The Irish Times Business Person of the Month: Elena Pecos, chief executive, Decathlon Ireland

Elena Pecos, chief executive of Decathlon Ireland, has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for January, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.

The family-owned French sports retailer announced during the month that it plans to open its third Irish store in the new Clerys Quarter in Dublin city centre, creating more than 50 jobs.

The letting will see the company become an anchor tenant at the retail quarter, taking a 30-year lease on the 2,787 sq m (30,000 sq ft) unit, which is expected to open later this year. It joins fellow anchor tenant H&M, sushi chain Rolled and Pret A Manger in the new development.

Clerys Quarter

The Clerys Quarter is being delivered by Luxembourg-based asset manager and principal investor Europa, in conjunction with its Dublin-based minority partners Paddy McKillen jnr and his business partner Matt Ryan’s Oakmount property vehicle, along with Derek McGrath’s Core Capital through a company called Oces Property Holdings.

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Decathlon began its Irish ecommerce operation in 2017 before opening its first bricks and mortar store here in Ballymun, north Dublin in mid-2020, in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, it opened its second Irish store at the Parkway Retail Park in Limerick, adding 70 employees.

Ms Pecos started in Decathlon as a sales assistant and has held several senior finance positions in the group in Spain, France and Chile. She spent five years launching and expanding the brand in Chile before returning to work with the company in her native Spain. Pecos took over the Irish operation in January 2023.