John has been working in the agri-food sector for over 20 years, beginning in the food service sector before moving on to work for farmer-owned farm services co-operative, FRS for 16 years in project and operations management.
This role involved working both in farm services management and in managing contracted and outsourced services provision for FRS. These contracted services primarily included agri-environmental and sustainability programmes provided directly to farmers on behalf of Irish semi-state bodies Teagasc and Bord Bia as well as contracted services on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
John was appointed to the newly created role of Bioeconomy Executive for the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) in June 2022 and is working on developing the role of co-operatives in the evolving Bioeconomy and promoting the inclusion of primary producers in this vital sector. This involves designing roadmaps for bioeconomy deployment with ICOS member co-ops and key Government, semi-state and other industry stakeholders.
John holds a Bachelor of Business Studies degree, a Postgraduate Diploma in Co-operative Organisation and Rural Development from University College Cork, an Executive MBA from the University of Limerick and an MSc in Bioeconomy with Business awarded jointly by University College Dublin and Munster Technological University. He also runs a grass-based beef farm on a part-time basis.