The head of agri-tech company Devenish, Richard Kennedy, has been named as the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.
The announcement was made at the annual awards ceremony in Dublin's Citywest Hotel on Thursday night.
The event was attended by business leaders and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.
Collectively, this year's 24 finalists employ more than 13,000 people and have revenues of €1.2bn.
Devenish is a global agri-tech company specialising in animal nutrition, operating in more than 40 countries.
Huge congratulations to the overall Entrepreneur Of The Year winner Richard Kennedy from @DevenishNutri
Let the celebrations begin!! #EOYIreland2019 pic.twitter.com/uFkCFO1Z0G
— EOY Ireland (@EOYIreland) November 21, 2019
Headquartered in Belfast, it supplies high-quality nutritional products for the agriculture and aquaculture industries.
Devenish has grown from 23 employees in 1997, to more than 500 today.
Last year, the firm also received €118m in funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help to build and develop the business.
Alongside being named as the overall winner, Mr Kennedy was also named EY International Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Elsewhere, Triona Mullane received the award for EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year.
Her company, mAdme Technologies, allows some of the world's largest mobile operators to better engage with their customers - and is active on over 200 million mobile phones globally.
To win an award is special.
To be recognised by ones peers is extra special.
Thanks to all our team and our customers who have supported us over 41 years. This award is dedicated to you. Pat McDonagh #Supermacs #Ireland #EOYireland2019 pic.twitter.com/HwtHHv9BDD— Supermac's (@SupermacsIRE) November 21, 2019
And the founder of Supermac's, Pat McDonagh, was named EY Industry Entrepreneur Of The Year.
He is also behind the Só Hotel Group and six motorway and national route service stations.
A Special Award was presented to Joe Schmidt for his contribution to life on the island of Ireland through vision, innovation and commitment to excellence.
Next up we have our special award which is for an exceptional leader who is a great example of entrepreneurship. This year our special award winner goes to the incredible Joe Schmidt @IrishRugby #EOYIreland2019 pic.twitter.com/9GcTZpdBqE
— EOY Ireland (@EOYIreland) November 21, 2019
Chaired by the 2006 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Anne Heraty, this year's judging panel included previous winners Michael Carey, Mark Roden, Evelyn O'Toole, Dr Edmond Harty, Joe Hogan, Jerry Kennelly, Brendan Mooney, Harry Hughes and Denis O'Brien.
The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme is a global recognition programme run in 145 cities in more than 60 countries.
Now in its 22nd year, it works to recognise, promote and build a supportive community around Ireland's high-growth entrepreneurs and is considered one of the strongest programmes globally.
