cork's gathering - Cork Chamber of Commerce

LINKAn entrepreneur, salesman, marketeer and scientist all rolled into oneCork Chamber is delighted to announce Dr Pearse Lyons asthe keynote speaker for this year’s Annual Dinner on Friday, 1 stFebruary at City Hall, Cork. Dr Lyons is the founder and presidentof Alltech, a global animal health and nutrition company that hasgrown from a $10K investment in 1980 to an organisation valuedat $400million in just three decades.Alltech’s global headquarters is in Lexington, Kentucky; howeverit also has a state-of-the-art European bioscience centre locatedin Dunboyne, Co Meath as well as a presence in 120 countriesthroughout the world.A native of Dundalk, Co Louth, Lyons graduated from UCD witha first-class honours degree in biochemistry in 1967, Lyonscompleted a PhD in yeast biochemistry at the University ofBirmingham. His connections with Cork were at the start ofhis working career where he was involved in the design of theJameson facility in Midleton, Co Cork. Four years later, he got hisfirst taste of American business when he was headhunted by aningredients supplier for the brewing industry.By October 1980, Lyons decided to set out on his own, exploitinghis talents as a salesman and his in-depth knowledge of yeastculture. He began to supply special strains of yeast to the thennewly emerging fuel alcohol industry but he quickly turned hisattention to animal feed - the cornerstone of Alltech's success.Over the years Pearse has focused on innovation, research anddevelopment to expand the product offering and market reachand in 2009, Alltech launched a new equine-specific brand,Lifeforce Formula.It is Lyons combined skills of scientist and business man thathave led to his success and he accredits his decision to sponsorthe Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games for $10 million as‘the single best decision we have ever made because it hascatapulted us to a new level.’ He is also a philanthropist andhas created a joint charitable fund, the Alltech-Muhammad AliCentre Global Education and Charitable Fund which culminatingin a visit to Muhammad Ali's ancestral home in Ennis, Co Clare onSeptember 1 st , 2009.Alltech completed significant expansion in 2009, opening newoffices in the US as well as a state-of-the-art co-generation andenergy plant for its yeast facility in Serbia. It also expanded itsproduction facilities in China and Belgium. In March, Alltechannounced a new venture with Mitsui and Asahi Breweries toproduce speciality food grade yeast extracts. In January thisyear, Alltech opened its first office in Spain and intends to builda production and research facility for the Iberian areas and theMediterranean region.papers for scientific journals. He has recently been awardedhonorary doctorates from University College Dublin (on its 150thanniversary), the University of Plymouth and the Herriot-WattUniversity in Edinburgh for his contributions to science.Mr. John Mullins, President of Cork Chamber commented, “Itis a great opportunity to have one of Ireland’s most successfulinternational business people in Cork for what is the largestbusiness event of the year. We look forward to welcoming DrLyons back to Cork, and gaining insight into his significant globalentrepreneurial success and understanding his views of the Irisheconomy.”On the night Cork Chamber will also announce the winners ofthe prestigious Cork Company of the Year Awards in associationwith Vodafone, (see page 16 for Company of the Year ShortlistAnnouncement) and John will give a keynote address.Lyons has authored more than 20 books and many research