Teagasc appoints new chief operations officer

Valerie Farrell will succeed Alan Phelan who retires later this year

Valerie Farrell has been head of Human Resources in Teagasc for six years.

Valerie Farrell has been appointed Teagasc’s newest chief operations officer.

In this role, she will lead the Operations Directorate and will have responsibility for the finance, human resources, corporate services, business delivery and ICT departments, as well as Authority Affairs and will serve as secretary to the Teagasc Authority.

Ms Farrell will succeed Alan Phelan, who retires later this year after serving as chief operations officer since October 2020.

Ms Farrell has been head of Human Resources in Teagasc for six years. Over the last 21 years in Teagasc, she held roles as HR services manager, HR operations and development manager and HR business partner. In her early career, she worked for Intel and before that for Xilinx Ireland.

She graduated from the University of Limerick with a Degree in Business Studies and went on to complete a Masters in Change Management and Innovation at the University of Brighton.

Ms Farrell is a non-executive member of the UCD Governing Authority since January 2024. She is also a member of the UCD finance committee. 

Previously, she served on the Governing Body of the Institute of Technology Carlow (now SETU), including two years as vice chairperson from 2020 to 2022. She was a member of the South East Technological University implementation Steering Group. She is a chartered director with the Institute of Directors Ireland.

Congratulating Ms Farrell on her appointment, Teagasc chairman, Liam Herlihy, said: “Valerie brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of Teagasc, its people and its programmes to this role.

"She has successfully developed and implemented a number of people strategies and corporate change programmes. I look forward to working with her as the organisation’s new chief operations officer.”

Welcoming Ms Farrell’s appointment, director of Teagasc, Professor Frank O’Mara, said: “Teagasc is continuously improving how it operates and delivers services to its farmer clients, students and other stakeholders.

"Valerie will play a key role in leading further improvements and efficiencies in our operations, empowering our staff, and ultimately delivering for the agri-food sector. She will bring energy and commitment to the COO role, and I wish her well in this senior management position.”