John Lloyd played a leading role in the transformation of Ireland’s economic fortunes through foreign direct investment from the 1980s. As head of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices division of the Industrial Development Authority over many years, he headed the programme to attract investors from the US, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. They included Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Schering Plough, Boston Scientific and many others.
The work of the IDA in the closing decades of the 20th century secured Ireland’s position as a world-leader in the pharmaceutical, medical device industries. It is that success that is now being challenged by the Trump administration.
John Lloyd was born in Tullamore, Co Offaly, in 1941, the eldest of four children of Patrick and Brid Lloyd. The Lloyds owned a successful household, grocery and dairy business, serving the Cormac Street and Charleville district. Educated at St Columba’s CBS, John was accepted as a trainee manager at Salts Yarns, then one of the largest employers in the midlands.
Established by the Salts family of Yorkshire, the Tullamore factory ran on advanced philanthropic lines providing a range of medical and social supports for employees and their families. John’s strong personal qualities were quickly identified by management and he was brought for advanced training to the company’s headquarters at Saltire. Here and at the University of Bradford, he acquired skills that prepared him for the career that led him to the IDA in 1978.
Returning to Ireland, he held roles in the State training authority AnCo before joining IDA, now under the visionary direction of Padraig White and charged with focusing on overseas investment. He became director of the European network of nine offices but from the mid-1980s his focus was increasingly within the pharmaceutical and medical areas, building a reputation as a skilled negotiator and strategist, working with some of the most important industrial players on both sides of the Atlantic. He retired from the IDA in October 2002 but continued his involvement in the sector as an advisor to Murray Consultants.
Colleagues remember the skills and talents that John brought to his role. The warmth of his personality matched his business acumen. Kieran McGowan, later director general, recalls: “John Lloyd was a great partner for encouraging companies to come to this country. He had an easy way of persuading people and holding on to them, building relationships which were so impressive.” Others recall his invariably sociable nature, enjoying the opportunities in his work to meet new people, to share ideas, to entertain them and persuade them of Ireland’s attractions as a place to invest, work and live.
He married Stella Boyd, who worked with Aer Lingus, in 1971. They set up home in Sandycove, Co Dublin, raising four children, Sarah-Jane, Stephen, James and Jonathan. Jonathan, sadly, died of an undetected cardiac condition in 2020.
An avid sportsman since childhood. John excelled at swimming, rugby and tennis, being an active member of Sandycove Tennis Club. He had a keen interest in Joycean literature and for many years was a volunteer guide at the Joyce Tower in Sandycove.
In an interview with the Irish Independent in 1998, he proudly explained that all but four of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies had established plants in Ireland.
In the same interview he spoke with characteristic magnanimity of his “natural disappointment” at not being appointed to succeed Kieran McGowan to lead the IDA, acknowledging the “logic in the decision to change tack” with the appointment of former civil servant Sean Dorgan to the role.
John Lloyd passed away after a short illness at the Ashford House nursing home on February 25th, 2025.
He is survived by his wife, Stella, his children, grandchildren, son-in-law Peter, daughters-in-law Michelle and Gillian, his brother Monsignor Enda, his sisters Nancy and Leonie, nieces, nephews and a wide circle of friends.
CB
