Dairygold Co-Operative Society Ltd. has today (Wednesday, January 4) announced that Sean O’Brien has been elected as its new chair.
O’Brien succeeds John O’Gorman who served as chair of the co-op society for the past five years and recently stepped down having served the maximum term permitted on the board.
O’Brien, from Midleton, Co. Cork was elected to the Dairygold board in December 2020 and has been a member of the co-op’s East Cork Regional Committee since 2005 and the Dairygold General Committee since 2010.
Speaking after his election as chair, Sean O’Brien said: “I’m honoured to have been elected to serve as chair of Dairygold. Dairygold is an outstanding cooperative with a true commitment to its member shareholders.
“I am grateful to the board for the confidence and trust they have shown in me today and to the members who have supported me over many years.
“I look forward to working closely with the board, chief executive, Conor Galvin, staff and Dairygold’s members.
“I would like to also pay tribute to my predecessor John O’Gorman who served as chair of the society with great leadership and stewardship over the past five years.”
Dairygold development
O’Brien said that the co-op society has had a remarkable period of growth and development which supported its members to realise their on-farm ambitions.
“I look forward to working together with the board and management of Dairygold to contribute to Dairygold’s continued success,” he added.
Sean O’Brien is married to Bernadette and they have six children. He is a Nuffield scholar, holds a diploma in corporate direction (food business), a business degree from University College Cork (UCC) and recently completed the Dairygold Sustainability Training Programme.
The position of vice-chair will be filled at the next meeting of the co-op’s board.
Other appointments
A few weeks ago Dairygold announced that it had appointed dairy farmer, Joe Tobin, to its board of directors. Tobin, who is from Camus, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, took up the post as of January 1, 2023.
He had been nominated by the Tipperary regional committee to fill the Tipperary vacancy on the board and succeeds John O’Gorman, who completed his maximum term on the board at the end of last month.
Dairygold also confirmed just before Christmas that Patrick Clancy and Maurice Curtin were re-elected to the board for a second five-year term. Clancy continues to represent Mitchelstown region while Curtin represents the Limerick region.
Then earlier in December, it was announced that Tim Healy, the chief operations officer for Dairygold, was retiring after 37 years with the co-op.