Paddy Power chooses retail head as new CEO

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish gambling firm Paddy Power has named Andy McCue, the head of its UK and Ireland retail operations, as its new chief executive.

McCue, who been with the company for eight years, will replace Patrick Kennedy, who is stepping down at the end of the year. He currently oversees 3,000 staff and 2 billion euros (1.58 billion pounds) of turnover in retail and telephone operations.

Paddy Power Chairman Nigel Northridge credited McCue with "driving the company's regulatory agenda" and described him as a key member of the company's management committee.

Kennedy announced in May that he would step down after nearly 10 years in the role.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Pravin Char)