Jessica Weld

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has a deeply enriched history dating back to the late 1700s. City Hall on Dame Street used to be known as the Royal Exchange, a place where local merchants traded their goods. The ISE was acquired by the European stock exchange consortium Euronext in 2018, earning the formal name of Euronext Dublin. Nowadays, Euronext Dublin is the competent authority for all thirty public company listings in Ireland. This includes some of the largest companies in the country, such as Kerry Group, Kingspan, Ryanair, AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB .  

Becoming the Chief Executive of a company listed on the Euronext is a momentous achievement, but how does one achieve such a feat? I’ve analysed the educational achievements and career progression via self-published data of the CEOs of all 30 companies listed on Euronext Dublin to see what paths got them to where they are now.

Level of Education

When conducting this research, I aimed to examine the proportion of top executives holding master’s degrees and how this may change over time. As educational standards increase for business-related jobs, will master’s degrees become the new bachelor’s degrees? The divide between bachelor’s and master’s degrees is a near-even split: 46.66% of CEOs of Euronext listed companies hold a National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) Level 9 (or equivalent) Postgraduate Degree or above.

Stephen Garvey, CEO of Glenveagh Properties, boasts a real ‘started from the bottom’ story. With no formal education, and beginning his career as an apprentice plasterer on construction sites, he climbed the ladder to one of Ireland’s largest property development companies. My father who worked as a carpenter at the same time fondly recalls roofing houses while Garvey would be plastering them. Garvey then reached the top position at one of Ireland’s largest property development companies without taking the traditional college route.

Dr Colin Hunt, CEO of Allied Irish Banks (AIB), has attained the highest level of education of Chief Executives on the ISE, receiving a PhD in Economics from Trinity College Dublin in 2007, making him the only CEO on the ISE to hold a doctoral degree. In addition, he holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Economics from University College Cork. 

While the divide between bachelor’s and master’s degrees is minimal, professional qualifications often bridge the gap. For example, 53.33% of ISE-listed-CEOs hold one or more professional designations, all of which are accountants. For instance, Sean Coyle of Origin Enterprises is a Qualified Financial Advisor, and Fiona Dunlevy of Malin Corporation and Jonathan Rockett of Datalex are Chartered Tax Advisors, highlighting backgrounds in finance and accounting. 

Blessed Amongst Accountants

In simpler times when I was studying for my Leaving Certificate exams, I remember my business teacher saying that many of the top decision makers in companies of all industries across the world have one thing in common – they are accountants. Their financial understanding and expertise can prove advantageous in climbing the management ladder and taking the reins of some of the world’s largest companies.

With over half of company CEOs listed on Euronext Dublin coming from an accounting background, many started their careers in Big 4 accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG. For example, Dermot Crowley, CEO of Dalata Hotel Group, started his career as a Trainee Accountant in PwC in 1989, and Trinity Alumnus and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary began his career at KPMG in 1982. 

It’s in the Family

Gene M. Murtagh was the youngest CEO of a company listed on the ISE at age 34 when he took over his family business, Kingspan, in 2005. He has held this post ever since, seeing the company grow to become one of Ireland’s most valuable companies listed on the ISE.

Female Representation 

While women continue to make ground in representation across all sectors in business, they are still underrepresented as Chief Executives. For example, out of the 30 companies listed on the ISE, only two CEOs are women – Fiona Dunlevy of Malin Corporation Plc. and Rita-Rose Gagné of Hammerson Plc. 

However, Ireland has led the way in increasing representation of women in executive roles. Balance for Better Business, Ireland’s independent gender balance review group, notes progress for female representation in their 2023 report. Ireland has flown from ranking 15th in the EU for female executives in 2019, to 6th in 2023, exceeding the EU average by 22.1%. 

Being a CEO of an ISE listed company has rocket launched the careers of women in the past. Beginning as Bank of Ireland’s CEO, Francesca McDonagh became Group COO of both Credit Suisse in 2022 and Universal Investment in early 2024. 

While being publicly listed is by no means the only benchmark of success, it is a good indicator to use to deep dive into the path that each CEO took to get to where they are today. With increasing representation of women in executive roles and a changing landscape for educational standards, it will be interesting to see what changes will happen in the C-Suites of Ireland’s largest companies.