HE MIGHT keep a low media profile but Michael Chadwick has long been regarded as one of Ireland’s shrewdest business leaders.

So yesterday’s announcement that he was handing over the reins at Grafton Group, where he has been the driving force for 26 years, took everyone by surprise.

It was just assumed that he would go on for ever.

But on July 1st Gavin Slark will take over as Grafton’s chief executive and Chadwick will become non-executive chairman.

The succession issue has finally been dealt with.

Chadwick has been executive chairman at Grafton since 1985. At the time, it was a subsidiary of another group and had a turnover of €60 million a year. Today, it has €2 billion-plus in annual sales and 9,000 employees.

When Chadwick was appointed as executive chairman of CPI Holdings – a predecessor of Grafton – in 1985, it had two operating units: concrete products based in Lucan, and a network of Chadwicks builders’ providers branches around the country.

Today, it is the biggest player in the builders’ providers market in Ireland and in the top five in Britain. Grafton is also number one in the DIY market here, where it owns the Woodies and Atlantic Homecare chains.

The group has been hugely acquisitive over the years, buying up many small and medium-sized, family-owned businesses both here and in Britain. Chadwick had the knack of integrating these businesses successfully into the group while leaving many of the previous owners in charge.

He took Grafton into the UK in the 1990s and it now accounts for two-thirds of group turnover.

In Ireland, he acquired the rival Heiton Group, in 2005, having stalked it for some years. The deal gave Grafton a huge share of the then booming markets of builder providers and DIY.

Grafton hasn’t been immune to the recession. In 2009, its turnover fell by 26 per cent to €2 billion. Revenue had hit a record €3.2 billion in 2007. Its profits crashed to €4.9 million in 2009 from €99 million.

The share price once topped €12 – it currently trades at €3.55.

But it has weathered the storm better than most. It remains profitable and has a market value of about €820 million.

Born in Dublin in 1951, Mr Chadwick studied at Trinity College. He joined Grafton in 1975 and was appointed to the board four years later. He is married with one child.

While soft spoken, he was considered a hard-nosed businessman and a tough taskmaster.

Grafton has made Chadwick millions but he could never be accused of milking the company for personal gain.

In the early noughties, there were years when he waived the vast bulk of his remuneration, making do with a handsome dividend cheque as one of the company’s biggest shareholders.

Mr Slark has big shoes to fill.