Cowen appointed to board of O’Brien’s Topaz Energy

Former taoiseach Brian Cowen has picked up his first gig in the private sector after Denis O’Brien appointed him as a director of Topaz Energy.

Mr Cowen joins the company as part of a boardroom reshuffle that has happened after Mr O’Brien gained control of the firm by acquiring its €304m debt from the liquidators of IBRC.

The telecommunications billionaire, who was the focus of a lengthy probe by the Moriarty Tribunal, also joined the board of the fuel distribution business.