Healthcare >> CEO Interviews >> March 29, 1999

Donal J. Geaney – Elan Corporation Plc (eln)

DONAL J. GEANEY is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Elan Corporation, PLC. Mr. Geaney joined Elan in 1987 as Executive Vice President, Corporate Planning. In 1992, he was elected to Elan's Board of Directors and assumed the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer. On January 1, 1995 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Elan. On January 1, 1997 he was elected as Chairman of the company following the retirement of its founder, Donald E. Panoz. Elan is Ireland's third largest public company with a market capitalisation of over $8 billion and is listed on the New York, Dublin and London Stock Exchanges. It employs one thousand persons in Ireland and over two thousand world-wide of which seven hundred and fifty are engaged in research and product development. Elan is Ireland's largest research- based company with in market product sales in excess of $2 billion. Elan is a leading drug delivery and biopharmaceutical company with extensive drug discovery activity in diseases of the central nervous system and the brain. Elan has research facilities in Ireland, the United States and Israel. In 1998 Mr. Geaney was asked by the Irish Government to become non executive chairman of the Irish Aviation Authority. Also in 1998 The Ireland-United States Council presented Mr. Geaney with the Annual Award for Outstanding Achievement. Mr. Geaney is aged 47 and is a graduate of the University of Dublin, Trinity College and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. He was a partner in the international accounting and consulting firm of KPMG where he was responsible for the provision of accounting and advisory services to a number of publicly held and government owned entities. Mr. Geaney has over twenty years of experience in corporate finance and in the development of business strategy for international corporations and organisations. He is married and he and his wife Anne have three children (all boys). His leisure interests include golf and motor sports in which he has a keen interest. Profile
TWST: Could you please give us a brief overview of Elan Corporation as

you see it today?

Mr. Geaney: Elan Corporation is a global speciality pharmaceutical and

drug delivery company focusing