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Nominees announced for third Irish Times Business Awards

Irish Times Business Awards, in association with KPMG, will be held in September as a virtual event

Liam Kavanagh, MD of The Irish Times, presents the Top 1000 Distinguished Leader in Business award to Breege O’Donoghue of Primark at last year’s Irish Times Business Awards. Photograph: Kieran Harnett
Liam Kavanagh, MD of The Irish Times, presents the Top 1000 Distinguished Leader in Business award to Breege O’Donoghue of Primark at last year’s Irish Times Business Awards. Photograph: Kieran Harnett
Fri Jul 10 2020 - 05:45

Some of the country's leading business people and companies have been selected for the third annual Irish Times Business Awards, which are being held in association with KPMG.

To date, 16 business leaders have been chosen to vie for the Business Person of the Year award, sponsored by KPMG.

These are: Róisín Hennerty, managing director of Ornua Global Foods Division; Donal Murphy, chief executive of DCC; Belfast construction entrepreneur Kevin Lagan of FastHouse; Ger Rabbette, chief executive of Uniphar; Brian O'Sullivan, chief executive of protein nutrition bar group Fulfil; Pat McCann, chief executive of Dalata; Joanna Murphy, chief executive of Taxback.com; Noel and Valerie Moran, founders of Prepaid Financial Services; Pat Beirne, founder and managing director of plastics business Mergon; Mark Cummins and Charles Bibby, founders of tech company Pointy; Gene Murtagh, chief executive of Kingspan; Kate McLaughlin, founder and chief executive of We Got Pop; David McRedmond, chief executive of An Post, and Séamus Gorman, chief executive of Hibergene.

They will be joined by the winners of the Business Person of the Month awards for June and July.

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Seamus Hand, managing partner of KPMG, presents the Company of the Year award to Dermot Crowley and Stephen McNally, deputy chief executives at Dalata at The Irish Times Business Awards held at the Mansion House. Photograph: Kieran Harnett
Seamus Hand, managing partner of KPMG, presents the Company of the Year award to Dermot Crowley and Stephen McNally, deputy chief executives at Dalata at The Irish Times Business Awards held at the Mansion House. Photograph: Kieran Harnett

There are three other award categories: Company of the Year, Small Enterprise of the Year, and Deal of the Year.

The nominees for Company of the Year, sponsored by KPMG, are An Post, in recognition of its successful pivot from letters to parcels and its excellent work in keeping its services operating during the Covid-19 lockdown; Irish Distillers, which enjoyed another year of strong growth for its key spirits brand Jameson whiskey; and Fenergo, a fintech recently valued at $800 million and on a strong growth trajectory.

This award was won last year by Dalata, Ireland’s largest hotel group.

For Deal of the Year, the shortlist comprises Pointy, the Irish tech company acquired in January by Google for a reported $160 million; computer chipmaker Decawave, which was sold for $400 million to US-based Apple supplier Qorvo; and Green Reit's €1.34 billion sale to Henderson Park, a near 25 per cent premium to its share price.

This award was won last year by State forestry group Coillte.

For Local Enterprise of the Year, sponsored by Eirgrid, the nominees are Skmmp, an Irish virtual fashion business; Shorla Pharma, a Tipperary-based healthcare start-up that develops therapies to help cancer patients; and Nolan's of Clontarf in Dublin, a top class independent local retailer that has expanded significantly this year.

This award was won last year by Strong Roots.

A Distinguished Leader in Irish Business award will also be presented at the ceremony to a leading Irish entrepreneur or executive. Breege O'Donoghue, a senior executive of Primark/Penneys, received this award last year.

The Irish Times Business Awards will be hosted in early September as a virtual event.