Irish agri-services group Origin Enterprises has appointed Rose Hynes as non-executive chairman following a decision by Aryzta chief executive Owen Killian to step down from the role.

Mr Killian had been chairman of Origin since it was established in 2006 and later listed on the stock market.

His decision to step down comes just a month after Aryzta sold its entire 29 per cent shareholding in Origin via a market placement.

His colleague Patrick McEniff has also resigned from the board of Origin.

Ms Hynes was appointed as a non-executive director of Origin on October 1st. She owns almost 3,900 shares in the company.

Ms Hynes recently stepped aside as chairman of Ervia, the parent company of Irish Water. She is also chairman of the state-owned Shannon Group plc, which controls Shannon Airport.

Other directorships include listed companies Total Produce and Mincon, and investment group One51.