Chairman Geaney quits before facing investors

DURING 14 years of hard graft with Elan Donal Geaney played a key role in transforming it from a 32-person concern into a 24.5 billion international pharmaceutical company.

Yesterday morning when he quit as chairman and chief executive of what just a year earlier was Ireland’s most valuable company, Elan was valued at just 858 million, a mere 3.5% of its value in June of last year. The firm announced that Mr Geaney had quit just hours before he was due to answer questions from angry investors.

Elan grew fivefold in the five years after Mr Geaney took over as chief executive in 1995, but since January it lost close to 96% of its market value.