Departing CEO of Center Parcs, Martin Dalby, pictured on the right with then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, at the Longford Forest resort, near Ballymahon.

New CEO of Center Parcs announced

Center Parcs has announced that their current chief executive officer, Martin Dalby, will leave the position in April after a 20-year stint.

He will step up to become the non-executive chairman of Center Parcs from Friday, April 22 next, a statement from the holiday park company said on Tuesday morning (February 8)

Taking over Martin’s role as CEO will be the current chief financial officer Colin McKinlay.

Martin Dalby joined Center Parcs in 1995 and has been CEO for over 20 years. Under Martin’s leadership, Center Parcs has become one of the most successful short break holiday companies in the UK and Ireland.

More recently, Martin led Center Parcs through the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, from which the business emerges in better shape than ever.

Mr Dalby said: “With the business performing extremely well, now is absolutely the right time for me to hand over the day-to-day running of Center Parcs. I am, however, delighted to be remaining part of this amazing business in my new role as chairman.

"I would like to congratulate Colin on his appointment as CEO and I look forward to working closely with him to ensure continuity and a smooth transition in the coming weeks and months.”

Colin McKinlay has over four years’ experience as CFO of the business and over 25 years’ experience in the broader leisure sector.

Mr McKinlay said: “On behalf of everyone at Center Parcs, I would like to thank Martin for his incredible commitment to, and passion for, Center Parcs over such a long period of time.

"Under his leadership, the business has gone from strength to strength and it is great that we are able to retain his vast experience and knowledge as we move into another exciting period for the company.”

Brad Hyler, managing partner, Brookfield, added: “We congratulate Colin and Martin and look forward to working with them both in their new roles. We would like to thank Martin for his exceptional leadership of Center Parcs over more than two decades.

"Despite the recent challenges of the pandemic, Center Parcs has never been stronger and the business is well-positioned for continued growth, underpinned by its robust operating platform and industry-leading team.

"With his wealth of experience from his time as CFO and as a respected leader in the travel sector, Colin is ideally placed to take the business forward as its new CEO. ”