27 February 2020, Thursday
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
- Son of well known Cork businessman James O’Sullivan (RIP) elected President of Cork Business Association
- “At 29, I understand I will be the CBA’s youngest president”
The Cork Business Association held its 63rd Annual General Meeting last night at the Metropole Hotel Cork City. Eoin O’Sullivan was elected as President of the Cork Business Association: he replaces Philip Gillivan who was President for the past two years 2018-2019. The AGM also saw the current Executive Committee re-elected for 2020, and Cuddy, O’Leary & Foley elected as Auditors for 2020.
Commenting on his new appointment, Mr O’Sullivan said ‘’it was a huge honour to accept the role of President of the Cork Business Association’’
Mr O’Sullivan is Sales Director of M&P O’Sullivan which is a wholesale food business situated in Wilton. He co-manages the business along with his cousin, Patrick and they are the 4th generation to run the company. He began his sales career working with Nestle foods for two years before he came back to the family firm in 2011.
Originally the business predominantly sold dry goods and serviced Cork city and surrounding areas with 3 salespeople turning over 16m, now they are a multi-temperature distribution business covering over 15 counties, with a sales team of over ten and on track to turnover 30m by the end of this year.
Mr O’Sullivan said ‘’CBA has played a part in his life from a young age, both personally and in business’’. His father James O’Sullivan was involved with the CBA for many years and served as president for more than 3 terms. ‘’I have always appreciated the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and the vital support it has been not only to our business but to all its members’’. He said ‘’it was with the utmost sincerity when I say it is an honour to be involved in the organisation’’.
Commenting he said “At 29, I understand I will be the CBA’s youngest president. This I believe will be one of my biggest strengths. I am ambitious, I think outside the box and I know what it takes to achieve growth in one of the
most competitive industries. Having gone to school in the city centre I have watched the city progress over the last 20 years, I love this city and I am a proud Cork man. I know many of the business people that are trading in the city from my role in M&P O’Sullivan and I am eager to get to know many more from different business backgrounds.
I believe the root of success for any business is to listen to the customer, to know what the customer wants. As President, I want to engage with the members to create dialogue for positive development in the city. I am acutely conscious of the challenges that Cork city faces on many fronts, from the fragility of the retail sector to its ability to adequately cope with the level of development that is currently happening. There are indeed many issues I want to focus on and look forward to working with the CBA Executive, and our members on matters such as”.
1. Ensuring the correct measures are taken to protect the economic climate of the city and to actively work with all stakeholders to further this objective.
2. Development of infrastructure to support increased footfall into the city.
3. Membership is also a major focus for me as I believe there are great opportunities to grow our association by engaging with businesses now within the new City Boundaries. By expanding our membership we can also expand our influence on issues that impact our members
Mr O’Sullivan also congratulated the immediate Past President, Philip Gillivan on what he said could only be described as an “outstanding term as President”. He said Mr Gillivan has been a great role model and he has learned an awful lot from him and he expressed his thanks for his support over the last number of months. He acknowledged he had big boots to fill but was confident with the support of the Executive Committee he would continue the good work that Philip had started. In conclusion, he wished Philip every success for the future and thanked him sincerely for all his hard work over the past 2 years.
