An Post is facing an uphill task to have a new chief executive in place in time for a board meeting this Thursday after the first-choice candidate, John Foley, turned down the position to remain chief executive of Waterford Crystal.
There was speculation last night that other candidates were now in the frame, including Elmer Toime, former deputy chairman of the British Royal Mail. Mr Toime also once head of the New Zealand postal service.
Other candidates believed to have applied for the post include David McRedmond, commercial director at Eircom, and Larry Donald, a senior executive with An Post, who previously worked with ESB.
There is still a chance the selection committee may return to one of these candidates, but this is thought unlikely. Instead the company will have to select another candidate from the group that originally applied for the post.
The current chief executive, Donal Curtin, was scheduled to step down on July 13th and this Thursday's board meeting is the last one scheduled before his departure. If the board does not announce a successor by Thursday it may have to appoint an acting chief executive or ask Mr Curtin to postpone his departure date.
The position commands an annual remuneration package of €351,000. When pension contributions are added to this, it rises to €416,000.
The position is one of the most challenging in the semi-state sector. For the last few years An Post has performed disastrously, recording a pretax loss in 2002, for instance, of €70 million. However under Mr Curtin the company's fortunes have improved and in 2005 it posted a pretax profit of €41 million.
Whoever agrees to take up the role will have to manage the sometimes adversarial relationship between the management and the main union, the Communication Worker's Union (CWU). The CWU is widely regarded as one of the most powerful unions in the semi-state sector.
Weekend reports suggested that Mr Foley would be unveiled by Thursday. But it is understood recent developments at Waterford Wedgwood have prompted him to commit his future there. However, sources said Mr Foley did not turn down the An Post offer because of a competing offer from Waterford.
