Siobhán Talbot receives Distinguished Leader in Business Award at Irish Times Business Awards
Entrepreneur Terry Clune wins Deal of the Year
Friday 23rd February 2024: Siobhán Talbot, who stepped down last month as group managing director of Glanbia, has been chosen as the recipient of the Distinguished Leader in Business award at the annual Irish Times Business Awards, held in association with Bank of Ireland.
This is the sixth year of the Awards which were held in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin and attended by the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath,TD. Accepting the award Ms Talbot, who led Glanbia for a decade, said that from day one in the company she knew the culture was special.
“It’s the people here with me tonight that have made that culture live and breathe … it is a fantastic and amazing organisation with lots of opportunity,” she said.
She said the high point of her decade in charge was the successful spin-out of Glanbia’s dairy business to co-op members in an entity now known as Tirlán, while also “building a strong Irish headquartered global business” focused on nutrition.
‘I would like to thank the Irish Times for this award on behalf of myself and all of my colleagues in Glanbia. Success is a team sport and today wouldn’t be possible without our 5,500 employees around the world, who make great things happen every day. I’ve been fortunate to have had one of the best jobs in the world – a great team and culture and a powerful and inspiring purpose -to deliver better nutrition for every step of life’s journey – which has motivated me every day.”
“From one organisation so solidly grounded in our Irish roots, we have created two incredibly strong distinct businesses in recent years – Glanbia, which is a global nutrition powerhouse and Tirlán which is Ireland’s leading agribusiness company, now fully farmer owned. It has been my privilege to play a part in shaping this journey.’
Having graduated from UCD, Ms Talbot trained as an accountant and spent seven years with professional services firm PwC. After a period working in Australia, she returned to Ireland and joined Glanbia (then Waterford Foods) in 1992 to set up an internal audit function.
Ms Talbot went on to hold several senior leadership roles, including a period as group finance director, before being appointed to lead the Co Kilkenny-based listed company in 2013.
Under her leadership, Glanbia was transformed from a local dairy producer to a global leader in sports nutrition and performance. In 2022, Glanbia completed the sale of its remaining minority interest in the dairy business to the co-operative society, allowing the plc to focus on its mission as a global nutrition company.
Having left Glanbia last month, Ms Talbot has “no big plans” for this year other than to “take some down time” with her family. Her husband Billy and daughter Alice attended the awards ceremony.
Ms Talbot’s latest award comes six years after she was chosen as the inaugural winner of The Irish Times Business Person of the Year award.
Terry Clune and CluneTech win Deal of the Year
It was a notable night in Dublin for Kilkenny business leaders with technology entrepreneur Terry Clune and his CluneTech group claiming the ‘Deal of the Year’ award.
Accepting the award, Terry Clune said he did so with “phenomenal pride”. “It’s a really, really extraordinary talented team that backed me up and I’m very, very proud to be able to accept this award on behalf of them.”
In June, it emerged his CluneTech group, which is based in Kilkenny, had agreed to sell payroll software developer Immedis to US multinational UKG in a deal worth €575 million.That price tag valued Mr Clune’s holding, at about €345 million. The businessman owned more than 60 per cent of Immedis through CluneTech and shares that he held himself in the business he founded just eight years ago.
The company’s 374 workers and the State-owned Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) are among the deal’s other beneficiaries. As a result of the deal, Mr Clune was chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for June 2023.
Mr Clune established Immedis in response to a growing need from businesses with operations in multiple countries, making it increasingly difficult to manage payrolls across their different jurisdictions. Clients include pharmaceutical giant Abbvie, Harvard University in the US, and ride- and taxi-hailing service Uber.
In the Republic, Immedis numbers ESB International and Dornan Engineering, both of which operate in multiple countries, among its customers. Its systems manage payroll for customers in multiple industries operating in 150 countries and 120 different currencies.
This deal was one of four shortlisted for the category at the awards ceremony. Barry Napier chief executive and founder of Cubic Telecom won the overall Irish Times Business Person of the Year for 2023.
Ends.