By hiring the experienced agribusiness executive Fergal Leamy from the gilded world of private equity, Coillte has landed itself a new chief executive of considerable commercial as well as political nous.

Not a bad move for a company operating within the semi-State gene pool, where long-term commercial ambitions often must be married with the policy aims of Government – a delicate balancing act.

Leamy joins Coillte from Terra Firma, one of Europe's biggest private equity houses. He is best known in this country, however, for running until 2011 the burgeoning US operations of Greencore, now at the centre of that company's expansion plans.

As the forestry and landowning company travels an independent path, it is essential its leadership understands how to make a profit. With a reputation forged in private equity and with a listed company, Leamy would appear to fit that bill.

Coillte has been without a permanent chief executive since 2013, when David Gunning left. The Government's pay cap for chief executives of semi-State companies was known to have rankled at the time at Coillte.

It was believed in some semi-state circles that Coillte might have difficulty replacing Gunning with a candidate of sufficient weight, when the salary on offer could not exceed €191,000, the new limit.

So there must be considerable relief that their recruitment process turned up such an experienced executive, who could have earned a multiple of that sum in private equity in London.

How ironic too that Leamy once worked for a short period in 2011 as an adviser to Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney. The Minister copped some flack at the time because Leamy's then pay exceeded guidelines for advisers.

Leamy, who soldiered for Coveney’s brother Patrick at Greencore, will once again be working closely with the Minister, under whose aegis Coillte operates.

There should be no grumblings about his pay packet this time.