Welcome

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you the current cohort, soon to complete the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship, developed in partnership with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

The 2010/11 Marketing Fellowship saw 25 Marketing Fellows provide market research and insights from their business development work on export development assignments for their 100 client companies. In graduating from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School with their MSc Marketing Practice (Bord Bia), the Fellows can feel confident in the knowledge that their efforts have already made a significant impact on the Irish Food Industry.

Retaining the talent of the Marketing Fellows within the food industry and unlocking their proven potential even further is at the heart of Food Harvest 2020, the Government's roadmap for the industry.  I am therefore pleased to confirm the continuation of the highly-successful Strategic Growth Programme (Food Industry), designed to enable us to follow through on this objective.

The Strategic Growth Programme (Food Industry) is a placement initiative with food, drink and horticulture companies for graduates of the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship. We are seeking to match Fellowship alumni with companies eager to leverage their skills and talent. I am proud to introduce the profiles of outgoing Fellows and encourage you to engage with us to discuss how we can match alumni and their skills with your company’s objectives.

Bord Bia will support your investment as an employer of Fellowship alumni by sponsoring their participation in the Food Industry Strategic Growth Programme.

In addition to educational support by way of course fees on the programme, Bord Bia will fund a UCD bursary of €10,000 per annum for two years to alumni of the Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship Class of 2012 who are employed by food companies following their completion of the programme. The bursary element is intended to fund the completion of a strategic market-research project by the alumnus, on behalf of your company.

It is anticipated that the project will be aligned to the role for which the alumnus is employed and will focus on an area of strategic market development for the company - therefore adding tactical and strategic value to the employment.

We look forward to working with you, as we nurture and develop the talent pipeline for the Irish food industry.

Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
Bord Bia