O’Leary to remain at helm of Ryanair for another five years

Michael O’Leary, who has led Ryanair Holdings for more than twenty years, has signed a five-year contract extension for him to stay at the company until September 2019. The deal replaces a rolling 12-month arrangement under which O’Leary has worked since Ryanair first sold shares to the public in 1997. He has been granted options over 5 million ordinary shares payable at current market prices, valued at around €36 million, but only if Ryanair meets “exceptional performance targets” set by the remuneration committee.