Fisheries industry chief to take over as new head of Bord Bia

Jim O’Toole, the current head of the State fisheries agency, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, has been appointed the new chief executive of State food and drinks exports agency Bord Bia. He will take the reins at the beginning of November, when the interim chief executive, Michael Murphy, returns to his old role as director of organisation and industry talent.

Bord Bia has been looking for a new permanent chief executive since March, when Tara McCarthy announced she would leave the role in June to join the private sector. She subsequently took on a senior position with Alltech, the global animal feeds group founded by the late entrepreneur Pearse Lyons. Mr Murphy has served since then on an interim basis.

Mr O’Toole has worked for the State agency with responsibility for the €1.26 billion fisheries industry for more than five years, but prior to that, he worked for Bord Bia for 20 years in a variety of roles. He has previously worked for Bord Bia in London, Milan and Paris.

His predecessor as permanent chief executive, Ms McCarthy, was also chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara before joining Bord Bia, which implements State policy in the €13.5 billion Irish food and drink exporting sector.

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Mr O’Toole’s appointment was welcomed by Bord Bia chairman Dan MacSweeney and Minister for Food Charlie McConalogue, who is due to lead a trade mission of Irish food exporters later this month to Japan, Singapore and Vietnam.