Diageo Ireland chairman and managing director Oliver Loomes has been announced as CEO at Eir.

From February 1, Loomes (52) replaces Carolan Lennon, who has been in the role since 2018.

According to Eir, Lennon (54) informed the board last summer of her intention to leave in 2022 “to pursue further career opportunities”.

Loomes, who has B.Comm and MBS degrees from UCD, began his career with Mars and held a number of roles in the UK and Ireland.

He worked with Diageo across a range of positions, including as Marketing and Innovation Director (Ireland), where he led the Arthur’s Day campaign as part of the Guinness 250th anniversary celebration, and Global Brand Director for Guinness.

In Association with

Eir chairman David McRedmond commented: “Carolan has successfully steered Eir through a momentous rebuilding phase that has seen significant expansion of both its customer base and network reach.

“Eir is part of the fabric of Irish life, its purpose is to connect for a better Ireland. With that in mind, our objective was to appoint an Irish CEO who truly understands Eir’s significance. With decades of experience in leading iconic brands, Oliver Loomes is the ideal person to lead Eir’s next phase.”

French tycoon Xavier Niel, chairman of NJJ Holdings, majority owner of eir, stated: “When we acquired eir in 2018 we saw an urgent need to invest in building the foundations for long-term future success.

“Carolan’s four years as CEO have been marked by extraordinary progress on this journey. She has been responsible for the launch of eir’s market-leading 5G network, the creation of the GoMo mobile brand, the merger of eir Business and Evros, and insourcing around 1,200 customer service jobs. The company owes her a great gratitude for her tireless commitment and superb leadership.”

Oliver Loomes described Eir as a company with a long and rich history and a culture of creativity and investment.

“Eir has been innovating in telecoms for decades and its continued ambition to give its customers the tools they need to connect in an ever-changing digital world underlines its commitment to remaining at the forefront of the market,” Loomes added.

Photo: Oliver Loomes and Carolan Lennon