Liam Hanly has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the books and stationery retailer Eason.
Mr Hanly is currently Group Finance, IT and Logistics Director at the company.
He previously held senior management positions in a number of Irish retail and wholesale businesses –including McCabes Pharmacy, Xtravision and Irish Merchants /Bunzl.
Eason said he will take over from current MD Conor Whelan, who will be stepping down at the end of June to pursue other interests.
In a statement, the company added Mr Whelan informed the board of Eason of his intention to step down as MD “earlier this year following agreement with the board on the new Eason 2020 strategy and plan and the successful identification of a new Managing Director to ensure a smooth transition had occurred”.
Commenting on the announcement, Chairman of Eason James Osborne said: “The board and I are very pleased to have someone of Liam Hanly’s calibre to take over from Conor Whelan as Managing Director of Eason.
“Liam Hanly brings a wealth of retail knowledge and experience of the business and on behalf of the Board I wish him every success in his new role.”
Mr Osborne added: “Since his appointment as Managing Director in 2009, Conor Whelan has brought huge energy and commitment to the business.
“Together with Liam, the leadership team and the wider Eason team he has led and successfully developed and implemented successive strategies that have transformed the business and the store estate, driven greater employee engagement and facilitated a significant new innovation programme all of which has helped grow the Eason brand, market share and retail footprint across the Island of Ireland.”
