Death of businessman Kevin Kelly

THE DEATH has taken place of Kevin Kelly, non-executive director of food company Kerry Group and former managing director of AIB’s Irish business.

Mr Kelly, who was 70 died in Dublin on Wednesday.

Born in Castlebar, Co Mayo, and raised in Cork, he trained to be a chartered accountant in the city before joining Coopers and Lybrand, which later became PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Best known as the administrator appointed by the government to manage failed insurer PMPA in 1983, Mr Kelly took the role while serving as managing partner of Coopers and Lybrand.

He was subsequently chief executive of meat trading business Agra Group, before joining AIB, then the country’s biggest bank, in 1991. Mr Kelly had worked on the audit of the bank during his time at Coopers and Lybrand.

Known for his work ethic, he held a number of senior boardroom roles until his death. He had served as a non-executive independent director of Kerry Group from 2001. He was chairman of PM Group and a director of Schroder Private Equity Funds. He was chairman of the Irish Management Institute and was interim chief executive of the Health Service Executive in 2004 and 2005. A supporter of the arts, Mr Kelly was on the board of Siamsa Tíre, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Business2Arts.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, his daughters, Jean and Marianne, and his son, John.