Bord Gáis appoints Michael McNicholas as new CEO

8 Feb 2013

Michael McNicholas, the incoming CEO of Bord Gáis

NTR CEO Michael McNicholas has been appointed the new chief executive of Bord Gáis. He is set to take over at the helm of Bord Gáis for a seven-year term, starting from June.

McNicholas will replace John Mullins, who was CEO at Bord Gáis before he stepped down from the role at the end of December. John Barry, the managing director of Bord Gáis Networks, has been acting CEO in the interim.

McNicholas has been with NTR since 2010, firstly as its chief operating officer, before becoming CEO in 2011.

Prior to joining NTR, he was CEO of ESB International, the international investment arm of ESB.

The Co Mayo native has more than 25 years of experience in the Irish and international energy industry, both in the semi-state and private sectors.  

Commenting on the appointment, Rose Hynes, chairman of Bord Gáis, that the energy provider was fortunate to have a person with such experience and ability to help drive the semi-state organisation forward.

“Bord Gáis is undergoing a significant transformation with the establishment of Irish Water and the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, and I am confident that Michael will provide outstanding leadership in guiding the company into the next phase of its development,” she said.

McNicholas, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to working with his new colleagues to address future opportunities and challenges.

“I am committed to ensuring that Bord Gáis and Irish Water deliver a first-class service to our customers and meet the needs of our community and our shareholders,” he said.

In January it was announced that Dublin city manager John Tierney is to become managing director of Irish Water, the Irish State’s new water utility that will operate as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis.

Irish Water will take over the key water and wastewater functions from the local authorities and will start charging households for water from 2014. It will begin installing water meters in July, with more than 1m households set to have water meters by 2016.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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