10th November 2015, 8pm
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
‘Outstanding Achievement in Business’ awarded to Hugh Mackeown, Musgrave Group
Former Managing Director, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Musgrave Group, Hugh Mackeown, was presented with an Outstanding Achievement in Business Award at Cork Chamber’s Dublin Dinner, held in partnership with EY at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel tonight.
Speaking from the event Barrie O’Connell, President of Cork Chamber said “Tonight is the 5th year of this event and we are hosting 550 guests from across the business and political communities of Dublin and Cork, providing an opportunity for companies to network and strengthen connections with their peers. We have the great honour of An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D. addressing the guests and sharing his views on the future of doing business in Ireland”
“More specifically we are delighted to add Hugh Mackeown to the roll call of business leaders that have been honoured by Cork Chamber including Sean O’Driscoll of Glen Dimplex Group; Brian McCarthy of Fexco, Darina Allen, Ballymaloe and Leslie Buckley of INM, Digicel and Saongroup. Hugh Mackeown has been the driving force behind the growth and development of the Musgrave Group for over forty years, serving in that time as Managing Director, Chief Executive and Chairman. During his executive career Mr. Mackeown oversaw the introduction and rollout of the iconic SuperValu and Centra brands, initially with 49 stores in 1979 growing to some 660 stores today, developing it beyond its cash and carry heritage to become the sophisticated retail partnership model that exists today. The business, under his stewardship, has significant presence in Northern Ireland and Spanish retail sectors and has grown turnover from €7m to in excess of €4.6 billion and supporting some 60,000 jobs. This is a real Cork success story”, added Mr. O’Connell.
Cork Chamber will once again partner with EY for this prestigious annual event. With cross office service teams from Cork and Dublin working with some of the country’s largest indigenous and multinational businesses, EY is leading the way in establishing the type of business connections this event is aiming to promote.
John Higgins, Partner EY commented. “The importance of family businesses to Ireland’s economy is crucial. Family businesses employ over 50% of all workers in the private sector. Of the more than 200,000 SMEs in Ireland employing around 850,000 people, over 80% are estimated to be family businesses. Dating back to 1876, Musgraves demonstrates the success that home grown Irish businesses can have on the economy. Employing over 60,000 they continue to go from strength to strength providing employment across Ireland. In a recent survey EY carried out with our EY Entrepreneur Of The Year community, high tax rates and difficulties in attracting skilled labour are key challenges facing Irish entrepreneurs. We – business, government, funders and educators need to take collective responsibility and connect to foster a collaborative environment to ensure we create the right ecosystem for home grown businesses to succeed.”
