Latest news with #HPSU
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Enterprise Ireland names Jenny Melia as new chief executive
Enterprise Ireland has announced Jenny Melia as its new chief executive officer. Ms Melia, who has worked in the agency for 29 years, is currently an executive director of Enterprise Ireland, which includes the role of chief client officer. She will take up her new role as chief executive in July. Ms Melia will replace interim chief executive Kevin Sherry, who will return to his position as executive director in July. Ms Melia has worked with companies from all sectors, including food, industrial and technology, and has also worked with the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) Division, and the research and innovation team. 'I am looking forward to working with Jenny and her leadership team, as this Government continues to focus on supporting Irish exporters and indigenous SMEs. Irish-owned enterprises are critical to our economy, and we are committed to supporting this sector to continue to be agile, and to grow and scale both domestically and in international markets," said Minister for Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment, Peter Burke. Enterprise Ireland chair Michael Carey said Ms Melia has worked extensively and directly with its client companies. "She was also centrally involved in the design and implementation of the organisation's new client operating model, and Enterprise Ireland's new strategy, 'Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025-2029)'. She will bring this vast experience and leadership to her new role, and we look forward to working with her to achieve our long-term ambition, that exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy.' Employment at companies supported by Enterprise Ireland rose to a record 234,454 earlier this year, and the organisation's new strategy sets out a number of ambitious targets for the Irish enterprise base, including plans to increase exports to €50bn by 2029.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Enterprise Ireland names Jenny Melia as new CEO
Enterprise Ireland has appointed Jenny Melia as its new chief executive officer (designate). Ms Melia, who has worked in the state agency for 29 years, is currently an Executive Director of Enterprise Ireland, which includes the role of Chief Client Officer. She will take up her new role as CEO in July and will replace interim CEO Kevin Sherry. Ms Melia has held a number of senior leadership roles across the organisation throughout her career and has worked extensively with client companies of varying scales from all sectors, including food, industrial and technology, and has also worked with the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) Division, and the Research and Innovation team. Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Minister Peter Burke said that Ms Melia is a dedicated public servant, who has spent much of her career supporting and fostering the development of the Irish enterprise base through her impressive tenure with Enterprise Ireland, which spans almost three decades. "I am looking forward to working with Jenny and her leadership team, as this Government continues to focus on supporting Irish exporters and indigenous SMEs," Mr Burke said. "Irish-owned enterprises are critical to our economy, and we are committed to supporting this sector to continue to be agile, and to grow and scale both domestically and in international markets," he added. Michael Carey, Chairman of Enterprise Ireland, said the new CEO has an outstanding track record of providing clear vision and strategic leadership within the organisation, has established deep relationships working collaboratively with key stakeholders from across the ecosystem, and has worked extensively and directly with our client companies. "Enterprise Ireland has successfully helped Irish enterprise to scale and grow enormously in recent years, with our client base now employing and exporting at record levels, and Jenny has played a pivotal role in this success," Mr Carey said. "She will bring this vast experience and leadership to her new role, and we look forward to working with her to achieve our long-term ambition, that exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy," he added. Mr Carey also thanked Kevin Sherry for his leadership as interim CEO, adding that Kevin, who will return to his position as Executive Director in July, demonstrated an exceptional level of commitment as he filled this role in recent months. Employment at companies supported by Enterprise Ireland rose to a record 234,454 earlier this year, and the organisation's new strategy sets out a number of ambitious targets for the Irish enterprise base, including plans to increase exports to €50 billion by 2029.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
LYQD Cask Exchange: A platform geared to support the rise in Irish whiskey
Whiskey has become a big business in recent years, and James Jardella intends making it more accessible and transparent for investors. Along with his partner Ernest Cantillon, their LYQD Cask Exchange platform is designed to open up an industry steeped in tradition, created to capitalise on the boom in Irish whiskey over recent years and the dozens of new distilleries now operating across the country. 'As it stands today, there isn't a single centralised exchange for cask whiskey anywhere in the world,' Chief Executive Jardella explains. 'This restricts liquidity, limits the flow of capital into the industry and reduces the potential returns for cask owners through a lack of pricing transparency. Our aim is to change that,' he says. The startup has already raised €1.2m in seed capital to secure its launch later this year, leaving €250,000 still available to investors in the current funding round. This is a limited-time opportunity to invest in LYQD at the maximum 50% Employment Incentive Investment Scheme (EIIS) tax relief rate in Ireland. KPMG found that whiskey is the most popular form of luxury asset, ahead of art, jewellery and wine. Backed by Enterprise Ireland's High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU) programme after an exhaustive investigative process, LYQD Cask Exchange will operate as a secure and transparent platform for trading Irish whiskey casks and bulk. 'The initial response from investors has been extremely supportive and I'm really impressed by the eco-system in Ireland that surrounds new businesses,' Jardella said. 'Irish whiskey has seen strong growth over the past decade, but the traditional cask and bulk whiskey market remains fragmented and complex. This funding milestone will enable us to bring a much-needed solution to the market.' Investing in an asset primed for growth cask Whiskey is a valued asset, with an estimated 44 million casks worth €79 billion currently stored for ageing worldwide. Historically cask whiskey has been shown to appreciate in value at 12% to 18% per year with the potential for inflation beating returns making it an increasingly popular alternative asset. 'Cask whiskey, unlike other assets, typically appreciates over time rather than depreciates the longer the whiskey spends in a cask, the rarer it becomes and it's flavour profile is enhanced,' Jardella explains. 'The LYQD Cask Exchange marries an age-old asset with modern technology to improve outcomes for people who are trading whiskey, be they distilleries, wholesalers or individual cask owners and investors.' KPMG recently surveyed hundreds of high-net-worth individuals and investment advisers to discern attitudes and knowledge of whiskey as an investment class. It found that whiskey is the most popular form of luxury asset, ahead of art, jewellery and wine with 27% of respondents indicating that they are planning to invest in whiskey within the next 3 years. Historically cask whiskey has been shown to appreciate in value at 12% to 18% per year. The volume of global sales of Irish whiskey increased by 100% from 2014 to 2024, making it the fastest growing spirits category in the world. This growth is driven by a confluence of trends, including young adult drinking habits, the growth of the middle class in developing countries, and renewed investment in Irish production. An appreciating asset guided by trust & transparency The funding of the LYQD Cask Exchange comes from a variety of mainly Irish sources, including private investors, Enterprise Ireland and a prominent family investment office. The imminent launch of the platform is significant given the potential reintroduction of US tariffs on European alcohol, with Irish distilleries facing renewed uncertainty around exports exploring new ways to reach consumers and maintain production levels. 'For investors, this could present attractive opportunities to enter the whiskey market at favourable valuations.' At the same time, a recent BBC Disclosure programme into the mis-selling of Scotch whisky casks has put a spotlight on the need for greater transparency in alternative asset trading. While similar issues have not been reported in the Irish market, LYQD's platform will allow only authenticated casks be listed thus ensuring safer and more reliable transactions. 'LYQD will make transactions smoother, safer, and more accessible for all stakeholders.' The platform has been further bolstered by the arrival to the team of investor and advisor Tim Murphy, former MD of BNY and CFO of Waystone. In addition, Ronan McDonnell, experienced CTO leads the area of technology innovation to LYQD. All of which boosts the firm's credentials for investors. Trust is a key driver underpinning the LYQD Cask Exchange. The ability to trade safely requires verification to ensure all people on the platform have gone through the necessary checks and balances. 'Trust as a business is earned through transparency by showing origin, pricing, and ownership history. That is how we plan to build trust and through good user experience over time.' Artificial Intelligence will also play a role in the platform navigating data to help investors learn about whiskey and understand the price position of an asset at any given moment. 'AI should be able to help with decision making, not replace it,' Jardella explains. 'We're already on our AI journey but it will need to be able to deliver value for people before it becomes a core functionality.' As LYQD Cask Exchange embarks on its mission to democratise the whiskey market, James Jardella remains focused on bringing investors the opportunity for growth in an asset whose value increases with age. 'Whiskey is valued for rarity and taste - a tangible asset for people to invest in. People like investments they can relate to, and whiskey is ripe for that.'
Business Post
12-05-2025
- Health
- Business Post
FoodMarble targets profitability as demand grows for gut health tech in US market
FoodMarble, the Dublin-based healthtech business, expects to reach profitability by the end of this year. Founded by Aonghus Shortt and Peter Harte in 2016, the business is based in the Guinness Enterprise Centre, has 35 staff and has raised €8 million in funding to date. It has developed a device aimed at monitoring gut health using breath testing, to help patients and clinicians work out where foods cause problems. 'We help people understand how they digest different types of food. It's like a digestive companion to work out how well you digest one food or another, to allow you to make changes in your diet to adjust,' Shortt told the Business Post. 'It can also be used by doctors. They can use it to help with diagnosing certain conditions.' The idea came about because of an issue that Shortt's then girlfriend, now wife, had and his engineering-minded approach to helping her. 'She was having a tough time with digestion. She had no idea what was driving it and had gone to a string of doctors, got lots of tests, with no help. It was curtailing her social life and work. I had access to research literature and thought about what could help,' he said. 'That's how I came across breath testing. I went and built a prototype and started using it with her. Even though it was basic, she was able to see when she was and wasn't digesting well. She would take one type of food, eat it, measure the breath, and see how she responded.' This led Shortt to pair up with Harte, who he had met through his research in UCD. The duo set about developing FoodMarble into a business and made some interesting discoveries along the way. 'The expectations of what the patient might think is an issue so often isn't the cause. The classic one is that so many people believe dairy is a trigger for digestive issues when it actually comes up the least in testing,' he said. 'There's such a mismatch between what we often think is the issue and what the issue actually is. Digestion is complicated.' The business is supported by Enterprise Ireland and has previously been part of the high potential start-up unit (HPSU). 'We did HPSU and that was a great way to meet other co-founders at similar stages. We also took part in the Founders Forum. Another big help for us has been the EI team in the US,' Shortt said. 'Their health team in particular has been excellent in helping us meet potential customers. Having access to their offices in different parts of the world is a big help.' The US is the big focus for FoodMarble and Shortt is confident the company can make increasingly large inroads into that market. 'A big focus for us is US healthcare. We've seen a large uptake from gastro-specialists and from healthcare systems there, and we've gathered quite a lot of data in the process and we're using that to help doctors understand specific issues in more detail,' he said. 'The big process is on making it a longer-term usage model so both the doctor and patient can get more insights over time.'
Irish Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Post
Enterprise Ireland reveals it invested more than €27m in start-ups in 2024
ENTERPRISE IRELAND, the government agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish companies in global markets, has revealed it invested €27.6m in Irish start-ups in 2024. The body supported 157 start-up companies last year, with investment provided through its High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) and Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) programmes. The figures were announced today at Enterprise Ireland's annual Start-Up Day Conference at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with more than 600 delegates in attendance. Opening the conference, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, said: "Today is about celebrating the spirit of Irish entrepreneurship. "The strong pipeline of innovative start-ups emerging over the last three years demonstrates the extraordinary resilience and business ambition of Irish-founded start-up teams, particularly against the backdrop of a challenging global economic period." Last year marked the final year of Enterprise Ireland's three-year strategy, entitled 'Leading in a Changing World 2022-2024'. In that time, there were 266 HPSU and 213 Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) approvals, with more than €78m invested in the companies, half of which were based outside of Dublin. Start-ups supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2024 included 90 HPSUs with the potential to create 10 jobs and €1m in sales within three years of starting up and 13 HPSUs from academic research. Meanwhile, 45 start-up companies that were approved investment in 2024 were women-led, while 63 were based outside the capital. Exporting companies tipped to drive economy Today's Start-Up Day — the largest annual event on Ireland's start-up calendar — comprised hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders, bringing together companies from sectors including ICT, life sciences, fintech, food and sustainability. This year's conference included a pitching element, featuring top university (pre) spin-out ventures emerging from Enterprise Ireland's Commercialisation Fund. These teams will pitch their visionary concepts, competing for an award and the prestigious opportunity to participate in UC Berkeley's Venture Connectivity Program. Looking forward, enhancing the pipeline of innovative and scalable start-ups is a key objective of Enterprise Ireland's new strategy, 'Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally'. It has set a target to support 1,000 new start-ups over the five-year period from 2025 to 2029. "Start-up Day 2025 is a celebration of Ireland's strong and dynamic start-up community and the Start-Up class of 2024 have and will continue to play a significant role in contributing to the vibrancy of Ireland's start-up ecosystem," said Kevin Sherry, Interim CEO of Enterprise Ireland. "A key objective in our new strategy is to accelerate sustainable Irish business so that in time, exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy. "As part of our plan, Enterprise Ireland is undertaking a dedicated consultation process by engaging with the start-up ecosystem on the supports available for early-stage companies in Ireland. "This aims to strengthen our pipeline of early-stage companies with the potential to scale internationally, furthering Ireland's position as a global leader in entrepreneurship and innovation." See More: Enterprise Ireland
