Dublin Airport operator daa has today appointed former Ryanair executive Kenny Jacobs as the company's new chief executive.
Mr Jacobs will take up the role in January and succeeds Dalton Philips, who left the business at the end of the summer to take up the CEO role at Greencore.
Mr Jacobs has been appointed for a seven-year term at daa.
A Cork native, Mr Jacobs worked for over six years at Ryanair as its chief marketing officer, where he lead the airline's digital, customer service, marketing and communications operations.
He has also worked at the Metro Group, MoneySuperMarket and Tesco Ireland & UK.
Kenny Jacobs said he was delighted to be taking up the role at an important time for daa.
"I know first-hand the vital role that everyone at daa plays in supporting inbound tourism, providing connectivity for businesses in an open island economy and enabling the love of travel that Irish consumers have," he said.
"My focus will be to deliver an efficient travel experience for consumers using our airports, supporting traffic growth and building on daa's vast experience of operating national strategic infrastructure, at home and abroad as a key economic enabler in terms of trade, tourism and social cohesion," he added.
Daa has airport and travel retail business interests in 15 countries around the world. Its main activities include operating Dublin and Cork airports, global airport retailing through its subsidiary Aer Rianta International (ARI) and international aviation consultancy and investment through daa International.
The company is state-owned and headquartered at Dublin Airport.
The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan today welcomed the appointment of Kenny Jacobs as the new CEO of.
"Mr Jacobs takes over this role at an important and challenging time for the daa, which includes Dublin Airport, Cork Airport, Aer Rianta International and daa International, and I would like to extend my best wishes to him as he takes up his new role," Mr Ryan said.
Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton said that as the aviation sector continues its recovery from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Dublin and Cork Airports passenger levels continue to rebound, Mr Kenny's significant experience, including his focus on customer service and improving the travel experience of passengers, will be hugely beneficial to the company.
"I believe his experience and skills will be key in leading daa through the challenges, and also the opportunities, that lie ahead," she added.
