Michael Lohan. Image: Maxwells Dublin
Lohan takes over from former IDA CEO Martin Shanahan, who announced his departure last year.
Michael Lohan has been appointed as the new CEO of IDA Ireland.
He takes over from interim CEO Mary Buckley who stepped in last year when former IDA Ireland chief Martin Shanahan announced he was stepping down from his role.
The appointment was announced by IDA’s board today (21 March) and welcomed by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, TD, who said he looks forward to working with Lohan in attracting FDI in an “increasingly competitive international environment”.
“We must ensure that Ireland continues to attract and retain overseas investments and the jobs they provide and that our value proposition continues to be amongst the best in the world,” Coveney said in a statement following Lohan’s appointment.
“My department and IDA will work hand-in-glove to maintain Ireland’s strong performance in attracting high-quality mobile FDI to Ireland in such key sectors as ICT, life sciences, financial services and frontier manufacturing.”
Lohan joined IDA Ireland two decades ago after holding various management positions in the private sector. In his most recent role at IDA, Lohan was global head of life sciences and talent, transformation and innovation since 2021. He is also an executive team member since 2017.
A member of the advisory board for the Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund, Lohan has represented IDA in several capacities including as board member on Digital Manufacturing Ireland and governance member on the SSPC research centre for pharmaceuticals.
Lohan holds an MSc in technology management from the University of Galway and is a graduate of the Berkley Executive Programme.
IDA is Ireland’s state agency responsible for attracting and retaining foreign investment in the country. More than 300,000 people were employed by IDA client companies in Ireland as of December last year.
“The performance of our FDI sector has reached record levels, notwithstanding the current resetting by the tech sector, and I am looking forward to working with Michael and the IDA in maintaining Ireland’s strong performance in attracting and retaining high-quality FDI,” Coveney added.
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