Jim Woulfe has been honoured with the Cork Chamber 'Outstanding contribution to business award', recognising his lengthy career in the agri-food industry along with other notable achievements.

The Limerick native worked for Dairygold for over 40 years, alongside his contributions to other business, State and educational institutions through his board representation.

Woulfe accepted the prestigious award from Cork Chamber president Paula Cogan, CEO Conor Healy and John Higgins, lead partner at EY Cork, which sponsors the award.

The Shannonsider also received messages of congratulations from An Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney.

'Unprecedented change'

Paula Cogan said: "Jim has devoted his career to Ireland’s leading indigenous sector, which has seen unprecedented change.

"He has gone above and beyond to ensure the livelihood of those working in the sector.

"He embodies a passion for the support and growth of Ireland and sits on numerous boards including CIT (now MTU), Cork Airport, the NCPC, Ornua (the Irish Dairy Board) and Fota Wildlife Park."

Colgan has said that Woulfe's individual commitment has supported collective vision and that his contribution is nothing short of outstanding.

Previous recipients

Jim Woulfe joins a distinguished group of previous recipients including Bob Savage of Dell Technologies, Anne O’Leary of Vodafone, Frank Boland, Sean O’Driscoll of Glen Dimplex Group, Darina Allen of Ballymaloe, Brian McCarthy of Fexco and Dan and Linda Kiely of Voxpro.

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “I am delighted to congratulate Jim Woulfe on the great achievement of winning the Cork Chamber Outstanding Contribution to Business Award.

"This award looks to acknowledge the hard work, effort and sacrifices that it takes to succeed.

"Jim is a richly deserving recipient of the award, recognising, as it does, his extraordinary contribution over many years to Cork and the broader region and his great achievements in leading Dairygold to ever greater success.

"This award has had many esteemed winners and Jim is truly worthy to ne joining such company.”

Commitment

Simon Coveney also had a message of congratulations for Jim and said that this award recognises his tireless commitment to enterprise and development in Cork for over four decades, for his role in Dairygold along with his many other endeavours including in Fota Wildlife Park and Munster Technological University, to name but two.

"Jim’s professionalism, enthusiasm and drive never waned and we can now see the impact of his work over the last four decades and across the southwest region as a whole," Coveney said.

Upon receiving the award, Jim Woulfe said: “It is a great honour to accept this very special award from the Cork Chamber and EY.

“I am a great believer in the power of team effort; it’s something I learned in sport many years ago and I believe it’s equally as effective in business.

"I have been very fortunate to lead a superb team combined with a tremendously committed wider stakeholder group at Dairygold for the last 12 years,” Woulfe added

John Higgins from EY Cork said: “I would like to congratulate Jim Woulfe, a most deserving recipient of this prestigious award.

"Over his 42 years with Dairygold, Jim has been a stalwart in the dairy and agriculture industry, leading the organisation through times of significant change and growth whilst fostering a hub of employment from north Cork."