining NTR, Rosheen was CEO of GE Money Ireland, the consumer finance division of General Electric. Prior to that, Rosheen led the business transformation initiative for Irish utility ESB Power Generation.
Rosheen is the Director of Grafton Group plc and construction group Sisk. Rosheen was recently voted as one of the Top 25 in the Global Women’s Power List and Top 50 in the Global Green Fund Power List. She holds a PhD and MA from Dublin City University and a BSc from Trinity College Dublin.
Hugh McGuire, Group Managing Director & CEO
Glanbia plc
Hugh has been a member of Glanbia’s Operating Executive since 2013. Prior to joining Glanbia in 2003, Hugh worked for McKinsey & Company as a consultant across a range of industry sectors. He has also held marketing and commercial roles with Nestle and Leaf. He holds an M.Sc. in Food Science from University College Dublin and has a Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Ireland.
Tina McKenzie, CEO
Staffline Ireland
This unprecedented success led to a stream of awards, including the UTV Fast Business Growth Award in 2015, IOD’s Director of the Year Award in 2017 and UTV Business Eye’s Business Personality of the Year Award in 2018 and the Belfast Telegraph Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Tina has previously served as the European Ambassador for Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and is currently the Honorary Consul to Finland in Northern Ireland. Tina McKenzie also sits on the board of the Federation of Small Businesses, following over three years as Chair of the Policy Unit for Northern Ireland.
David McRedmond, CEO
An Post
He was previously CEO of TV3, which he transformed into a major Irish broadcaster, concluding with its sale to Liberty Global, and he has held senior commercial roles in Ireland, the UK and the US. He is chairman of Eir, chairman of the Taoiseach’s High Level Taskforce for Dublin City Centre, a lifetime Fellow of the Irish Management Institute and of the Royal Society of Arts.
Martin McVicar, CEO
Combilift
Continual investment of 6% of turnover in research and development has enabled Combilift to become the fastest growing global forklift manufacturer, and keeps the company one step ahead when it comes to designing and supplying safer, space saving, productive and more cost-effective ways to lift and store long and awkward products, palletised loads, containers and oversized goods.
Martin’s career in engineering began when he was just a teenager at Moffett Engineering, becoming the Engineering Manager of that global company at just 19 years of age. His skill and insight over the years in identifying exactly what customers need from handling equipment have resulted in the customised approach to Combilift’s range of products, over 85,000 of which have been produced.
Combilift has won dozens of awards for its products, its exporting prowess and management, and this is in no small part down to Martin’s tireless ambition for his company to be the absolute top of its game on a global scale. This ambition was already evident in 2001 when he was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the age of just 29.
Jenny Melia, CEO
Enterprise Ireland
Most recently, as Executive Director, she led initiatives to support scaling Irish businesses, foster innovation, and drive international expansion. Her appointment reflects a strong track record in enterprise leadership and deep knowledge of Ireland’s business landscape.
Seán Molloy, CEO
Tirlán
Seán is a graduate from UCD and holds a Bachelor’s in Agricultural Science.
Eric Mosley, Co-founder & CEo
Workhuman
As CEO and co-founder of what began as Globoforce and is now Workhuman, Eric is leading the charge to dismantle old HR processes and challenge organisations to build new ways to connect the modern workforce. He guides organisations worldwide on how to create more human-centric workplaces that leverage the way people work today, which is around employee development, social connections and relationships, and organisational communities and teams.
As a pioneer of the Workhuman movement, Eric has long believed that recognition and positive reinforcement unleash discretionary energy in employees, inspiring them to do the best work of their lives. Employees achieve their fullest potential when they feel appreciated, connected, and empowered for who they are and what they do.
Eric is the author of “The Crowdsourced Performance Review” and co-author of the award-winning book, “The Power of Thanks.” He is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post on the topics of recognition and humanity in the workplace, and a frequent contributor to publications including Forbes, Fast Company, and the Harvard Business Review.
Brendan Mooney, CEO
Kainos
Beyond his role at Kainos, Brendan has served as a Non-Executive Director at businesses including Meridio and the Probation Board of Northern Ireland, contributing his expertise in technology strategy, scaling operations, and corporate governance. He has also played an active role in promoting the tech sector in Northern Ireland through various advisory and industry engagements.
Donal Murphy, CEO
DCC
Donal is a graduate from the Smurfit School of Business and holds an MBA.
Marc Murphy, CEO
Fenergo
Marc has overseen significant milestones for Fenergo, including its rapid growth on a global scale, achieving unicorn status as a leading-edge financial technology company and its 2021 acquisition by Astorg and Bridgepoint. Marc is an MBA graduate of Dublin City University.
Gene Murtagh, Group CEO
Kingspan Group
Gene Murtagh is the Group Chief Executive of Kingspan Group. He was appointed to the Board in 1999. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer from 2003 to 2005. Prior to that, he was managing director of the Group’s Insulated Panel business and of the Environmental business. He joined the Group in 1993 and has a deep knowledge of all of the Group’s businesses and wider building materials and energy efficiency industries.
View part one (B-E)
View part two (F-K)
View part three (K-M)
View part four (N-V)
