[3][4] He attended the Irish St Gerard's School and the American University of Scranton, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management in 1985.

[5] He served in several positions in the United States and Europe including as head of Smurfit France.

[7][8] He became chief operations officer (COO) of the company's European division in 1999 after having been deputy for a year.

[9] In September 2015, he was appointed CEO of Smurfit Kappa following the retirement of his predecessor, Gary McGann.

[3][4] One of his hobbies is horse breeding, having been a member of the Irish National Stud's board.