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.

Colm Purcell joined Origin as Group CFO on 15 July 2024, and was appointed to the Board as an Executive Director in September 2024. Colm was previously CFO of the Glanbia Nutritionals Division of Glanbia plc. He worked in the US and Ireland with Glanbia plc for 11 years, where he held a number of senior leadership roles, including Group Financial Controller and Director FP&A of the North American Glanbia Performance Nutrition business. Prior to Glanbia, Colm was an Audit Director with KPMG Ireland. Colm is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and completed his training with KPMG following his graduation from UCD.

TJ Kelly joined Origin as Group CFO and an Executive Director on 18 January 2021, taking on the role of Divisional Managing Director for Living Landscapes on 1 August 2024. 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

Dick Hordijk was appointed to the Origin Board on 16 October 2024. Dick is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of Royal Agrifirm Group, a global agricultural cooperative providing sustainable solutions in animal nutrition and arable crop production. He also currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of both Vereniging Achmea and Neova Group, and is a member of the Neova Group Audit Committee. Dick brings a wealth of international executive experience in the agri-business sector from his previous roles too, including senior positions at Cargill, Diageo, ICI, and Unilever. He graduated in Business Econometrics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

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