The appointment of Michael Slattery as managing director of Germinal Ireland was announced on Tuesday 9 November.

Prior to joining Germinal, Slattery held the position of managing director for Drummonds Limited, a feed, seeds and grain merchant in the northeast since 2009.

Before that he spent eight years with major purchasing and marketing group, Acorn Independent Merchants as CEO.

He holds a degree in agricultural science from University College Dublin (UCD) and a masters in business administration (MBA) from Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

Exciting time

William Gilbert, group managing director of Germinal, said: “This is an exciting time for Germinal and I am pleased to welcome Michael to lead our business in Ireland.

"His deep knowledge and understanding of agriculture and the wider agricultural supply trade, coupled with his proven leadership abilities, will help us continue to grow our business and support both our agricultural and amenity customers through these rapidly changing times.”

Commenting on his appointment, Slattery said: “I am delighted to be joining Germinal, a great company, and look forward to the opportunity to help Ireland’s livestock farmers leverage the competitive advantage of grass-based production by utilising Germinal’s market-leading forage varieties, whilst providing innovative grass solutions to our amenity customers."