Michael O'Leary (businessman)
| Michael O'Leary | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
O’Leary in 2015
|
|
| Born |
Michael Kevin O'Leary 20 March 1961 Kanturk, County Cork, Ireland |
| Residence | Delvin, County Westmeath |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Clongowes Wood College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Dublin |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Chief executive of Ryanair |
| Net worth | € 1,080,000,000 |
| Spouse(s) | Anita Farrell (m. 2003) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Ted and Ger O'Leary |
Michael Kevin O'Leary is an Irish businessman and the chief executive of the Irish airline Ryanair. He is one of Ireland's wealthiest businessmen.
Michael O'Leary was born 20 March 1961, the second in a family of six, in Kanturk in County Cork. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare. In 1979 he began a four-year Bachelor in Economic and Social Studies programme at Trinity College Dublin. He graduated from Trinity and then worked as a trainee with Stokes Kennedy Crowley (later known as KPMG), studying the Irish tax system. He left after two years in 1985, setting up profitable newsagents in Walkinstown and Terenure, Dublin.
While at Stokes Kennedy Crowley, O'Leary met Tony Ryan, head of GPA (Guinness Peat Aviation, a leasing company). Ryan was one of the firm's clients and O'Leary advised Ryan on his personal income tax affairs. In 1987, he then hired O'Leary as his personal financial and tax advisor, where Ryan's main interest was in GPA. Ryanair was established around this time and originally followed a traditional business model, but quickly began to lose money. Subsequently O'Leary was sent to the USA to study the novel Southwest Airlines business model.
O'Leary was deputy chief executive of Ryanair between 1991 and 1994 and was promoted to chief executive of Ryanair in January 1994. Under O'Leary's management, Ryanair further developed the low-cost model originated by Southwest Airlines. O'Leary may have described the inauguration of the ancillary revenue movement during a 2001 interview in The Sunday Times. "The other airlines are asking how they can put up fares. We are asking how we could get rid of them." The business model envisioned by O'Leary uses receipts from on board shopping, internet gaming, car hire and hotel bookings to replace the ticket revenue from selling airline seats. Savings are also made by negotiating discounts with airports for reduced landing fees. In many cases, regional airports have made no charges so as to secure flights that bring passengers and wealth into their area.
...
Wikipedia