Meet The Team

Martin Kelly

Acting General Manager

Martin Kelly has over 17 years’ experience in the food industry working for both Irish and US companies across branded and private label business and has worked for one of the largest specialty food distribution companies in the US. Martin holds a master’s degree from the J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, University of Galway and a primary degree from the National College of Ireland, Dublin. He is also an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional® and has participated in an executive education program at Stanford University. Martin has a passion for food entrepreneurship and has worked in the US for 15 years where he developed a breadth of food industry experience across sales, marketing, distribution, supply chain, financial account management, go-to-market strategy, cross functional team and people management. Previous employers include Ornua, ARYZTA, and DPI Specialty Foods.

Devon Butterfield

Campus Operations Manager

Devon Butterfield has over 15 years’ experience in the culinary and hospitality industry. Her career has been underpinned by excelling in operations, project management, Erasmus+ project co-ordination and community building. Her academic credentials include a first class honours Bachelors of Business in Event Management with Public Relations from ATU, granting her a multifaceted knowledge base that bolsters her role in driving excellence in the food industry. Her expertise is further underscored by a substantial background in culinary and event management, programme development, social media marketing, community engagement and European collaborations. Devon’s professional journey has taken her from Canada to Ireland, where she has cultivated invaluable experience from past employers including: Abbert Lifestyle, Gather Restaurant, The Lazy Gourmet, Goorin Bros Inc., and DTES (Canada).

Sandra Regan

Food sector project manager

Sandra Regan has more than 20 years’ experience working within the food manufacturing and retail sector in Ireland, specialising in procurement, product development and change management. A graduate of Atlantic Technological University (Letterkenny), University of Huddersfield and University College Cork, her academic background is in Food Science and Technology. Sandra brings a broad spectrum of knowledge both professionally and academically to the Campus, where her experience lies in buying, retail, manufacturing, strategy and negotiations across manufacturing, food service and retail. She brings a strong commercial focus to BIA Innovator Campus and its clients. Having started her career with Dawn Farm Foods and honed her commercial skills as group buyer for O’Brien’s Irish Sandwich Bars, and more recently as a senior buyer with Smyth’s Toys, Sandra has extensive knowledge of commercialisation in the food industry.

Emma Colleran

AG Tech Project Manager

Emma Colleran has almost 20 years professional experience, 15 of which were spent in commercial roles, stretching across the healthcare, medical devices, food and retail industries. Her primary BSc. Degree (Hons) and Master’s degree (first class hons.) from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School has provided Emma with the opportunity to take on senior roles, including Sustainability Management and Food Export Management consultancy position’s, within Lidl Ireland Ltd., prior to joining BIA. Her experience coupled with a post graduate diploma (first class hons.) in Quality, Management and Lean Systems, has provided Emma with a solid platform and drive, to deliver sustainable, innovative, efficient, and customer focused business strategies and solutions. Emma has a wealth of knowledge and breadth of experience spanning across many disciplines including clinical Education, account management, project management and senior management roles.

Anita Furey

Food Technologist

Anita has over 20 year’s professional scientific experience in water, environmental and food science. Anita has a PhD in Food Science & Nutrition; a first class honours bachelor’s degree in Business in Culinary Arts Management; an M.Sc in Groundwater Resources; a post graduate diploma in Environmental Science; and a primary B.Sc in Natural Science (Hons). Anita has worked as a researcher in food science for both the Culinary Arts Department at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Galway City, and Science Department at ATU, Donegal. Anita has also worked with many Irish food companies in new food product development, shelf-life analysis, physical and chemical analysis, consumer acceptance testing, and food safety.

Colm Foley

Food Technologist

Colm Foley joined BIA in 2021 as our in-house food technologist. While working full time on the BIA Innovator Campus, Colm is a vital link to the services, resources and knowledge base within Teagasc. Colm holds a higher diploma in Food Science and Technology, an M.Sc in Food & Wine Management, and a Bachelor of Business in Culinary Arts. Through his considerable years’ experience in the food industry with Kinsale Bay Food Company and Filliére Charcuteries (France), Colm has gained extensive experience in food manufacturing and processing, recipe formulation, new product development, food safety, food safety management systems, food standards auditing, HACCP, process flow, fit out consulting, and lean manufacturing principles.

Michelle Kelly

Project Co-ordinator

Michelle has 18 years professional experience, of which over 4 were in Quality Assurance & Compliance, and Education & Training within the pharmaceutical industry. Michelle has over 10 years’ experience in the food supplement business. Michelle holds a first class honours B.Sc. degree in Biological Sciences from Maynooth University and an M.Sc in Human Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Aberdeen. She also holds a Professional Diploma in Effective Business Communication with the UCD Professional Academy. From working with companies including Pharma Nord Ireland, Allergan, and Athlone Laboratories, Michelle has a wealth of knowledge and experience in education, training and development, event management, networking and project management. She also set up and ran her own Nutrition Therapy clinic practice, where she gained a wealth of experience in starting and running a business.