AEMS - Conor Molloy -  Event Chairman

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Since 2005, Conor’s day job has been helping business’ save fuel and manage their energy usage for profit and reduced emissions.  Conor Molloy is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, CILT, FTAI, IMCA and EVO.

With an MSc in Energy Management and Renewable energy from University of Ulster, he is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), CMVP and trainer for ISO50001.

In recent times, he has trained well over one hundred Lead Auditors at the request of the Maltese Government and the UK Government’s Environment Agency.

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Bord Bia - Tara McCarthy - CEO

Tara McCarthy is the Chief Executive of Bord Bia. She was previously Chief Executive for Bord IascaighMhara (BIM), Ireland’s seafood development agency.

Tara brings with her over 20 years’ experience in the wider food industry. Tara has operated in overseas markets for 10 years in Germany, France and Belgium and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with an MBS in Marketing from Smurfit Business School.

An affiliate of IMD Business School, Switzerland; Tara has been a regular contributor to the Government’s Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025 reports and succeeded in delivering a number of instrumental initiatives for the Irish Food Industry under the ‘Pathways for Growth’ programme.

Ms. McCarthy was previously Director of the Food and Beverages Division in Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board and has led a team of Senior Executives on the development of the seafood, dairy, prepared foods; alcohol and small business sectors.

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C&C Group - Michael Hannigan - Engineering manager Bulmers Clonmel site

C&C Group is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded cider, beer, wine, soft drinks and bottled water.

C&C Group manufactures Bulmers the leading Irish cider brand, Magners the premium international cider brand, a range of English ciders, the Tennent’s beer brand, Tipperary Water and Finches Soft Drinks.

C&C Group distributes a number of beer brands in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland, primarily for Anheuser-Busch InBev, and owns Wallaces Express, a Scottish drinks wholesaler.

C&C Group is headquartered in Dublin and its manufacturing operations are based in Co. Tipperary, Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland; and Vermont, US. C&C Group plc is listed on the Irish and London Stock Exchanges.

 

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Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates - Eamonn Redmond - Operations Manager

Eamonn is Operations Manager at Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates, where with the help of a very talented Operations team, he is improving results by harnessing the capability of People.

Our focus in Lily O’Brien’s is to simplify work, identify and eliminate waste, improve productivity and optimise equipment performance, using a Lean Six Sigma approach.

Before joining Lily’s, Eamonn worked with Multinationals P&G and Gillette in Medical device manufacturing, working in various disciplines, including Engineering, Supply Chain and Operations.

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Rye River Brewing Company - Cathal Kelly - Manufacturing & Plant Manager

Cathal is currently the Manufacturing & Plant manager for Rye River Brewing company, managing the overall operations of the plant including Production, Brewing, Engineering and H&S.

Cathal’s background is in Electrical Engineering and has studied advanced robotics in Austin Texas. He has also managed Engineering teams in high volume manufacturing companies such as Crown Packaging (Food) LTD and Balcas LTD.

Using lean tools to improve efficiency and reduce waste. Cathal also ran his own company for 10 years designing control systems and providing engineering support to manufacturing companies including Future Print, Zomax, & MPO.

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Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland - Deirdre Ryan - Head of Corporate Social Responsibility

In her role as Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Deirdre leads the development and implementation of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland’s sustainability strategy. This includes a broad scope of topics from carbon footprint analysis and responsible sourcing of products to food waste reduction initiatives and stakeholder engagement.

Deirdre is responsible for embedding best practice into all business management processes, developing targets and key performance indicators and reporting on progress. Lidl’s ambitious commitment to sustainability has been recognised and supported by Bord Bia’s Origin Green Sustainability Program.

Deirdre holds an MSc in International Business and an MSc in Sustainability from UCD Smurfit School of Business and completed the first Origin Green Ambassador programme. Prior to her current role, Deirdre worked in numerous leading food companies on their sustainability programmes including Nestle and METRO Group.

Deirdre also represents Lidl on the Stakeholder Forum for Ireland's National Plan for Corporate Social Responsibility 2017-2020.

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Sodexo UK & Ireland - Edwina Hughes - Corporate Responsibility Manager

Edwina has worked in corporate responsibility for over twelve years.  She qualified from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in Business and Economics in and built on this with an M.A. from the School of Business at Trinity focusing particularly on corporate responsibility.

Edwina has worked in research; for government and in charities.  She spent seven years in a range of campaigning roles at Business in the Community – looking at the role of business in social housing, education and homelessness.

As CR director for Sodexo UK & Ireland, Edwina decides and leads our corporate responsibly strategy for the UK & Ireland.   She oversees the production of corporate responsibility resources and manages our projects. She briefs and supports Board members on our work, liaises with subject matter experts from across the business.  She also oversees partnerships with key stakeholders including WWF, Food Ethics Council and FareShare.

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David Carson, Partner, Deloitte Ireland

David is a corporate finance partner. He leads the Brexit, crisis management and forensic teams in Ireland. He contributed to a task force advising the Lord Mayor of Dublin on the possible impacts of Brexit on Dublin.

David is a member of the Brexit subcommittee of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. He has spoken at a number of conferences on Brexit in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. He spoke at The Irish Times Brexit summit, a British Irish Chamber of Commerce Brexit conference, the National Manufacturing Conference and a Department of Agriculture conference on the impact of Brexit on the Fishing industry

David leads out the Deloitte “Brexit Lab” for clients to assist them in their strategies to mitigate threats and take advantage of opportunities arising from Brexit.  The lab  accelerates businesses beyond uncertainty by examining potential risks, scenario planning and exploring opportunities to drive strategy and decision making.

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Simon McKeever, CEO, Irish Exporters Association

Simon McKeever has over 20 years’ international working experience in developing businesses and an outstanding track record in development of trade, trade policy and strategy across Ireland and the UK.

Simon joined the Irish Exporters Association as Chief Executive in October 2013 where he is responsible for leading a team of 20 people who work with companies across the Irish export industry, including SME’s who are beginning to think about exporting for the first time right through to global multinational companies who are already extensively exporting from Ireland. Simon drives the direction of the organisation as the leading, enabling and connecting force for Irish exporters, providing practical knowledge and support across the Island of Ireland and in foreign markets.

Prior to Simon taking up his current position as Chief Executive, he spent 3 years as Director of Trade and Investment at the British Embassy in Dublin, which placed him at the forefront of joint trade strategy between Ireland and the UK, where he developed a close working relationship between UK Trade and Investment and Enterprise Ireland. Simon was the driving force behind the creation of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, and his leadership on the Agri-food agenda created a joint initiative that has kicked off the first Irish British Food Business Innovation Summit in Dublin.

Simon’s career to date encompassed senior executive roles in global financial markets and business consultancy in Ireland. Simon spent 18 years working in global financial markets, with RBC, TD and AIB Capital Markets. He is widely travelled and has been at the forefront of developing considerable business in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the UK, in a business development capacity, winning new customers and rolling out new products.

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Paul Kelly, Director of FDI, IBEC

Paul Kelly is Director of Food Drink Ireland (FDI) which is part of Ibec, the group that represents Irish business. He started his career in risk management with the Insurance Corporation of Ireland before joining Ibec. He held a number of roles across Ibec before taking up his current position in 2005.

FDI is the main trade association for the food and drink industry in Ireland and is committed to ensuring an environment exists that is conducive to the success and further growth of the food and drink industry. FDI provides leadership and direction on a number of key strategic issues, including the economic importance and reputation of the sector, competitiveness, innovation, trade, skills, regulation and general food chain policy.

He holds a B Eng in Electronic Engineering from the University of Limerick and a Masters Degree in Applied Science from University College Dublin

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Oakpark Foods – Tommy Morrissey– Operations Manager

My name is Tommy Morrissey. I am a qualified accountant with ACCA and I have a Black Belt in lean manufacturing. I have over ten years experience in the food manufacturing industry from primary to secondary processing.

I am the Operations Manager with Oakpark Foods where we are driving a continuous improvement culture in everything we do. Our policy is to engage with our team members at all levels of the business to ensure they contribute and belong to the process.

At Oakpark Foods we process pork and bacon products where we distribute to all of the major retailers in Ireland, the United Kingdom and to mainland Europe.

Our focus in Oakpark Foods is to use the lean tools and techniques to guide people in a structured forum for problem solving.

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Mondelez International – Ian O’Toole – Global Engineering Manager

Over 30 years’ experience in Aviation & Food Industries, applying Lean tools & principles in the relentless pursuit of Competitive Advantage.

 

 

 

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