Former Bus Éireann Chief Executive Ray Hernan has joined Aer Rianta International as its new CEO, and will take up the role next month.
Before joining Bus Éireann in late 2016, Mr Hernan held a number of executive roles in the retail sector, including Chief Executive of Arnotts, Director of Finance with Selfridges in the UK, and Chief Financial Officer at Irish retail group Brown Thomas. He also spent 10 years as Director of Finance at Ryanair, and previously worked at IAWS plc (now Arytza), where former DAA CEO Kevin Toland is now its CEO.
“Ray Hernan is a fantastic addition to the DAA executive team and I am confident that he will be a great leader for ARI,” said DAA Chief Executive Dalton Philips. “Ray has a decade of retail experience and played a huge role in the successful re-positioning of Arnotts. He has spent almost 25 years in customer-focused businesses and his previous jobs have provided him with significant insight into the worlds of retail and aviation.”
Mr Hernan said: “ARI is a great business with strong operations in Ireland and abroad. I’m really looking forward to joining the ARI team and to working with our staff, partners and suppliers to continue to enhance the retail experience in line with the changing needs and expectations of our international customers and suppliers.”
The company has travel retail businesses in 12 countries, with operations in Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Barbados, Dublin, Cork, Larnaca, Paphos, Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Muscat, Bahrain, Delhi and Auckland.
The stores that it operates directly and with joint venture partners employ more than 3,800 people in Europe, North America, the Middle East, India, and Australasia and have a combined annual turnover of more than €1bn.
The DAA has also announced the appointment of Anthony Kenny as Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of ARI. Mr Kenny, who is currently Acting CEO of ARI, has been Chief Financial Officer and previously Finance Director with ARI since November 2012 and has previously held senior roles with ARI’s parent company DAA, Hagemeyer Ireland and Irish Continental Group.
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