By Business & Finance 
Driving a focus on company culture to deliver on strategy makes Liam Nagle, CEO of Norbrook, the Business & Finance Business Person of the Month for October 2017.
In September of this year, Norbrook announced a multi-year business improvement strategy, the aim of which is to develop their company culture and values, with investment in people and processes, and a stg£50m multi-year capital investment programme.
A video posted on Norbrook’s website in September – which gives an overview of the journey undertaken to align Norbrook culture and behaviours to their values – references 15 points based on the All Blacks rugby team’s principles for their players and team culture. Creating a high-performance culture is at the forefront of creating a dynamic impetus to drive new growth at Norbrook.
Spearheading this dynamic culture is CEO Liam Nagle, who earlier in the year had announced a very handsome set of pretax profit’s for the late Lord Ballyedmond’s veterinary pharmaceutical company; profits jumped by 65 per cent, or £14 million (€16.4 million), to £35.5 million in 2016.
Established in 1969, Newry-based Norbrook is now a successful global veterinary pharmaceutical company, with over 300 products sold in 120 countries globally, and 7 new products launched in the past 2 years. New product development and the US market are the company’s stated pillars of growth, along with organic growth.
Liam Nagle took the helm in early 2015, a year after the tragic death of founder Edward Haughey, Lord Ballyedmond. At the time, Nagle was chairman, and had been chief executive of construction group Sisk. Norbrook was turning over about £210m. In the last set of results announced in January 2017, for the year to July 2016, revenue was £239m, up 11 per cent year-on-year.
Nagle is also wary of not leaving the firm exposed to the ramifications of Brexit. At the last results announcement exports outside of the UK accounted for more than 80 per cent of revenue. All in all, his vast experience and track record of learning, change management and driving results sees him a deserving honouree to receive the Business Person of the Month Award for October 2017.
CV Highlights
- Liam has extensive experience in a number of blue chip multinationals (Apple, Intel, Bay Networks, Nortel Networks & Bookham Technology).
- He was president and COO of Bookham Technology from 2003 – 2005,Senior Vice President of Nortel Networks from 1999-2005, Vice President of Bay Networks, Europe from 1997 –1998 and General Manager of Intel’s ESSM Business in Leixlip from 1994 – 1997.
- Liam has more than 30 year’s experience in Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Mergers and Acquisitions in Ireland and internationally (Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East).
- Liam was appointed to the Board of Sicon Limited as Executive Chairman of Trading, Manufacturing and Investments in 2005 and appointed the first SISK Group Chief Executive Officer in 2008. In February 2014 he was appointed the first non-Family Group Chairman.
Business & Finance Business Person of the Month
Business & Finance, in association with KPMG, recognises excellence in business through the ‘Business Person of the Month’ award. This award seeks to recognise noteworthy achievements in business leadership, and particularly those that make a telling contribution to the wider business community in Ireland.
