Incoming DAA chairman Gary Owens. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Dublin Bus chairman Gary Owens has been named as the next chair of DAA, to take over from Basil Geoghegan, on June 14.
The appointment was announced by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien and means the new chair will likely be in place during the final stages of a process currently underway to find a new CEO for the airports’ operators following the dramatic exit of Kenny Jacobs earlier this year.
A long-running row between the CEO and the DAA board under current chair Mr Geoghegan has dominated headlines and spiralled into court action over the past year. The replacement of both the chairman and CEO means the group will have an opportunity to reset key relationships and processes.
Mr O’Brien said: “I am delighted to appoint Gary Owens as chairperson to the board of DAA for a five-year term. I wish him well in the role as chairperson of DAA, which manages and operates both Dublin and Cork Airports, along with the international businesses Aer Rianta Ireland and DAA International.”
Mr Owens is currently chair of Dublin Bus and sits on the board of the CIE Group. He will continue in that role until a successor is appointed.
His background is in finance but he is probably best known for a stint in 2020 as interim CEO of the FAI, when the soccer body was reeling from the fallout of its corporate governance issues.
He has previously undertaken interim CEO roles with Down Syndrome Ireland and Athletics Ireland and before that was a senior executive with Hibernian Insurance (now Aviva) and IFG Group.
The transport minister thanked the outgoing chair, Mr Geoghegan, saying he had served as chair during some of the most challenging years for both the DAA and the wider aviation sector.