Leadership, longevity, innovation: Lilly Kinsale at a pivotal moment
Lilly Kinsale: Patrik Jonsson, executive vice-president and president of Lilly International, with Tara Tibbs, senior vice-president and general manager of Lilly Kinsale, pictured at the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical plant Kinsale, Co Cork.
When Tara Tibbs, senior vice-president and site head at Eli Lilly and Company, Kinsale, returned to the Cork site for what would become her third assignment, it felt less like a move and more like a continuation.
“There’s a different energy here,” she says. “The capability of the people, the curiosity, the ‘we can do this’ mindset – that combination is unique”.
Tibbs' first assignment in 2018 was as a business leader, responsible for Health, Safety and Environment, before moving into leading engineering at the site.
At the time, she was part of the team tasked with introducing large-scale continuous peptide manufacturing to meet the business demands, in a way that was entirely new for the site. Rising to the challenge, they developed a process and facility in tandem that had never been done like this before and would go on to transform the site’s operations.
“When I first left, we were only enabling works for the peptide facility. Now it’s one of the site’s defining operations. Seeing how far it’s come, and the impact it's had, knowing the capability behind it, made my returning to Kinsale an easy choice.”
That idea of capability, which Tara describes as a blend of technical excellence, talent, and attitude, is a recurring theme when she talks about Lilly Kinsale. The site has built a global reputation for its ability to adapt, solve complex problems, and step up when challenges arise – a record that extends both within Lilly and beyond. Tibbs describes a culture shaped by challenges and curiosity.
“At Kinsale, it’s about rising to any challenge, innovating and transforming to meet the needs of patients and our business,” she says. “It’s about navigating hurdles and finding a way forward. That mindset – going where the work is and always asking how we can do things better – is what allows us to keep delivering for patients, no matter the challenge.”
Tibbs has spent her 25-year career with Lilly. She studied chemical engineering at Cornell University in upstate New York, but her motivation to focus her work on medicine was personal as well as professional. “My grandmother had diabetes. Given Lilly’s long history in diabetes care, working in this field felt deeply personal to me,” she says.
Her first decade was spent on “the frontline” until a mentor encouraged her to step into leadership.
“I didn’t even think I wanted to be a leader,” she admits. “But once I tried it, I loved developing people and having the ability to improve the things that once frustrated me.”
That grounding continues to shape her leadership style. Tibbs prioritises visibility on the floor and an understanding of the realities of shift work and manufacturing life.
“I can’t be there 24/7, but those early years give me a deep appreciation for what people sacrifice to make medicine. I never want to lose that.”
Kinsale’s story is one of transformation and repeated reinvention. From its very early days making small molecules for human and animal health, to biologics and now peptides, the site has consistently transformed to remain relevant and competitive.
“There were moments historically where it could have been easy to ask, ‘is this the end?',” Tibbs says. “Instead, the question was always: how do we continue to add value? That attitude became contagious.”
This year marks 45 years of Lilly making medicine in Kinsale, alongside Lilly’s global 150-year anniversary. For Tibbs, the milestone is less about nostalgia and more about responsibility.
“We’ve delivered billions of medicine doses from this site. The question now is how we continue to be dependable, competitive and innovative so that someone sitting in this chair 50 years from now can say the same.” "Ireland has been a part of Lilly’s global manufacturing network for decades, and as the company continues to grow it’s clear that the future isn’t a zero sum equation. The scale of innovation coming through the door means no single site could do it alone."
Lilly in Kinsale has long-standing ties with US development and manufacturing teams, with knowledge flowing both ways.
“Before we started production in Kinsale, we went to the US to learn how to make medicine. Now colleagues come here to learn from us,” Tibbs notes. “That partnership is a real strength.”
It is also what prompted her to take on a new role as a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland.
“It’s an interesting time for Ireland and for the US,” she says. “I feel I can help translate between both sides, at a moment where competitiveness really matters.” For Tibbs, competitiveness underpins everything from investment and jobs to access to medicines.
“We make a lot of medicine in Ireland. Patients here should benefit from that,” she says. “Strengthening Ireland’s position helps the EU, helps our sector, and ultimately helps patients.” She believes senior leaders like herself have a responsibility to engage beyond their own organisations.
“Ireland has a unique willingness to benchmark across sectors and share learnings. That’s a real superpower.”
Asked what she enjoys most about her role, Tibbs doesn’t hesitate. “Being part of making medicine,” she says. “I take enormous pride in this site. Give us a challenge, and we’ll figure it out and deliver.”
