Herb Hribar is to step down from his role as chief executive of Eircom and return to the United States. He will be replaced by Richard Moat, the group's chief financial officer as acting CEO with immediate effect.

Padraig McManus, chairman of Eircom said: “I would like to personally thank Herb for his efforts and achievements as CEO of eircom Group. During the past two years, Herb has led eircom through a critical juncture of our transformation and overseen a network investment programme that has significantly upgraded our capability. He has tirelessly dedicated himself to reshape the company and deliver world class products and services to our customers. We now operate Ireland’s largest fibre network and eircom was the first to offer 4G mobile services in Ireland. All of this was achieved while reducing our cost base and improving our competitiveness. I wish Herb all the very best for the future on his return to the United States.”

The board of Eircom will now commence a selection process for a permanent Group CEO.

The departure of Hribar is unlikely to come as a surprise given that Eircom pulled back from an IPO earlier this month.

In early September, Eircom filed an IPO prospectus with the Central Bank, but later pulled back on this decision, on the grounds that its shareholder-lenders had told management they did not support the idea. A fund of € 35 million had been set aside in the past two financial years for the group's senior executives to share under the terms of a management incentive plan.