Ryanair Holdings plc, confirmed that Capt Mike O’Brien has joined the Board as Non-Exec Director with oversight of Air Safety. An Irish national, Capt O’Brien has a long and distinguished career in the aviation industry having just retired as Head of Flight Operations with the Maltese Civil Aviation Authority whom he joined in 2001, having previously served for 10 years as the Head of Operations Standards with the Irish Aviation Authority. Capt O’Brien also served 4 years as the Chief Pilot and Flight Ops Manager of Ryanair from 1987 to 1991.
Capt O’Brien will replace Capt John Leahy who joined the Board in August 2015. Capt Leahy had notified the Board of his wish to not stand for re-election at the AGM in September for personal reasons. Capt Leahy had agreed that if a suitable replacement could be found prior to that date he would be happy to stand down sooner to facilitate a smooth transition.
Ryanair Chairman David Bonderman said:
“I’d like to welcome Capt Mike O’Brien to the Board of Ryanair Holdings where we all look forward to working with him. I would also like to express my sincere personal thanks to John Leahy for his important contribution to Ryanair over the past 9 months, and for agreeing to stand down prior to our AGM to facilitate a smooth transition to Capt Mike O’Brien. We are all extremely grateful for the time and effort John dedicated to this role, and we wish him and his family all the very best over the coming years”.

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