Owen Brennan is Executive Chairman of Devenish Group, headquartered in Belfast and exporting to 50 countries across the globe. Devenish provides nutritional solutions and technical expertise that ensure the most effective and efficient utilisation of nutrients in the production of meat, milk and eggs.
Owen served as President of the Northern Ireland Grain Trade Association and was previously Chairman of the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) and served on the Agri-Food Strategy Board in Northern Ireland.
Owen’s commitment to the agriculture and food industry stems from his strong farming and business background and from his own affinity for and knowledge of the sector. He graduated from University College Dublin in 1982 with a degree in Agriculture and in 1992 with an MBA from the Smurfit Business School. In 2015, Owen was awarded the Belfast Telegraph Cup, presented by the Ulster Farmers’ Union for services to the sector. In 2015 he also was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science by University College Dublin. In 2018 he was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science Economics by Queen’s University Belfast. In 2019 he was conferred with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science by Harper Adams University and was appointed as an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Northern Ireland agri-food industry.
In 1997 Owen led the team which acquired Devenish Feeds, now Devenish Nutrition Ltd, a company dedicated to intensive research and development and the manufacture of high-quality premixes and speciality products for the feed and food industry. His experience in the animal feed industry and his present role in an animal nutrition company strengthen his belief that agriculture is an integral part of the food industry.
Devenish continues to grow and its commitment to research and innovation is supported by a significant and ongoing investment in order to develop solutions to challenges faced by the industry today and into the future. As a result of this significant growth Devenish, in 2016, was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise: International Trade.