Farmer Business Developments plc. (FBD) has announced the appointment of Pat Murphy as its new chairman with immediate effect.
Pat succeeds the late Padraig Walshe, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on February 1, 2023.
Pat Murphy is a dairy farmer at Smithstown, Maddoxtown, Co. Kilkenny and has an extensive knowledge of Farmer Business Developments plc., having served 10 years as a director.
According to the company, Murphy has a long record of high level involvement and experience in farm organisations, co-ops and agri-business.
He is currently a director of Glanbia plc., and vice chair of Tirlán Co-operative Society Ltd., and he previously served on the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) National Farm Business Committee, as a board member of IFAC and as vice president of Macra na Feirme.
Chair of Farmer Business Developments plc
Following his election, Pat Murphy said: “It is a great honour to have been elected chairman of Farmer Business Developments plc, whose roots go back over 50 years to the foundation of FBD Insurance.
“I want to build on Padraig Walshe’s legacy of maintaining farmer influence in FBD, developing our subsidiary FBD Hotels and Resorts and delivering superior returns to our 4,000 mostly farmer shareholders.”
The plc is an investment holding company which owns 100% of FBD Hotels and Resorts, a property and leisure group with four hotels in Ireland and two resorts in Spain, a majority stake in development land close to the new Berlin Airport and a number of smaller investments.
It holds a 24% stake in the stock market quoted company, FBD Holdings plc., whose main business is FBD Insurance.