Greencore CFO to take top job at Paddy Power

Paddy Power has named Patrick Kennedy, the chief financial officer of Greencore, as its new chief executive.

Mr Kennedy, who is 35, succeeds John O'Reilly who will retire from his position in December.

Mr Kennedy, who will join Paddy Power as chief executive-designate in August, was appointed to the board of the bookmaker as a non-executive director last March.

He has spent the last seven years as head of finance at Greencore.

Prior to joining the convenience food group, he worked with management consultants McKinsey and with KPMG Corporate Finance.

"Patrick is young and this move is a significant challenge for him given that it will be his first as a CEO," Paddy Power chairman, Fintan Drury, said.

"However, he is precisely the person to lead this company ... He is a strategist, his financial capabilities are clear, his people skills are widely appreciated and he has a great feel for the brand."

The appointment was welcomed in the market where shares in Paddy Power closed five cent higher at €13.80.

"The feeling is that he did an excellent job at Greencore," one analyst said, adding that his appointment created a young and dynamic management team at Paddy Power.

Meanwhile, Greencore said it had begun the process of recruiting a new chief financial officer, involving the evaluation of both internal and external candidates.

Mr Kennedy is the latest in a series of young chief executives who have taken over the top positions at Ireland's leading companies.

In January, 37-year-old David Drumm succeeded Seán FitzPatrick as head of Anglo Irish Bank, while Gene Murtagh Jnr took over from his father as head of Kingspan at just 33 years of age.

Other young chief executives include Liam FitzGerald, who was 35 when he was appointed chief executive at United Drug; Cormac McCarthy, who was 37 when he took the helm at First Active; and Dairygold boss, Jerry Henchy, who was also 37 when he took the top position at the food group.

Mr Kennedy is the son of former Aer Lingus chief executive, David Kennedy, who was appointed as head of the State-owned airline when he was in his mid-30s.