Latest news with #JennyMelia
Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
EI's new CEO must think big to help domestic businesses scale to create next ‘Kerry Group or Smurfit'
It's all change at Enterprise Ireland . On Friday, it appointed Jenny Melia as its chief executive and one of her key tasks will be to implement its new five-year strategy, which has just been put into effect. A lot has changed since EI's last three-year plan, not least the return to the White House of Donald Trump and his threat to impose tariffs and other measures on the rest of the world. Suddenly, our pharma exports and the financial spin off they yield, are under major threat, along with billions in corporate tax revenues from Big Tech firms, which fund many of our essential day-to-day services. On Wednesday, EI chairman Michael Carey and interim CEO Kevin Sherry gave a presentation on the new strategy in Tokyo to 100-plus Irish business leaders who had travelled to the country as part of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year programme's CEO retreat. READ MORE 'It has an underlying ambition to ensure that indigenous Irish businesses, Irish exporting companies and international trading companies... that those businesses become the primary driving force of the Irish economy to provide a counterbalance for the great success of FDI [foreign direct investment] and the great work that the IDA do,' Carey said. Scaling is a potential 'game changer', he said, adding that the ambition is to establish a large fund (a mix of State resources and private sector money) that would allow it write larger cheques for companies with the ambition to become 'the next Kerry Group or Smurfit'. That step change in funding is a big gap in the system at the moment. EI's ambition is to seed the next generation of Irish multinationals. According to Carey, EI is the largest private equity investor in Europe, a fact previously unknown to Cantillon. Now is the time to build on that expertise. As an entrepreneur himself, Carey should be well placed to help EI deliver on its new strategy. When appointed in 2023, he was the first EI chairman to have been a client of the agency, and his biscuit manufacturer East Coast Bakehouse is itself trying to scale into markets outside Ireland.
Irish Examiner
2 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.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Jenny Melia appointed CEO of Enterprise Ireland
Jenny Melia has held a number of senior roles during her career with EI. She is a graduate of UCD with a PhD in Chemistry. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke TD confirmed the appointment. 'I want to congratulate Jenny Melia on her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland. Jenny 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,' he said. The chairman of Enterprise Ireland, Michael Carey, said Jenny Melia was appointed after a highly competitive recruitment process. "She 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,' he said. 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.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Enterprise Ireland names Jenny Melia as new CEO
Enterprise Ireland has announced the appointment of Jenny Melia as its new chief executive. Ms Melia, who has worked with the agency for 29 years, is currently an executive director of the agency, which is responsible for helping Irish companies tap export markets. In her current role, she is chief client officer for the agency. She will take up her new role in July. It is understood the recruitment process attracted huge interest across the public and private sector, both domestically and from abroad. READ MORE Kevin Sherry, who has been interim chief executive since March, will return to his previous position of executive director. Mr Sherry stepped into the breach after Leo Clancy left the organisation to take up the role of chief executive at Ei Electronics in Shannon, Co Clare. Ms Melia, who is a UCD graduate, has held a number of senior leadership roles across Enterprise Ireland, working with client companies of varying scales across all sectors, including food, industrial, and technology. She has also worked with the agency's high potential start-up division, as well as its research and development team. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said Ms Melia was 'a dedicated public servant who has spent much of her career supporting and fostering the development of the Irish enterprise base'. Enterprise Ireland chairman Michael Carey said Ms Melia had established 'deep relationships' with key stakeholders, and had played a 'pivotal role' in the group's client base now exporting and employing at record levels. Employment at companies supported by Enterprise Ireland rose to 234,454 earlier this year. The group's five-year plan, which Ms Melia will spearhead, aims to increase exports to €50 billion by 2029. The strategy, which was published earlier this year, is aimed at growing the number of jobs in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland to 275,000 over the same period. The plan, Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally, is focused on adding 1,700 new Irish-owned exporters, helping them to become more productive, sustainable and innovative. It also aims to support 1,000 new start-ups to help drive long-term sustainable growth and job creation. Among the targets are reducing carbon dioxide emissions at Enterprise Ireland-supported companies by 35 per cent by the end of 2030, and a 3 per cent annual average increase in productivity. That will be supported by a rise in investment in research and development, with Enterprise Ireland companies expected to spend €2.2 billion in 2029 compared to €1.55 billion in 2023.
