Padraig McManus – Keynote Speaker

Padraig is Chairman of Eircom and was Chief Executive of Ireland’s leading energy company – ESB for 10 years.

In 2010 he led the £1bn-plus acquisition of NIE Networks from the Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank and personally dealt with the financial, political and general stakeholder issues in integrating the business into the ESB Group.

In 2008 he led the sale of a tranche of ESB’s Power Generation Portfolio to Endesa of Spain in a ground-breaking deal with Trade Unions and the Regulator to reduce dominance and allow competitors into the market. In 2003 he directed the first Private Placement fundraising package in the US of €1.1bn on behalf of ESB.

He sold ESB’s electrical appliance retail business and outlets to Bank of Scotland Ireland. He once worked as a HR Manager and was part of every major restructuring programme in ESB that reduced core staff levels below 6,000. He led projects for ESB in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Padraig McManus is on the Council of the Irish Management Institute and a board member of Business in the Community. He has also served on a number of other boards including the Economic and Social Research Institute of Ireland (ESRI) and The Conference Board of the US.

He has led Volunteer Groups to Ghana to rebuild Primary and Secondary Level Schools that cater for 6,000 students.