CompanyPositionStephen Kavanagh recently retired from his role as CEO of Aer Lingus and remains a member of the Board of Directors. Stephen has spent over 30 years at Aer Lingus, working in a range of operations and commercial departments. He was appointed to the Executive Board in 2006 and was part of the IPO team that brought Aer Lingus to market in that year.
As Chief Commercial Officer, Stephen led the repositioning of the airlines network strategy, which transformed Aer Lingus’s transatlantic business, significantly expanded the network reach and underpinned the growth in profitability that Aer Lingus had enjoyed since the beginning of the decade.
As CEO, Stephen managed the sale of Aer Lingus to IAG and developed the airlines value model strategy which has seen it become one of the most successful airlines globally with a return on invested capital of 28% recorded in 2018 and delivered upon its ambition to be the leading value carrier across the North Atlantic. Born and educated in Dublin, Stephen lives there with his partner and their two sons.