Ireland's largest private landlord, I-RES REIT, has appointed former Quintain boss, Eddie Byrne, as its CEO Designate.
He will replace current chief executive, Margaret Sweeney, who said in October that she planned to retire from the role.
Mr Byrne will take up his position on April 8th and will succeed Ms Sweeney as both CEO and Executive Director of the board on May 1st, the day after she finishes.
Margaret Sweeney has served as the CEO of IRES for six and a half years.
Last month she and a number of other members of the senior management and board survived an attempt by activist shareholders, who are unhappy with the company’s performance, to have them removed.
Vision Capital, which led the campaign, was seeking to have the directors replaced and it also wanted a strategic review to take place which would consider some options for the future of the business including its break-up and sale.
However, the company is now undertaking its own strategic review, led by new chair Hugh Scott-Barrett, which Mr Byrne will be involved in implementing the outcome of.
"The real estate sector is going through a period of unprecedented change, making this a very exciting time to be joining the business," he said.
"I look forward to working with Hugh and the Board in exploring value creation opportunities for Shareholders as part of the Strategic Review, and I am excited to work with the I-RES team, its partners, and all stakeholders to develop and realise those opportunities."
Mr Byrne was Joint Managing Partner at Quintain Developments, one of Ireland’s largest residential real estate developers.
He co-founded the Irish operations which have achieved over 5,000 planning permissions, built and sold around 1,500 rental and private homes, and raised a significant amount of growth capital.
He was also previously managing director at Hudson Advisors Ireland, where he oversaw several billion euro of acquisitions and disposals of real estate assets in Ireland.
"Eddie has an extensive track record across Irish and international real estate, including most recently in the Irish residential sector, and has significant experience in building teams, interacting with local authorities, raising capital, executing transactions, and developing strategic initiatives," said Mr Scott-Barrett
"Eddie’s experience will be a significant and complementary addition as we continue our previously announced Strategic Review which is considering all strategic options available to maximise value for Shareholders."
