DAA, the State-owned operator of Dublin and Cork airports, has appointed Land Development Agency (LDA) chief executive John Coleman as its new boss, replacing Kenny Jacobs, who stepped down earlier this year.
Coleman will be in situ for seven years, DAA said in a statement on Tuesday, and will take up the role early in 2027.
He joins from the LDA, the Government agency established to strategically manage and develop housing on publicly-owned lands, since its establishment in 2018. Coleman previously served as chief financial officer at the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
DAA chairman Gary Owens said Coleman had been appointed “following a comprehensive selection process”.
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“His familiarity with navigating complex planning and regulatory systems will also be of great value to DAA as we progress our plans for the long-term development of Dublin and Cork airports,” Owens said.
Coleman said he was “honoured and excited” to join the airport operator. “Throughout my career, I have been driven by a belief that strong infrastructure, strong institutions and strong stakeholder partnerships are essential to national progress.”
In a separate written statement put out by the LDA, Coleman said his role at the agency had been “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish an organisation focused solely on tackling one of the biggest challenges facing our country”.
He said the LDA had “made great progress” in its first eight years.
The LDA said the process to find Coleman’s successor will “commence in the coming weeks”.
Details of Coleman’s contract and pay have not yet been disclosed. However, based on previously reported figures, he is in line for a roughly 13.6 per cent increase in his basic salary once he takes up the position.
Earlier this year, the executive renewed his contract with the LDA and received a €50,000 increase in his basic salary, bringing it to €250,000.
Jacobs, meanwhile, received a basic salary of €284,235 at DAA in 2025. He also received pension contributions and other taxable benefits of €90,595.
Coleman joins DAA after Jacobs stood down from the CEO role earlier this year amid disagreements with the State-owned airport operator’s board.
Jacobs, a former Ryanair executive, sued DAA in the High Court in January after he was suspended by the company in December 2025, pending an investigation into allegations made against him.
He settled the action in February, agreeing to “voluntarily step down” from the position.
This followed Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien’s refusal to sign off on an exit package for Jacobs, known to amount to a figure of close to €1 million, that had emerged in mediation between the two sides.
In a statement on Tuesday, the minister said Coleman was taking on the role at DAA at “an important and challenging time for DAA”.
“I worked with John during the previous Government, when he led the LDA, advancing the delivery of affordable homes and maximising the use of State-owned land,” former housing minister O’Brien said. “His leadership made an important contribution to addressing Ireland’s housing needs, and I want to acknowledge and thank him for his work and achievements at the LDA.”
