By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance has released its 2026 annual CEO 100 Index, recognising the leading chief executives in Ireland today.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Barry Balfe, Chief Executive Officer
ICON Plc
Barry Balfe has been the CEO of ICON Plc since October 2025. Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer, Balfe was appointed to the ICON executive leadership team in 2019 and served as President of Functional Services and then as President of Pharma Solutions.
Balfe has led his teams to accelerate the development of novel therapeutics that benefit patients around the world.
His focus on creating value for their customers through increased efficiency and disruptive innovation of clinical development pathways remains a key driver of ICON’s growth and success into the future.
Julie Berg, Group Chief Executive Officer
Mainstream Renewable Power
Julie Berg is CEO at Mainstream Renewables, where she leads corporate strategy, commercial operations, M&A, financing, and the ongoing strategic transformation, including the relocation of its headquarters from Dublin to Oslo in 2025. She brings over 25 years of experience in audit and advisory across the UK and Norway, with senior leadership roles at Aker Carbon Capture and KPMG, where she led Audit & Assurance for listed and regulated entities.
An accomplished executive, she has extensive experience in international finance, major transactions, and governance, having played key roles in large-scale acquisitions, demergers, and listings. Berg is a Chartered Accountant in England and a State Authorised Public Accountant in Norway, with deep sector expertise across energy, technology and industrials.
Caroline Bocquel, Chief Executive Officer
Fáilte Ireland
Caroline Bocquel is the Chief Executive Officer of Fáilte Ireland.
She has led the team since November 2025 and has over 20 years of expertise in driving strategic change, innovation, and sustainable growth across complex sectors.
She has a proven track record of leadership in senior positions in the public and NGO sectors, including Chief Financial Officer in the international humanitarian response agency, GOAL and Director of Corporate Service in the Marine Institute. She is the first woman to hold the position of CEO at Fáilte Ireland.
Eric Born, CEO
Grafton Group
Eric Born is the Chief Executive Officer of Grafton Group, a leading building materials distributor and DIY retailer with operations in the UK, Ireland, and continental Europe.
He has over two decades of senior leadership experience and has consistently cultivated operations in a complex, multinational environment.
He has also previously held a number of high-profile CEO roles, including at Wincanton plc, one of the UK’s leading supply chain providers, and at Swissport International AG, the global leader in airport ground and cargo handling services.
During his time at Swissport from 2015 to 2020, he oversaw operations in over 50 countries.
Anthony Brennan, Chief Executive Officer
Zurich
Anthony Brennan is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland. Having been with Zurich since 1985, Brennan has 30 years of practical experience in managing Finance, IT and Operations in one of Ireland’s most successful life insurance companies.
In July 2016, Brennan was appointed to the position of CEO, Zurich Ireland – responsible for both Life and General Insurance businesses in Ireland. As CEO, Brennan has been responsible for Zurich’s continued growth in Ireland and other key European markets, including Germany and Italy.
Paul Brown, Chief Executive Officer
John Sisk & Son
Paul Brown is Chief Executive Officer of John Sisk & Son, having previously been Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the UK construction and civils teams.
He is also a Contractor Director on the Build UK board.
With over 25 years in the civils industry, Brown has strong leadership skills enabling him to lead effective teams and develop strong and lasting customer relationships.
Niall Browne, CEO
Dawn Meats
Niall Browne graduated from the University of Limerick in 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies, specialising in Marketing and Agribusiness.
He began his career on the Dawn Meats Graduate Management Programme, gaining experience across five sites in Ireland and the UK in production, procurement and marketing.
Appointed Chief Executive in 2007 at age 34, he now oversees operations across 23 production sites in Ireland and the UK, 10 international sales offices, and a team of over 7,000 employees.
Under his leadership, the Group has expanded through strategic mergers and acquisitions, including a 2015 investment in Elivia, France’s second-largest beef processor, where he serves on the board.
Roland Bryan, Chief Executive Officer
Ding
Roland Bryan is an experienced technology and digital commerce executive with a strong background in consumer marketing, product development and scaling high-growth businesses.
Most recently, he served as CEO of Wowcher, helping grow the company from a start-up into one of the world’s leading promotional marketplaces while guiding it through rapid technological and commercial change.
Prior to Wowcher, Bryan held senior leadership roles at DMGT’s digital division, Virgin Media and OC&C Strategy Consultants. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford.
JD Buckley, Chief Executive Officer
Sky Ireland
JD Buckley is the Chief Executive Officer of Sky Ireland and has led the Irish business since 2012.
Buckley is responsible for Sky’s consumer division, driving the growth of the overall business and leading a team of 1,000 employees in Ireland.
Under Buckley’s leadership, the Sky Ireland business has doubled over the last 8 years with the launch of Sky Broadband, Sky Q, its streaming service, NOW, Sky Glass and, most recently, Sky Stream.
Buckley is also a member of the Sky Group Executive. Prior to joining Sky, Buckley held senior roles with international mobile operator Digicel and was a strategy consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Keith Butler, Chief Executive Officer
Emerald Airlines
Keith Butler is the CEO of Emerald Airlines. Since 2018, prior to joining Emerald Airlines, Butler held the position of Managing Director at CAE Parc Aviation, an Ireland-based, global market leader in the provision of aviation resourcing and technical services to airlines, business operators, leasing companies and aviation support organisations.
Butler has extensive experience in the aviation industry, with over 15 years of experience in Senior Management roles.
Prior to joining CAE Parc, Keith spent much of his career with Aer Lingus, where he held Senior Management positions across multiple functions, including Commercial, Planning and HR, including the role of Chief Planning & Strategy Officer.
Rory Bryne, Chief Executive Officer
Dole Plc
Rory Byrne assumed the position of Chief Executive Officer of Dole plc on its formation on July 30th, 2021, having served as CEO of Total Produce plc since December 2006.
Prior to this, Byrne was the Managing Director of the Fyffes General Produce division from 2002 and was appointed to the position of Executive Director in 2006. Byrne has extensive experience in the fresh produce industry, having joined Fyffes in 1988 and held a number of senior positions within Fyffes, including Finance Director of the Group’s UK business and Managing Director of its Spanish operations.
Eddie Bryne, Chief Executive Officer
Irish Residential Properties REIT Plc
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ddie Byrne is the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Director of Irish Residential Properties REIT Plc (I-RES), the leading provider of professionally-managed private residential rental accommodation in Ireland. Byrne has over 20 years of experience at an executive level in the real estate sector. Most recently, he was Joint Managing Partner at Quintain Developments Ireland, where he co-established and built the company into Ireland’s largest private residential developer.
Prior to that, he was Managing Director at Hudson Advisors Ireland, with responsibility for managing all of Lone Star Funds’ commercial property investments in Ireland, where he oversaw several billion euros of acquisitions and disposals of real estate assets.
He was also Chief Portfolio Officer at Netherlands-based Propertize, where he had responsibility for a large property-related portfolio across the Benelux countries, and before that, worked in real estate, banking, and capital markets in North America, the UK and Ireland.
Sabrina Casalta, CEO
Vodafone Ireland
Sabrina Casalta is Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ireland, appointed following a senior international career within the Vodafone Group. She brings more than 13 years of experience at Vodafone in Italy, where she held leadership roles including Head of Vodafone Business Commercial Operations and Chief Financial Officer.
She also served as Interim CEO of Vodafone Italy during the completion of its sale to Swisscom. Earlier in her career, Casalta worked as a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group and PwC, building a strong foundation in strategy and advisory roles across the telecoms and broader business sectors.
Liam Casey, Founder & CEO
PCH International
Liam Casey is the founder and CEO of PCH International, a company that offers “end-to-end” services for hardware manufacturing in China. Since 1996, Casey has been facilitating hardware manufacturing for companies large and small in China, the world’s largest manufacturer of (and market for) electronics.
With nine offices and 2,600 employees, PCH moves as many as 10 million products through the 1,200-plus factories in its network each day. Last year, the company’s revenue reached $1.1 billion. Casey didn’t know much about manufacturing when he began working in China in the ’90s, so he went to Taiwan and learned by watching.
He landed early clients by finding ways to save them time. As PCH matured and its client portfolio grew, Casey raised venture capital and acquired a company called LimeLab to offer clients design and engineering services. He added PCH Access, a program that helps startups scale up their manufacturing capabilities. Casey’s next step is teaching Western clients some of the lessons PCH has learned from its proximity to Chinese companies, which Casey says are light-years ahead when it comes to the supply chain.
Terry Clune, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Clunetech
Terry Clune is the founder and CEO of CluneTech, a suite of software technology companies providing industry-leading solutions that simplify global business. Clune oversees and steers the long-term growth of the group, which comprises TransferMate, Immedis, Taxback International, Taxback.com, Sprintax, Visa First, Benamic and Gradguide. Clune is a past winner of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award and the HSBC European Entrepreneur of the Year award. He founded his first company, Taxback, in 1996 while studying economics at Trinity College, Dublin.
In 2010, Clune established TransferMate, the largest company in the group’s portfolio and the world’s leading provider of B2B payments infrastructure as a service. TransferMate enables companies to send and receive cross-border payments faster, easier and at lower cost via connected API technology. The company completed a funding round in May 2022 to become Ireland’s seventh tech unicorn, with a $1BN valuation.
Phil Codd, Managing Director
Expleo
Phil Codd is Managing Director of Expleo Ireland, bringing over 35 years of experience in technology and business transformation consultancy. He leads the firm’s strategy and delivery of digital solutions to major Irish enterprises, with a strong focus on bridging critical skills gaps in IT and driving large-scale digital transformation.
Before joining Expleo, Codd served as Managing Director at the SQS Group, where he headed software testing and quality assurance services. In addition to his executive responsibilities, he contributes to the industry as a non-executive director for Showtime Analytics and as a board advisor for Ostia Software Solutions Ltd. Codd is also active in thought leadership, regularly contributing to industry insights and speaking on digital economy challenges in Ireland.
Lorna Conn, Chief Executive Officer
Cpl
Lorna Conn is CEO of Cpl, part of Tokyo-headquartered Outsourcing Inc. Conn is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Bord na Móna plc and Glenveagh Properties plc. Conn is also an Advisory Board member of Ireland’s 30% Club and UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is a Chartered Director and a qualified Chartered Accountant, having trained with Deloitte. Conn holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and a Master’s in Accounting from the Michael Smurfit Business School.
Aimee Connolly, Founder & CEO
Sculpted by Aimee
Aimee Connolly is the CEO and founder of Sculpted by Aimee, an Irish cosmetics company. Since launching Sculpted by Aimee in November 2016, Connolly has grown her company to have over 140 products and is available in over 590 shops across 9 countries. Connolly worked as a make-up artist and also undertook a Bachelor of Commerce International from UCD before launching her brand.
In 2024, Connolly led Sculpted by Aimee to a revenue of €22.23 million. Connolly has been recognised for her achievements through the IMAGE Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year, Young Businesswoman of the Year at the Image PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards and being named in the Irish Times’ 50 people to watch in 2021.
Aidan Corbett, Co-Founder & CEO
Wayflyer
Aidan Corbett is the CEO of Wayflyer. He started his entrepreneurial journey during his MBA at London Business School, where he developed his coding skills and observed the need for online Excel and PowerPoint training for business professionals. This led to the creation of his first startup, Kubicle, which provided online training and eventually grew to over $1M in revenue.
He then co-founded Conjura, a company that helps e-commerce companies optimise their digital spend on revenue. Throughout his career, Corbett has demonstrated his ability to drive innovation and growth, and has also benefited from coaching, which has improved his personal and professional life.
Sean Coyle, Chief Executive Officer
Origin Enterprises
Sean Coyle was appointed Group CEO of Origin Enterprises on 1 July 2020. Coyle joined Origin in September 2018 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director in October 2018. Coyle was previously Group Finance Director of UDG Healthcare plc and also served as Managing Director of UDG’s Healthcare Supply Chain Division.
Prior to UDG, Coyle was the Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of Aer Lingus plc. He also spent over ten years at Ryanair Holdings plc, where he held a number of senior management positions. Coyle is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with KPMG following his graduation from Trinity College Dublin.
Dermot Crowley, CEO
Dalata
Dermot Crowley joined Dalata in 2012 as Deputy CEO – Business Development & Finance. He played a key role in the flotation of Dalata in 2014 and led the transformational acquisition of the Moran Bewley Hotel Group in 2015. In his role as Deputy CEO, Crowley oversaw the expansion of the Group across Ireland and the UK, and more recently, the Group’s response to the significant challenges presented by COVID-19.
Crowley has in-depth knowledge and significant experience of the UK and Irish hotel industries, having worked previously as Head of Development of Jurys Doyle Hotel Group and as a Hotel Financial Controller within Forte Hotels. Crowley has also previously worked with PwC, Procter & Gamble, Renault and Ion Equity.
Eamonn Crowley, Chief Executive Officer
PTSB
Eamonn Crowley is Chief Executive Officer of PTSB. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as Chief Financial Officer of PTSB and previously held senior finance leadership roles with Banco Santander’s Polish banking business and AIB Group.
He has extensive experience in banking, finance, and corporate leadership. Crowley completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, holds an MBA from University College Dublin and is a qualified accountant. He serves on the boards of the Irish Banking Culture Board and Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, and is a former President of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.
Nadja D’Arcy, Country Leader
Salesforce
Nadja D’Arcy is Country Leader and Head of EMEA Sales Development at Salesforce. With nearly 18 years of experience at Salesforce, she stepped into the Country Leader role in February 2026. Responsible for leading Salesforce’s Ireland hub of ~3,000 employees, driving the site strategy, culture, governance, and operational excellence while acting as a key partner to regional and global leadership.
The role includes chairing the Site Council, ensuring compliance with local regulatory requirements, leading crisis management and business continuity planning, managing the site budget, and strengthening executive, customer, and government relationships to support Salesforce’s growth and brand in Ireland.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in literature and foreign civilisation from the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle.
Liam Daniel, Executive Chairman
Malin Corp.
Liam Daniel is the Executive Chairman of Malin Corp. He is a graduate of University College Dublin, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Chartered Director.
He has held a number of executive and non-executive directorships and driven successful change programmes in various companies & industries. Some of his roles have included responsibility for Finance (including financial reporting, treasury, tax), IT, HR, Legal, Strategic Planning, Transport, Property, Company Secretary, Compliance, Internal Audit and SOX 404 functions.
Paul Dixon, Managing Director, Ireland
Circle K
Paul Dixon has been the Managing Director for Circle K Ireland since 1 August 2026. With more than 20 years of retail and commercial leadership experience, Dixon leads the business that employs more than 2,300 people and operates a network of over 420 locations across the island of Ireland. Dixon joins the role after spending nine years at Circle K Ireland. During that time, he held responsibility for the company’s commercial division, overseeing its independently operated forecourt network, fuel card portfolio and bulk fuel business.
