Paul Maher has been appointed as the new Head of International Relations and Corporate Strategy in Teagasc. The appointment was approved by the Teagasc Authority at its meeting last week. He takes over from Dr Lance O’Brien who retires in April having served in Teagasc for over 40 years in a range of strategic planning and developmental roles.
Paul Maher
Over the last 10 years Paul Maher has led the strategic development and modernisation of the Teagasc advisory and life-long learning programmes in his role as Assistant Director of Knowledge Transfer. Prior to that he worked in Teagasc in organisation wide functions such as business evaluation, business planning and risk management as well as farm financial management, advisory and education roles. He also worked in Ireland and New Zealand in commercial and agri-extension roles. He is a graduate of UCD with a Bachelor and Masters in Agricultural Science and also holds a post graduate qualification in business studies from WIT.
Teagasc Chairman, Liam Herlihy congratulated Paul Maher on his appointment saying: “Paul has extensive knowledge and experience of the Irish and European Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) as well as the wider activity of Teagasc. This will help him guide the organisation towards the strategic changes required to meet the challenges facing farmers and the agri-food sector and I wish him well in his role in the future. I would like to thank Dr Lance O Brien for his contribution to Teagasc, in numerous roles, over a long career with the organisation.”
Director of Teagasc, Professor Gerry Boyle, in welcoming the appointment, said: “Paul Maher has an exceptional record in collaboration, networking and programme delivery across a number of different roles throughout his career to date. I particularly look forward to his leadership of Teagasc’s contribution to international development work in the coming years “.
Looking forward to his new role Paul said: “I am passionate about the development of agriculture as the anchor point for a vibrant economy and the positive contribution that rural communities make to society. I look forward to guiding Teagasc to successfully transition the agri-food sector towards a sustainable food system within Ireland as well as making a substantial contribution at European and International level.”
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