|
The quarterly IEA Food and Drink Council meeting took place in Teagasc Ashtown on Wednesday August 10th. Click here to see agenda.
Ciara Jackson of Grant Thornton gave a presentation on Ireland’s cost competitiveness vis-à-vis our major trading partners. She believes that if we are to compete globally, we need to understand our cost drivers and how to manage them, and how to use the money that we have (which is diminishing all the time) to maximise our competiveness. Ciara benchmarked our various costs (labour, utilities, professional fees etc.) against the UK, Germany, France and Holland and gave Grant Thornton’s view of where the gap is closing and indeed, where it is not.
Ciara Jackson is the Manager of Grant Thornton's Food and Beverage team. Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Ciara has fifteen years experience working with dairy & food ingredient (Kerry Group) and financial services multi-nationals (GE Money) who are global leaders in their field.
To view presentation, please click here.
To view the key points from presentation, please click here.
Dr Richard Keegan of Enterprise Ireland gave an overview of their Lean Business Offer. This is designed to encourage clients to adopt Lean business principles in their organization to increase competitiveness. The programme is based on 3 levels of intensity of interaction with clients and is now in its second year, with many food companies enrolling on one of the programmes.
Dr. Richard Keegan BE, Ceng, MComm, Phd FIEI is the Manager of the Competitiveness Department in Enterprise Ireland (encompassing Lean Business and Benchmarking) Dr. Richard Keegan is a specialist in the areas of World Class Business and Benchmarking with Enterprise Ireland. He has written several books on the topic and has lectured at Trinity College Dublin at post graduate and MBA levels, and as a guest lecturer at National University of Ireland – Galway, to both undergraduate and MBA levels.
To view presentation, please click here.
Finally, Philip Ahearne of Investec spoke on the subject of risk management in the currency markets and how Investec worked with clients to manage their exposure.
Philip Ahearne, Head of Corporate Foreign Exchange Sales, Investec Philip has worked in the Financial Services industry since 1983. His career has spanned a variety of rolls in several institutions. Currently Philip Heads up the Corporate Foreign Exchange Sales team, a position he has held for the past 3 years. In this roll Philip and his team deal with Corporate clients from all sectors of business in Ireland in relation to their treasury requirements. Philip is a Licentiate of the Institute of Bankers.
To view presentation, please click here. |
