FRS Network has announced the appointment of a new group CEO in the form of Colin Donnery.
Donnery, who is currently general manager of FRS Recruitment, will succeed outoing CEO Peter Byrne upon his retirement in February 2022.
He originally joined FRS in 2004 and was also the co-founder of Turas Nua, which manages the JobPath programme that has helped more than 40,000 people secure employment.
He was also general manager of FRS Training, the skills and training provider from 2015 to 2020.
Colin is a board member and former president of the National Recruitment Federation, where he was awarded an honorary fellowship in 2015 for services to the industry. He has also previously served as a non-executive director with Macra na Feirme.
He holds an MSc in Executive Leadership from Ulster University.
With an annual turnover or approximately €100 million and 2,000 staff, FRS Network incorporates a range of business units.
These businesses, under the umbrella of National Co-Op Farm Relief Services (NCFRS), include FRS Farm Relief; FRS Fencing; FRS Recruitment; FRS Training; Herdwatch; Turas Nua; FRS Business Services; FRS Employability; and most recently, Get the Shifts.
Speaking about the appointment, NCFRS chairman Francis Fitzgerald said “we are delighted that Colin Donnery has been appointed as group CEO when Peter Byrne retires early next year.
“Colin is steeped in FRS and has had an exceptional record of achievement in all the various divisions he has headed. We have all been greatly impressed by his stewardship of FRS Recruitment, FRS Training and Turas Nua, how he has grown and nurtured these business units to become important elements of the FRS Group.
“He has also made an immense contribution to the overall growth and success of FRS. We have no doubt that Colin will be a dynamic, tremendously effective CEO and a worthy successor to Peter,” Fitzgerald added.
Donnery himself said: “It is a tremendous honour to have been named as successor to Peter Byrne.
“This is an amazing organisation which has repeatedly proven its effectiveness and resourcefulness over the last 40 years. My mission will be to continue that growth, to work with the exceptional team that has been assembled and to maintain the enormous progress that FRS has achieved under the leadership of Peter Byrne.
“Anyone who knows FRS or Peter Byrne will understand how important a figure he has been and all that he has accomplished. FRS simply wouldn’t be the organisation that it is today if it hadn’t been for Peter’s immense vision and stewardship.
“I am very grateful that I will have the opportunity to work hand in hand with Peter for the next eight months,” he concluded.