Deputy gets chief executive role at Aer Rianta

Margaret Sweeney has been appointed as the new chief executive of Aer Rianta.

Ms Sweeney is currently Deputy Chief Executive and will take up her new position in January following the retirement as chief executive of John Burke, whose term of office draws to a close at the end of December.

Ms Sweeney, aged 43, has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from NUI Galway.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and was previously a director of KPMG.

She joined Aer Rianta in 1997 and has held various senior roles within the group including company secretary and deputy chief executive.

She also represents Aer Rianta on the boards of its three overseas airports in which it has shareholdings namely, Birmingham, Dusseldorf and Hamburg.

Outside of Aer Rianta, Ms Sweeney is a member of the Council of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University.

Commenting on the appointment, Aer Rianta Chairman, Noel Hanlon said: "Margaret has contributed an enormous amount of energy, time and business acumen to the wide range of senior management roles for which she has held responsibility across the group."

Hanlon also paid tribute to outgoing chief executive John Burke who will remain as an advisor to the group during the ongoing restructuring process that has followed the Government's decision on the future of the Aer Rianta airports in Ireland.