Cavan County Council honoured recently retired CEO of Lakeland Dairies, Michael Hanley, this week.
The occasion was in recognition of his significant contribution to the economic landscape of Co Cavan. Michael Hanley had a distinguished career, spanning over 35 years with the co-operative.
For the last 16 years as CEO, he led the transformation of Lakeland Dairies to become the second largest dairy processing co-operative on the island of Ireland, A native of Strokestown in Co Roscommon, Mr Hanley came from a farming background and is an Agricultural Science graduate of UCD.
He is also Chairman of the County Cavan Enterprise Fund. As Member Relations manager, he spearheaded the original 1990 campaign that saw the merger of Killeshandra and Lough Egish Co-operatives to form Lakeland Dairies.
The co-operative went on, in successive years, to acquire and integrate various businesses, leading towards the largest ever dairy co-op merger in Ireland in 2019. This was the combination of Lakeland Dairies and Lacpatrick Dairies.
Over the past decade, the co-op has invested over €200m in new facilities and technologies, increasing milk supplies and processing capacity to a record level of over 2bn litres. Meanwhile, Paying tribute to Mr Hanley, Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr John Paul Feely, said he "played a key role" in the evolution of the dairy sector across the Northern Sound region.
Cllr Feely also acknowledged the "pivotal role" of the dairy sector in Ireland.
