Founding Chairman of The Convention Centre Dublin to step down after 23 years
The Executive Chairman of The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD), Dermod Dwyer, has announced that he is to step down from the role after 23 years of steering the project from concept, design, construction, funding to completion in September 2010 and through its first decade. He will chair his final meeting of The CCD Board at the end of February. The process to appoint a new Chairperson is currently underway.
Mr Dwyer became the founding Chairman of The Spencer Dock Development Company in 1997, becoming Executive Chair of The CCD group of companies in 1999. He oversaw the initial development and design of the convention centre, oversaw its launch in 2010 and, since then, has put together the award winning Clann CCD teams to operate The CCD, which has become widely acknowledged as the leading premium conference centre in Europe.
Announcing his departure, Mr Dwyer said, “It has been my great personal privilege to work with the original promoters, John Ronan and Richard Barrett, with Kevin Roche as architect, and to have assembled an extraordinary team of people who tendered successfully for this Public Private Partnership project. Together, we have designed what is visually and functionally a state-owned landmark building, and then established it to become a very successful, international business in partnership with our colleagues in the Office of Public Works.”
“While the past year has been uniquely challenging due to the global pandemic, The CCD is currently hosting the plenary sessions of Dáil Éireann and is poised to enter a new period of growth and success when the world returns to full-scale business activity.”
Philip Doyle, a director and Principal of the Irish Infrastructure Fund said: “On behalf of the Board and shareholder we wish to express our sincere gratitude to Dermod. He has been a stalwart leader and custodian of the culture, values and business focus that has made The CCD such a success over the last decade.”
The Chief Executive of The CCD, Stephen Meehan said, “Dermod has provided consistent leadership, values and vision for this nationally important project from when it was just an idea, to a point where the iconic image of The CCD and the adjacent Samuel Beckett Bridge have become a central fulcrum of Dublin’s cityscape and business life. From a start-up business opening in the teeth of an economic downturn, through to the record year in 2019 generating an average of over €55m economic impact annually, Dermod’s steadfastness and vision has helped to ensure we have solid foundations underpinning the strong position which we are in today.”
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Press Contact
Suzanne McGann
Head of Marketing & Communications
The Convention Centre Dublin
Email: suzanne.mcgann@theccd.ie
About The CCD
The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) opened in September 2010 and is Ireland’s first purpose-built international convention centre. It is located in the heart of Dublin city, just 15 minutes from Dublin Airport.
About Dermod Dwyer
Dermod has spent his career working at the nexus of the public and private sectors in Ireland and internationally. A Chartered Director and graduate of Harvard University he has been Executive Chairman of The Convention Centre Dublin from 1997 to-date. He was also founding chairman of The Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt Hotel from 2000 to 2013, and has been Chairman of Powerscourt Estate & Gardens since 2019.
He was presented with the 2020 Hall of Fame Award by the Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers.
He was joint founding partner, with Noel Sweeney, of the successful domestic and international tourism consultancy practice – Tourism & Transport Consult from 1992 to 2011. His earlier career in the hospitality sector – included management of a small group of Dwyer Family Hotels in Limerick, Killarney and Tipperary, founding Gray Line Tours and serving as President of the Irish Hotels Federation in the early 1980s. He was the instigator, convener and coordinator of the mould-breaking 1986 plan “Tourism working for Ireland – a Plan for Growth” – which outlined the ambitious plan to double Irish Tourism within 5-years.
He has been a director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art from 2015 to date, and a Governor and Guardian of the National Gallery from 2010 to 2015. Together with his wife Dr. Helen O’Sullivan-Dwyer, he was the joint founder patron, in 2013, of The Caroline Foundation for Cancer Research in Ireland. (www.thecarolinefoundation.com). He was non-executive founder Chairman of the Educena Foundation, the Trustee Body for 107 secondary Ceist schools in Ireland, from 2007 to 2017; Chairman, Setanta Sports Broadcasting Ireland - 2000 – 2011; and Senior Research Analyst / Projects Director at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government (1989/2001).