The CEO of Belfast-headquartered agri-tech company Devenish has been named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year at the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland awards.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland programme helps to connect entrepreneurs and CEOs with their peers and aims to raise the profiles of local companies. The scheme's support spans the entire island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, and the programme culminates each year in the annual EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland Awards.
This year's 24 finalists represent companies across the country that together exceed €1.2bn (£1.03bn) in annual revenue and employ over 13,000 people. The group includes a broad range of entrepreneurs from sectors spanning the business world, from restaurant chain owners and the heads of educational institutes to CEOs of major tech and health companies.
This year's coveted Entrepreneur of the Year award was given to Richard Kennedy, the CEO of Irish agri-tech firm Devenish. The Belfast-headquartered firm operates in over 40 countries around the world and supplies nutritional products for the agriculture and aquaculture industries. The firm reported over £250m turnover in 2018 and expects to hit the £350m mark within the next three years.
The award for Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year went to Triona Mullane with mAdme Technologies, a tech company that helps global mobile operators to better engage with their customers. Industry Entrepreneur Of The Year went to Pat McDonagh, founder of Irish restaurant chain Supermac’s.
Anne Heraty, Chairperson of the EY judging panel commented on Richard's award: "The standard of competition between this year’s finalists was incredible high. It is brilliant to see so many home-grown entrepreneurs at the forefront of their industries. Richard Kennedy has been instrumental in leading the innovation that has been driven Devenish’s success. He has developed a clear and ambitious vision for the business to support their growth in global markets."
Source: Written based on press release
