About

Leading a relatively small but strong team at one of Ireland’s leading forecourt and retail convenience retailing chains, Maria Costello serves as Topaz Energy’s head of legal. Under her leadership the legal function has had particular success in handling competition law matters when supporting the expansion of the company’s business. Her most notable work involves leading the acquisition of Esso Ireland by Topaz Energy Group, and also the subsequent sale of Topaz to Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2016. These deals posed the legal team with a number of obstacles that had to be dealt with in a particularly tight timeframe. Due diligence was completed on 150 properties, and a Competition and Consumer Protection (CCPC) mandated requirement to divest three Esso sites together with a 50% interest in a fuel terminal in Dublin Port to two competitors was successfully achieved. In the last two years Costello has further advanced the legal function by implementing a comprehensive claims management training workshop for all retail site managers. This has led to a significant improvement in how incidents are managed from the time of occurrence and strengthens the company’s position in the event of litigation. Working closely with the CEO and senior management on a one-to one and daily basis Costello adds tangible value to the business.