The board of State forestry company Coillte has appointed David Gunning as its chief executive designate.
Mr Gunning will join Coillte in March and will succeed Martin Lowery, who has headed the company since it was established in 1989, when he retires in July 2006.
Mr Gunning, who is 45, started his business career with Hewlett Packard in 1987, and has most recently worked with telecoms start-up Integral Access in the US and ComReg.
