Love him or hate him (or his airline), Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary certainly knows how to poke fun not only at his own image but much of the business world around him.
Here is O'Leary's latest biography, included on a European Commission microsite to promote a conference on innovation where he was speaking earlier this week:
Such is the ire that the airline and O'Leary seem to attract, it is quite conceivable that perhaps the website had been hacked?
Of course not.
A Ryanair official confirms via email that the biography is indeed genuine, or at least is the one the airline submitted to the conference organisers.
The writers of the biography are probably the same team that came up with the pay-to-pee PR stunt, although the latter seemed to fool more people than the assertion that O'Leary is "irresistible" to women.
:)
Full text of the original biography:
"Michael O’Leary has served as Ryanair CEO since 1993. Born in a stable in 1961, he was a boy genius, who excelled both academically and at sports. Having represented Ireland internationally at bog snorkelling and flower arranging, he graduated from Trinity College in Dublin as soon as they could get rid of him.
"He then became another boring KPMG accountant until divine inspiration sentenced to him to a life of penal servitude in the airline business. Despite his best efforts, Ryanair is the world’s favourite airline, with 1,300+ low fare routes across 27 countries.
"The airline has 45 European bases, a fleet of 272 Boeing 737 aircraft and will carry over 75 million passengers in the current financial year. All of Ryanair’s lowest fares are available only at www.RYANAIR.COM, which is Europe’s largest travel website. It is widely known that women find him irresistible."
UPDATE: The reference to O'Leary's attractiveness to the opposite sex has, curiously, now been removed!
NB: Apologies to all KPMG accountants. We are sure they're all extremely fun individuals.