Head of Meta Ireland Anne O’Leary has been appointed Ibec president for 2024-2025. She succeeds senior vice-president of Pfizer Global Supply Paul Duffy.
“I am immensely proud to have been appointed as Ibec president,” Ms O’Leary said.
Ms O’Leary said the country was in a strong economic position because of its openness to trade and capital investment.
She credited the work of businesses throughout the State and “their ambition to grow and scale” as part of the reason for Ireland’s economic position.
“We must continue to be agile and responsive to new investment, support Irish businesses in internationalising, and ensure that Ireland remains a place where careers can grow and develop,” she said.
Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy welcomed the announcement saying was important to have someone with Ms O’Leary’s experience supporting the business community in Ireland.
Ms O’Leary has a “deep understanding of the global business landscape in Ireland and, through her many roles, has worked closely with the Irish SME sector” he said.
Ms O’Leary joined Meta as the vice-president of mid-market global business group in EMEA and in May last year she was appointed to her current role.
She was previously chief executive of Vodafone for nine years and before that she was managing director at BT Ireland and regional director at Esat Telecom.
Last week, the Central Statistics Office released its provisional figures for retail sales in July 2024 showing the volumes of sales had increased marginally by 0.1 per cent compared to the previous month. The largest monthly change was in the clothing and textiles sector which rose 4.8 per cent.
Ms O’Leary is due to speak to Ibec members at the annual president’s dinner on Thursday evening.
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