Siobhán Lennon is stepping down as chief executive of the Sunday Business Post, a role she took on in December 2016 in place of Paul Cooke. During her tenure, she managed the business under Key Capital and, more recently, under maverick businessman and round the world sailor Enda O’Coineen and his registered company, Kilcullen Kapital Partners (KKP).
The Sunday Business Post has undergone major changes in recent times, including the departure of editor Ian Kehoe and executive editor Tom Lyons. Emmet Oliver joined as interim editor and Susan Mitchell became deputy editor. In a David v Goliath scenario, the newspaper won a multi-million euro libel case filed by businessman and INM director Denis O’Brien.
It was feared that if the Post had lost the case, the newspaper would have been unable to sustain the legal costs involved and the business might have been forced to close. More recently, KKP bought event management company iQuest for an undisclosed sum as part of O’Coineen’s “wider strategic plan”. iQuest seller Michael Nolan was appointed chairman.
iQuest’s MD is former Irish Post director Sarah Murphy. Before becoming CEO at the Post, Lennon was the company’s commercial director for three years, having joined from GroupM’s MEC agency. She also worked with Rupert Murdoch’s News International – now News UK & Ireland – in a number of positions, including group client service director.
A report in The Sunday Times said that Enda O’Coineen is considering floating his media interests, including the Sunday Business Post, on the Nasdaq First North stock exchange in Stockholm. The Galwayman, who once crossed the Atlantic in a 16ft rubber inflatable, was looking at an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with a flotation early next year.
