Eoghan O鈥橪ionaird has been on gardening leave since departing marine services group James Fisher last September.
Aged 56, he joins Wates on 20th February 2023.
Irishman Eoghan O鈥橪ionaird had served three years as chief executive of James Fisher. Before that his CV shows periods with Spectris, Leica Microsystems (Danaher), Philips and Mitsui Kinzoku 鈥� broadly in the business of high-tech machinery and equipment.
Wates has been looking for a new chief executive since the departure of David Allen last July after four years in the post. David Allen became chief executive of Wates Group in April 2018. An accountant, he had joined the company as chief financial officer in 2016 and took over as CEO from Andrew Davies, who now heads Kier. David Allen joined Mace in December as chief financial officer.
Wates chief financial officer Philip Wainwright has been acting as interim CEO since Allen鈥檚 sudden departure. Wainwright returns as planned to his role as chief financial officer.
Wates chairman Sir James Wates said: 聽鈥淓oghan is a globally accomplished, motivational leader with an impressive track record in industry and we鈥檙e very pleased to be welcoming him to Wates. We鈥檙e excited to appoint Eoghan to lead us into the next stage of our history.
鈥淎t the same time, on behalf of the board, I鈥檇 like to pay tribute to Philip Wainwright for the聽 great job he has done as interim chief executive over the past six months. He hands over a business which is in terrific shape, and with him working as chief financial officer alongside Eoghan, we are confident of the group鈥檚 continuing stability and success.鈥�
Eoghan O鈥橪ionaird said: 鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to be joining Wates and I鈥檓 really looking forward to working with everyone. What marks Wates out from the competition is how it has rallied its people around a purpose greater than profit alone. This is clear from its commitment to making the built environment more sustainable.聽 I鈥檓 looking forward to contributing to the Group鈥檚 strategy and marshalling the resources needed to achieve its ambitions.鈥�
Born in Cork, Eoghan O鈥橪ionaird holds degrees in engineering from University College Cork, and the University of Limerick, and an MBA from the Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is married with two children and lives in Surrey.
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