Owen Killian to take over from Philip Lynch at IAWS

By Eric Donald

Owen Killian is to take over from Philip Lynch as Managing Director of the IAWS group from the first of October next.

Philip Lynch has been heading up IAWS for the last 20 years and he now moves to the position of chairman, taking over from Jim Moloney. At just 57 years of age his stepping down as chief executive is a few years earlier than many expected. His leadership in refocusing the group on the food sector in the mid nineties, through the acquisition of Cuisine de France, laid the foundation for the company's recent success.

The management team has continued to build on that initial step into the convenience food sector through the acquisitions of Delice de France and Pierres. The platform for growth over the next few years is already in place, through the Tim Hortons joint venture in Canada and the La Brea business in the United States. Over the years Philip Lynch has managed to free up capital from surplus property assets within the company. This has provided the funds for the company to invest in the faster growing convenience food sector.

Owen Killian is seen as the natural successor, having been with the company since 1979 and chief operations officer since 1997. He is 50 and originally from Co Roscommon. Having worked as part of the senior management team with both Philip Lynch and finance director David Martin, this transition will be seamless.

The retirement of Jim Moloney as chairman brings to an end his enormous contribution to the company. Having been involved in the initial reorganisation of the IAWS group, he took over as chairman from PI Meagher in 1991. Since then the company has successfully diversified away from its core agricultural business.