The Signium Interview with Kenny Jacobs

“Don’t think that simplicity is a bad thing, don’t think it shows a lack of intellectual rigour or inquisitiveness, it doesn’t, it just shows focus”

Leadership interview with Kenny Jacobs – CEO, daa

Kenny Jacobs – CEO at daa talks us through his career from his early days on the P&G graduate program up to his current role as CEO, including some of his proudest career moments in Tesco Ireland as Marketing & Brand Communication Director and as Chief Marketing Officer for Ryanair.

He shares insights on running an operationally focused retail business in Tesco & Ryanair, the implications of the 32m passenger cap at Dublin Airport, the plan to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and his ambitions for daa over the next 5 years as well as giving his views on current world conflicts and the emerging area of generative AI in the aviation industry.

Kenny joined daa as Chief Executive Officer on January 9, 2023. Prior to joining daa, he gained extensive international experience in marketing, commercial and operations in large consumer-serving businesses in Ireland, the UK and Germany.

He spent over six years at Ryanair as Chief Marketing Officer, where he led digital, customer service, marketing and communications. During his career, he has gained valuable international experience working for major companies, including Procter and Gamble, Accenture, Metro Group GmbH, Moneysupermarket Group, Tesco as well as Ryanair.

Kenny graduated from University College Cork with a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and IT) first class honours degree in 1997. He has also completed a Management Development Programme at INSEAD, France.