Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) has announced Denis Duggan as its new chief executive officer (CEO). The current CEO of Macra na Feirme, Denis will assume the top HSI position in January 2022.
A native of Tipperary, Denis has a prolific background in the agriculture and business sectors and brings a wealth of experience with him to take up the helm at HSI.
Commenting on his appointment, he said:
“Horse Sport Ireland, with its team of staff, board of directors, and affiliates, is an incredible organisation with huge potential.
“The foundations are in place with the current strategic plan to embark on a period of exciting development and growth across equestrian sports and breeding.
“I look forward to leading the organisation on this journey as we embrace the challenges ahead and to working with all our partners and stakeholders on bringing our ambitious plans to fruition.”
He holds an MBA from National University of Ireland Galway and previously worked with Shannon Development for six years.
After this, he held the position of senior regional development executive with Enterprise Ireland (EI) where he encouraged and developed new agri-business start-ups.
He was also involved in EI’s Innovation Arena, gaining a variety of achievements and awards across community development and science.
Denis has also been instrumental in tripling the surplus of Macra na Feirme in respect of its membership, for the first time in decades.
HSI acting chair, Mary Lambkin-Coyle said of the appointment:
“I believe Denis Duggan will bring strong leadership and commercial acumen to help us to achieve our ambitious objectives for the sport horse industry in the coming years as laid out in our strategic plan.
“In particular, we will look to Denis to deliver our centre of excellence at Greenogue and to establish it as a vibrant headquarters for the industry hosting a comprehensive programme of education and research.”