Our Leadership Team

Sean Coyle was appointed Group CEO on 1 July 2020. Sean joined Origin in September 2018 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director in October 2018. Sean was previously Group Finance Director of UDG Healthcare plc and also served as Managing Director of UDG Healthcare's Supply Chain Division. Prior to UDG, Sean was Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of Aer Lingus plc. He also spent over ten years in Ryanair Holdings plc, where he held a number of senior management positions. Sean is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with KPMG following his graduation from Trinity College Dublin.

TJ Kelly was appointed Group CFO and an Executive Director of Origin on 18 January 2021. TJ joined Origin from Hostelworld Group plc, the global hostel-focused online booking agency, where he was CFO and a member of the Board. Prior to this, TJ worked in the US and Ireland with Glanbia plc for 12 years, where he held a number of senior leadership roles, including CFO of their Performance Nutrition Business and Group Financial Controller with responsibility for Investor Relations. TJ has also held senior finance positions in Microsoft, GE Capital and eir. TJ is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with PwC.

Barbara Keane joined Origin in May 2019 as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. She is a qualified solicitor with over 14 years’ experience both in industry and in leading Irish and Australian law firms. Barbara has come from Parexel, a U.S. outsourced biopharmaceutical services business, where she spent the last three years as a Senior Director, Legal and Risk Management, and was the lead legal counsel in Europe. Barbara is also admitted as a lawyer in New South Wales, Australia, and spent 10 years in Sydney where she worked in Herbert Smith Freehills and Corrs Chambers Westgarth. A graduate of University College Dublin, Smurfit Business School and the University of Edinburgh, she originally trained with McCann FitzGerald in Dublin.

Sean Coyle was appointed Group CEO on 1 July 2020. Sean joined Origin in September 2018 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director in October 2018. Sean was previously Group Finance Director of UDG Healthcare plc and also served as Managing Director of UDG Healthcare's Supply Chain Division. Prior to UDG, Sean was Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of Aer Lingus plc. He also spent over ten years in Ryanair Holdings plc, where he held a number of senior management positions. Sean is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with KPMG following his graduation from Trinity College Dublin.

TJ Kelly was appointed Group CFO and an Executive Director of Origin on 18 January 2021. TJ joined Origin from Hostelworld Group plc, the global hostel-focused online booking agency, where he was CFO and a member of the Board. Prior to this, TJ worked in the US and Ireland with Glanbia plc for 12 years, where he held a number of senior leadership roles, including CFO of their Performance Nutrition Business and Group Financial Controller with responsibility for Investor Relations. TJ has also held senior finance positions in Microsoft, GE Capital and eir. TJ is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with PwC.

Gary Britton was appointed to the Origin Board on 1 October 2015. Gary is a Non-Executive Director of Cairn Homes plc. He was previously a partner in KPMG where he served in a number of senior positions, including the firm’s Board, the Remuneration and Risk Committees and as head of its Audit Practice. Gary is a fellow of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and a member of the Institute of Directors in Ireland.

CHAIR: Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee

MEMBER: Remuneration Committee

Aidan Connolly was appointed to the Origin Board on 1 October 2021. Aidan is president of U.S.-based AgriTech Capital, a strategic consulting and investment firm in the agribusiness sector and Non-Executive Director at other companies. Previously, Aidan was Chief Executive of Cainthus, an Irish agtech start-up using artificial intelligence to deliver data-driven solutions to dairy farms. Prior to that, Aidan held multiple senior leadership positions at Alltech over a period of 25 years, most recently in the role of Chief Innovation Officer. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Marketing from the Smurfit School of Business, University College Dublin.

MEMBER: ESG Committee

Helen Kirkpatrick was appointed to the Origin Board on 1 October 2020. Helen is a Non-Executive Director of NTR plc and a number of technology development companies. She previously served on the Boards of Kingspan Group plc, Dale Farm Co-operative and Wireless Group plc and has held a number of senior positions in global professional services firms, including Ernst & Young and Deloitte and as a corporate finance executive with Invest Northern Ireland, the economic development agency for Northern Ireland. Helen is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

CHAIR: Remuneration Committee

MEMBER: Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee

Pam Powell was appointed to the Origin Board on 3 April 2023. Pam has a wealth of international executive experience, having spent 20 years in senior roles at Unilever and SABMiller, the latter as Group Director of Strategy and Innovation. She has also held other directorships in the UK food, beverage and farming industries, including at Premier Foods plc and A.G. Barr plc and, most recently, at Cranswick plc, where she was also Chair of the Remuneration Committee. Pam holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

MEMBER: ESG Committee

Alan Ralph was appointed to the Origin Board on 3 October 2022. Alan is a Non-Executive Director of DCC plc and Chair of their Audit Committee. He is an experienced business professional and financial leader having spent 20 years with UDG Healthcare plc. He spent ten years leading UDG's largest division before supporting the company's strategic transformation as Chief Financial Officer for five years. Alan is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Commerce graduate from University College Dublin.

CHAIR: Audit and Risk Committee

MEMBER: Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee

Christopher Richards was appointed to the Origin Board on 1 October 2015. Chris is Chief Executive of Plant Health Care plc and Non-Executive Chairman of Nanoco Group plc as well as Non-Executive Director of Volac International Limited. He has more than 30 years international experience in the agriculture industry and currently farms in the West of England. Chris previously spent 20 years in various leadership roles with Syngenta and its predecessor companies before serving as CEO and, later, Non-Executive Chairman of Arysta Life Science. Chris holds an MA in Zoology and a D. Phil. in Ecology from Oxford University.

MEMBER: Remuneration Committee and ESG Committee

Lesley Williams was appointed to the Origin Board on 15 October 2021. Lesley is an independent Non-Executive Director at Irish Continental Group plc and holds a number of directorships in the asset management and international fund sectors. She has over 25 years’ experience in capital markets having held senior positions with Investec Bank plc, Euronext Dublin and Goodbody Stockbrokers. Lesley is an Associate member of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors in Ireland.

CHAIR: ESG Committee

MEMBER: Audit and Risk Committee