The Guardian 04/02/19

Michael O’Leary to step back from day-to-day running of Ryanair Holdings (RYA). Boss to stay on as group chief executive until 2024 as airline warns of fall in profits. The Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, is to step back from the day-to-day running of Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, which has warned again of falling profits and fears over a no-deal Brexit. However, O’Leary has signed a contract to spend another five years at the helm as group chief executive of a restructured Ryanair, overseeing the bosses of four subsidiary airlines including the recently acquired Laudamotion, Ryanair Sun and the new Ryanair UK for post-Brexit flights. The chairman, David Bonderman, who survived a shareholder rebellion in the autumn, has announced he will step down next year. Director Stan McCarthy will take over as group chairman, although O’Leary said that a “legend like Bonderman will be a very hard act to follow”. O’Leary said the structure of the Ryanair Holdings plc group would be “not dissimilar to that of IAG”, the owner of British Airways, putting O’Leary in the kind of role occupied by his rival Willie Walsh. A new chief executive for Ryanair DAC, the main Dublin-based airline, will be appointed in the coming months.