Gary Owens

Gary Owens is chairman of State-owned public transport company Dublin Bus, and a director of its parent CIÉ Group. He served as Chairperson of the Dublin Bus board and an Ordinary Director of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) for four years before stepping down in September 2026. Owens was appointed the new daa chairperson for a 5-year term, succeeding Basil Geoghegan, and formally took over as daa chair on June 14, 2026.

Owens spent six years at the top of Hibernian (now Aviva) and was CEO of financial services group IFG for seven. He was also an independent director at AIG and is currently chairman of Diona, a mobile devices technology firm. He has previously been chairman of Athletics Ireland's Board and was involved for a year as a consultant with the High Performance Unit of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association.

For the past couple of years he was the chief executive at Down Syndrome Ireland, and served as the fourth person to occupy the FAI chief executive role since John Delaney departed. Owens has a distinguished career in senior management roles in the financial services and technology sectors, including IFG Group, Rainmaker Technologies and Hibernian Group.

Career History

• Chairperson, daa (Dublin and Cork Airports) — 2026-present
• Chairperson, Dublin Bus (Bus Átha Cliath) — 2022-2026
• Chief Executive, Down Syndrome Ireland — prior to 2020
• Chief Executive, IFG Group (Financial Services) — seven years
• Managing Director/Chief Executive, Hibernian Insurance — six years

What Gary Owens could bring to daa: Mr Owen's wealth of experience in governance and state board leadership positions him to navigate complex infrastructure challenges. His specialist expertise in business restructuring, turnaround strategies and governance structures is particularly relevant given daa's recent operational leadership transitions and expansion challenges.