Greencore appoints Coveney
Mr Coveney, 34, will take up the position at the company, which owns Irish Sugar, in September.
The company did not disclose how much Mr Coveney will be paid, but his predecessor Patrick Kennedy - who is leaving to join Paddy Power bookmakers as chief executive - netted close to €650,000 last year.
Mr Coveney joins Greencore, which has been struggling to grow profits in recent years, from the management consultancy firm McKinsey, where he is the senior partner at its Irish operation in Dublin.
Mr Coveney will be one of the youngest executives at board level of a stock exchange-quoted company.
He will have a heavy workload when he joins the company. In May, Greencore said it lost e34 million between September and March because of the restructuring at Irish Sugar. As one of the top three executives in the company, he will be central to its turnaround.
Greencore said it appointed Mr Coveney because of his extensive knowledge of the Irish and European consumer foods market, where he has played a central role developing a number of major companies.
Mr Coveney, who was UCC graduate of the year in 1992, also has a doctorate in management studies from New College, Oxford.
Greencore also announced yesterday that it had appointed 34-year-old Geoff Doherty as group development director.
Greencore boss David Dilger said: “These appointments represent important progress for Greencore and demonstrate the group’s ability both to attract and internally develop great young executive talent.”
