Our Leadership Structure

Chief Executive Officer

Seán was appointed as Tirlán Chief Executive Officer in 2024. He leads the Co-op’s global strategy, continuing to set the highest standards for food and nutrition through innovation, science and sustainability and is responsible for revenues of over €2.5 billion, exporting across 97 countries. Having previously held the role of Director of Strategy with Glanbia Ireland (now Tirlán), he was appointed to the position of Chief Agribusiness Growth Officer in 2018 and Chief Ingredients & Agri Officer in 2022. In these roles he had responsibility for leading Ireland’s largest Agribusiness in addition to managing the development of Co-op’s Irish milk pool. Seán joined Glanbia plc in 2006 having worked for eight years as a Strategy Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He previously worked as a Corporate Development Executive with the Irish Dairy Board (now Ornua). From a farming background in Co. Offaly, Seán runs a mixed farm, mainly drystock. He is passionate for the well-being of Tirlán farm families. Seán is an Agricultural Science graduate from University College Dublin. Seán is an Executive Director on the Board of Tirlán.

Chief Finance & Secretariat Officer

Michael is Chief Finance and Secretariat Officer with Glanbia Co-op and was appointed as a member of Glanbia Co-op Board on 4 April 2022. He previously held the position of Group Secretary of Glanbia PLC from 2005 to 2022, and prior to that was the Group Financial Controller. He joined the Group in 1998 as Financial Controller of the Fresh Pork business in Ireland. Michael previously worked with Almarai Company in Saudi Arabia and BDO Simpson Xavier. A Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, Michael graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Chief Agri Officer

Ailish was appointed as Chief Agribusiness Officer in 2024. Ailish leads the Agribusiness Strategy and ongoing development of the Agri function, ensuring Tirlán’s Agribusiness continues to offer top-class products and services to our customers and Co-op members. She joined Tirlán as the Director of Agribusiness, in early 2023 where she was responsibility for leading Ireland’s largest Agribusiness. Following her education, Ailish dedicated nearly 20 years to Ulster Bank where she led a specialist team as Head of Agriculture. From a farming background in Co. Laois, Ailish runs a tillage farm and on weekends she enjoys attending showjumping events, GAA and soccer matches with her husband and daughters. Ailish is an agricultural scientist who qualified with a first-class honours B.Agr.Sc from University College Dublin. She went on to obtain a PhD in Farm Financial Management, completing her doctorate research at Kildalton and UCD, under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship programme. Ailish also holds numerous financial and environmental qualifications. Ailish is a Director on the Board of Co-Op Animal Health Group and is on the Agri Food Strategy 2030 Committee.

Chief ESG Officer

Lisa was appointed as Tirlán Chief Environmental, Social & Governance Officer in 2022. Lisa is responsible for driving the Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) targets and ambitions outlined in the organisation’s comprehensive sustainability strategy, Living Proof. In this role, her areas of responsibility also includes Corporate Communications, Governmental Affairs and Sustainability Ventures. After many years working in senior retail roles with Lidl in Ireland, Lisa was appointed Head of CSR/Sustainability for Lidl in Germany. Lisa also previously worked as a lecturer and researcher at the Technological University Dublin and the Technische Universitaet Dresden. Born in Germany, Lisa came to Ireland to study and since then has been passionate about combining sustainability and communication to drive sustainable development. Lisa holds a BA in Economics & Geography from Trinity College Dublin, an MA in PR and Communication and PhD in Business, specialising in CSR Communication from Technical University Dublin.

Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer

Ann was appointed Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer in 2024. Ann leads the team responsible for embedding Tirlan’s customer-centric approach, central to our Co-op’s ambitious growth strategy and value creation. This includes overseeing the development and execution of Tirlán's marketing strategy for its Agri and Ingredients business units, Customer Service function, Commercial Digital Transformation, and Insights. Ann joined Tirlán in 2019 as Head of Marketing for the Ingredients business, with responsibility for marketing Tirlán’s extensive range of dairy and oat ingredients which are exported to over 100 markets globally. With over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Ann has lead teams in brand marketing, retail, foodservice, customer experience, digital transformation, and commercial strategy across both B2B and B2C sectors with companies including Diageo, C&C Group and Aryzta. From county Carlow originally, Ann now lives in Kilkenny with husband Paul and their three children. A graduate of Dublin City University, Ann holds a degree in International Business with French and German.

Chief Ingredients Officer

Aoife was appointed as Tirlán Chief Ingredients Officer in 2024. Aoife is responsible for strategy and commercial execution in the Ingredients category. Aoife previously held the role of Director of Ingredients with Tirlán. Prior to joining Glanbia Ireland (now Tirlán), in 2009, Aoife worked with Kerry Group in a number of business units across Food & Ingredients in Ireland, the UK and The Netherlands within Commercial & Technical functions. Aoife lives in Kilkenny with her husband and 2 children. She holds a BSc Industrial Microbiology from UCD and Higher Diploma in Business from Smurfit Business School. Aoife is a member of the Bord Bia - Dairy subsidiary Board.

Chief People, D&I & Org Development Officer

Michael was appointed as Tirlán Chief People, D&I & Org Development Officer in 2022. His areas of responsibility include HR Strategy, Strategic Business Partnering, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development and Learning, Culture & Employee Engagement, Organisational Transformation and Diversity & Inclusion. Michael joined Glanbia in 1997 and worked in a number of senior human resources roles across the Agribusiness, Consumer and Ingredients businesses. He acted as the Transition Director as the three individual business units merged into one organisation under Glanbia Ireland, now Tirlán, where he now leads and experience HR team to create an environment where people can flourish. Michael joined Glanbia as a graduate and had worked in Motorola in Dublin and AST Computers in Limerick as part of his degree programme. Michael hails from Rathnure in Wexford where he lives with his wife Bernie and sons Sam and Ben and is a huge sports and GAA fan. Michael graduated with a Bachelor of Business Studies majoring in Human Resources from University of Limerick.

Chief Operating & Consumer Officer

Jim has extensive experience in both operations and manufacturing to the highest-standards. Previously, he held the position of Chief Operations and Supply Chain Officer with Glanbia Ireland. In his current role, his areas of responsibility include Supply Chain & Operations Strategy and execution, Quality & Compliance, Innovation/R&D, International and Domestic Consumer category strategy and commercial execution. After graduating from University College Dublin as a Chemical Engineer, Jim went on to complete an MBA. He has extensive experience in manufacturing in both chemical and ingredient applications. Jim joined Glanbia as Operations Director of Dairy Ingredients in 2007 and oversaw the construction of the state-of-the-art Belview specialised milk powder facility.

Chief Investment Officer

Frank joined Glanbia in 1980, working in senior Finance roles across Ingredients, Agri, Meats (UK & Ireland), Group and Consumer Foods. On completing an MBA, Frank took up the Chief Operations role for the Consumer Business in 2003. With the formation of Glanbia Ireland in 2017, he was appointed Chief Finance Officer and was appointed Chief Investment Officer in 2022. Frank is an Executive Director on the Board of Glanbia Co-op. Frank has represented Glanbia on the boards of National Milk Agency, National Dairy Council and National Dairy Association.