The chief executive of USIT Ireland has resigned and is to be replaced by the company's chairman, Mr Michael Tunney, who will become executive chairman, reports Colm Keena

Mr Shane Nolan is to finish with USIT on Friday, having taken up the position of chief executive in 2002 as the company came out of examinership.

Mr Tunney intends to operate as executive chairman for a number of months, prior to the appointment of a new chief executive.

Mr Nolan said he had completed the task he was set to do when appointed and was choosing to move on and find a new challenge where he could use the skills he has acquired.

Earlier this year, accounts for 2003 published by USIT Ireland showed that the company had been turned around, producing a small profit.

"My job is done. I came in to do two things," Mr Nolan said last night. "One was to get the cost base under control. The second was to make sure the organisation had a clear view of its future and what it needed to sell."

These have been identified as: long-haul flights, programmes such as work exchange and volunteer programmes, and additional products such as accommodation and insurance.

Mr Nolan said the company had been turned around and was now "a continuing operation".

"I want to see what I can do further afield, as against running a day-to-day business," Mr Nolan said.

He said he believed that he had learned a lot from his time in USIT and now hoped to use those skills elsewhere.

He said his focus on joining USIT was to address the issue of costs. "You don't have control over revenue but you have 100 per cent control over costs."

Mr Nolan has had a number of approaches but before settling on any particular new role he is to take a number of months off, travelling to the US, the Olympics in Greece, and then walking in France and Spain, before returning to the Republic.

USIT Ireland, then under examinership, was bought in July 2002 by: Mr Tunney, formerly of Woodchester bank; his partner Mr David Andrews; and ION Equity. They each own one-third of the company.

The USIT Group, which included USIT Ireland, collapsed with huge debts in the wake of the September 11th attacks in the US in 2001.

Mr Nolan is a former Aer Lingus employee who left and joined a consultancy firm with another former Aer Lingus colleague, Mr Conor McCarthy, before moving to USIT.