Tom Tynan, a former member of Phil Hogan’s cabinet at the European Commission, has been appointed to the boards of the Marine Institute and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue appointed Tynan to the board of the Irish Marine Institute.

Marine carbon sequestration has a key role to play in Ireland’s carbon reduction targets and the goals of the national Climate Action Plan.

Earlier this month, Tynan was appointed by Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Edwin Poots, to the board of AFBI.

Tynan becomes the first member to serve on both the board of Teagasc in the Republic of Ireland and AFBI in Northern Ireland.

Tynan will be known to many in the agri-food sector and is well known in farming circles across the island of Ireland.

He recently completed his tenure as a member of cabinet to the former European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, and Trade, Phil Hogan, where his portfolio of responsibilities included agricultural markets, trade remedies, research, development and innovation, bioeconomy and biotechnology.

He worked across a range of agri-business and policy areas, where he held a variety of senior management roles.

Tynan was previously commercial director for IAWS Agri-business and subsequently chief operating officer of Welcon AS.