Pictured at the Business & Finance Awards 2012 in Dublin\'s Convention Centre where Dr. Pearse Lyons was awarded Business Person of the Year 2012. L to R : Dr Pearse Lyons Alltech / Terence O\'Rourke KPMG / New York Stock Exchange\'s Duncan Niederaruer / Ian Hyland Publisher Business & Finance / Dermot Desmond
Irish-born entrepreneur Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech, has received the Business and Finance “Business Person of the Year” award.
The annual award honoring an individual who has enhanced business in Ireland was the highlight of the Business and Finance Award ceremony, held December 18 in the Convention Centre in Dublin city, Ireland. A panel of Dr. Lyons’ peers were chosen to select the winner. In the past, this prestigious program has celebrated the outstanding achievements of individuals such as JP McManus, Neville Isdell, Michael Smurfit, Tony Ryan, Dermot Desmond, Liam O’ Mahony, Willie Walsh, Philip Lynch, Peter Sutherland, T.K. Whitaker and Denis O’ Brien.
A native of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, Dr. Lyons earned his bachelor’s degree from the University College Dublin, Ireland, and a master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Birmingham, England. He worked as a biochemist at Irish distilleries before establishing Alltech in 1980. In the past 32 years, Alltech has grown to employ 2,800 people and conduct business in 128 countries, with annual sales of approximately $750 million.
In 1981, Alltech responded to a demand for products in the European agricultural market with the opening of its first international office in Dunboyne, County Meath, Ireland. Alltech Ireland is the location of the company’s second international Bioscience Centre, a 120-acre facility that serves as the focal point of Alltech operations in Europe. Alltech Ireland continues to expand, with a multi-million Euro construction project currently taking place, which will triple the size of the facility. This will enlarge the research department and will provide the resources for the European Bioscience Centre to serve as headquarters for operations leading up to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014TM in Normandy, France.
Drawing on his distiller’s background, Dr. Lyons also established Alltech’s Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company, which includes a line of award-winning beers - Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Light and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – and several spirits such as Town Branch Bourbon and Pearse Lyons Reserve malt whiskey. In 2012, Alltech launched Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale in Ireland and partnered with Ireland’s Carlow Brewing Co. to begin the distilling of its first genuine Irish whiskey.
“The Irish are instilled with a fiery passion that carries over into everything that they do – from making fine whiskey to conducting business with countries abroad. This is who we are, this is what you do for entrepreneurship. First order, don’t get it right, get it going, the ferocious togetherness, and be agile,” Dr. Lyons said. “My dream of building a top global animal nutrition company was fuelled by the passion I inherited. Over the past 30 years, it’s been my pleasure to watch the Alltech-Ireland stories become intertwined as we work together to achieve economic growth and stability.”
