RTÉ's Director-General Noel Curran has announced the he will stand down next year after five years in the role.
Curran, who has also served for 12 years on the RTÉ Executive Board, said he felt the time was right to move on.
"It has been my privilege to lead RTÉ through a time of considerable challenge, change, upheaval and innovation – both internally and in the wider market. While many more challenges remain, I think the organisation is well placed to meet them. There is still a lot of work to be done before my departure in May," he said.
Curran began his career in RTÉ in 1992 as a business reporter, and later was executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. Curran is married to Eimear Quinn, who won the contest for Ireland in Norway the previous year.
He later served as Editor of RTÉ's Current Affairs division before becoming Managing Director of Television in 2003. He took up the role of DG in 2011.
During his time as Director General he had to oversaw a series of cost cutting measures and restructuring to help reduce the organisation's deficit, as the broadcaster battled to deal with falling advertising revenues during the economic crisis and increased competition from other broadcasters and digital platforms.
Today he said the ship had been steadied and RTÉ is now in a much sounder financial position.
"Through the considerable efforts of staff, management and independent producers the organisation is on a more stable footing," he said.
"Most importantly, through all their combined talents, RTÉ continues to produce strong programming, continues to innovate, and has made the transition to a modern digital media organisation."
The Chair of the RTÉ Board, Moya Doherty, paid tribute to Curran's work as Director-General.
"The Board collectively, and I as Chair, owe him a great debt, and his experience and insight will be truly missed. I know, however, that these skills will stand him well in the next phase of his career and we wish him well for his future ventures," she said.
Curran will step down from the role in May 2016 and his successor will be chosen by public competition.
