Danny McCoy

Career Overview

Danny McCoy is Chief Executive Officer of Ibec since 2009, where he has doubled the organisation in size to become a €50 million turnover business with 330 employees across ten locations and 39 trade brands. Ibec is Ireland's largest business representative organisation and the country's largest lobbying group. Under his leadership, McCoy correctly identified the turnaround in the Irish economy prior to the EU Troika programme and initiated significant media campaigns around driving the recovery domestically and internationally.

McCoy has been an national and international business leader and acclaimed economist for over 30 years, with high public profile and media presence since the 1990s. He is a regular contributor in print and broadcast media and has written columns for the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and the Irish Times among other international newspapers. He has made significant speeches to the United Nations ILO plenary in Geneva, the European Business Summit in Brussels, and conferences at the New York and London Stock Exchanges, the IMF in Washington DC, and the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.

Education & Academic Background

McCoy is a graduate in Commerce from the University of Galway and holds a postgraduate degree in Economics from University College Dublin. He has held lecturing posts at University College London, University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University, and has been a visiting lecturer at the IMD Business School in Switzerland and Harvard University in the US.

Career History

• Research Associate at the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) in London
• Research Assistant at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) (1990-1992) and Senior Research Officer (2000-2005)
• Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Ireland
• Senior Economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)
• Consultant for the European Commission and the OECD

Recognition & Achievement

McCoy's early academic work in the 1990s covered carbon taxation and Sustainable Development for which he received an Economic scholarship and the Barrington Medal for researchers under 30. His academic work at University College London and University of Oxford on carbon taxation and sustainable development has brought him to international symposiums including those organised by Harvard University, Bocconi University and the World Bank. He was knighted in 2022 by the Italian Republic for services to European business and economy, the Order of the Star of Italy. In April 2026, McCoy was presented with the Trinity Long Room Hub's European Laureate Award gold medal in recognition of his exceptional contribution to Irish and European business life.

Current Roles & Honors

McCoy is a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Honorary Doctorate in Economics from University of Galway, and Honorary Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering. He serves as Adjunct Professor Trinity College Dublin Business School and Independent Non Executive Director of Iput Real Estate.

What Danny McCoy could bring to his leadership of Ibec

McCoy's three-decade track record combines deep economic expertise with extensive policymaking experience at European and international levels. His background spanning the Central Bank, ESRI, academia, and consulting positions him uniquely to advocate for Irish business interests in complex economic policy environments. His demonstrated ability to identify economic turning points—particularly his early recognition of Ireland's economic recovery trajectory—combined with his established networks across government, the EU institutions, and multinational corporations, enables Ibec to maintain credible influence on both national and European business policy. His scholarly credentials in sustainable development and carbon policy position Ibec to lead industry dialogue on environmental and economic transitions.