Membership of the Beer Institute is an unusual qualification for a would-be airline chief executive but necessary if you are the head of Heineken's operations in North America. But it is the least significant of Mr Michael Foley's extra mural activities which include being a director of the American Ireland Fund and the Ireland-US Council for Commerce.

Mr Foley has been president and chief executive officer of Heineken USA since 1994 and during that period has helped the Dutch brewing group establish itself as a leading player in the ultra-competitive US beer market. Heineken USA has revenues of $650 million (€68 million) and more than 250 employees. Aer Lingus has not reported any results since 1998 when it made a profit of £52.4 million on a turnover of £901 million. The airline employs more than 8,300 people. A chartered accountant by training, Mr Foley joined Murphy Brewery Ireland - a subsidiary of Heineken - in 1983 as financial controller. Previously he had worked as an accountant with the Irish subsidiaries of Japanese and US multinationals. He then became sales and marketing director and in 1989 was appointed managing director of Murphy Brewery Ireland. He is from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, and lives with his wife Noirin and their three children in Rye, New York. He graduated from University College, Dublin, in 1972 with a degree in commerce.