January 2014: Rose Hynes, chairman, Bord Gáis

Ian Hyland, publisher, Business & Finance; Ruth Curran, managing partner, MERC Partners; Barry O’Connor, partner, MERC Partners; Rose Hynes, chairman, Bord Gáis.

Clare-born Rose Hynes has had a long and illustrious career leading some of Ireland’s largest corporations to great success.

Rose Hynes was appointed to the Board of Bord Gáis in June 2006 and was subsequently appointed chairman in July 2009. Bord Gáis is the main supplier and distributor of pipeline natural gas in the country having built an extensive network across Ireland.

In her role as chairman, Hynes chairs the remuneration committee and is also a member of the investment/infrastructure committee of Bord Gáis.

Hynes, a lawyer by profession, is also chairman of Shannon Airport Authority, a position she was appointed to in December 2012, having previously been a member of board from 2003-08. In her role, Hynes is responsible for overseeing the running of the airport. She has extensive experience in the aviation sector having headed up the Aviation Business Development Task Force that reported into the Government Steering Group on proposals for the restructuring of State airports and Shannon Development.

Aviation expertise

Since her appointment as chairman of Shannon Airport Authority, Hynes has made passenger growth a priority for the airport as well as the development of the Shannon International Aviation Services Centre.

At the time of her appointment, Shannon Airport director, Mary Considine welcomed the announcement saying: “Rose brings vast business and aviation experience to the position of chairman of the new Shannon Airport Authority. She has, in her role as chairman of the Aviation Business Development Task Force, spent the last six months building a sustainable and strategic vision for the future of our airport. We have every confidence in Shannon’s ability, under her chairmanship, to deliver on its role as a key economic driver for the greater West of Ireland region and we look forward to working with her and delivering a sustainable new era of success for Shannon.”

Hynes is also a director of Total Produce plc, where she is the senior independent director, chairman of its Remuneration Committee and a member of its Audit and Nomination Committees.

Senior executive

Hynes’s career has seen her hold a number of board positions with companies such as Bank of Ireland, Fyffes plc, Shannon Airport Authority, Aer Lingus Group plc and Concern.

Hynes is also currently a director of the UL Foundation, One Fifty One plc and a number of other companies.

In 2006, Hynes was appointed to the board of Total Produce. Growing, sourcing, importing, packaging, distributing and marketing over 200 lines of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers, the Total Produce group distributes some 300 million cartons of fresh produce to the retail, wholesale, food service and processing sectors across Europe and North America annually.

Since her appointment as non-executive director on the board of Total Produce, Hynes has been a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, chairman of the Compensation Committee and the nominated senior independent non-executive director.