CEO of Devenish Nutrition Richard Kennedy won the overall Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Award for 2019 at the EOY Ireland awards last night, Thursday, November 21.
As well as the overall award, Kennedy also took home the accolade for the International Entrepreneur of the Year at the awards ceremony, which was held in the Citywest Hotel, on the outskirts of Dublin.
Kennedy is head of the Belfast-based agri-food giant Devenish, which has experienced significant growth in recent years.
Congratulations @CEODevenish on being crowned @EOYIreland Entrepreneur of the Year #EOYIreland2019 pic.twitter.com/6IIKzjlvuk
— Devenish (@DevenishNutri) November 21, 2019
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The group last year secured €118 million in long-term funding to enable its research, development and growth plans.
Meanwhile, Supermac’s founder and CEO Pat McDonagh won the Entrepreneur of the Year in the “Industry” category.
Other notable winners on the night included: Triona Mullane of MAdme Technologies, winner of the Emerging category; and former Irish rugby coach Joe Schmidt, winner of a separate, special award on the night.
The winners were chosen from 24 finalists across three categories; finalists were chosen from a broad range of industries and sectors.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Organiser of the awards the EY EOY programme “passionately believes in promoting entrepreneurship across the island of Ireland and empowering entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in Ireland, Northern Ireland and around the world”, according to the initiative.
