The Dublin Airport Authority has appointed former Morrisons chief executive  Dalton Philips as the company's chief executive for a seven-year term, succeeding Kevin Toland who is taking over at Aryzta.

Philips (pictured) will start his new job in October, following a stint as chairman of British restaurant chain Byron Hamburgers. Philips had to take the reins at Byron in May following the sudden resignation of CEO Andrew Manders, who stepped down for what the company said were personal reasons.

Philips was sacked as boss of UK supermarket chain William Morrisons in 2015 following disappointing Christmas trading and five years of declining profits. At the time, Philips received a golden goodbye amounting to £850,000. Board chairman Sir Ian Gibson took the unusual step of announcing publicly that an additional departure bonus was in question.

Philips, 49, grew up on the family poultry farm in Co Wicklow.  He has a BA from UCD, an MBA from Harvard Business School and an (honorary) Doctorate of Management from Bradford University. 

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