Patricia Callan has been appointed Director of the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland, the trade association that represents brewers, distillers, brand owners and distributors in Ireland.
Patricia joins ABFI from the Small Firms Association (SFA) where she has been director since 2006.
She takes up her new job immediately.
Ms Callan joined Ibec in 1997 as a business services officer in the Mid-West office before moving to Dublin as an executive and later as assistant director with the SFA before taking on the role of Director.
Ms Callan said the drinks industry is facing "an exciting and challenging time". The sector supports over 200,000 jobs around the country with an annual wage bill of €4 billion.
"The drinks industry is the export powerhouse in the agri-food sector with exports to 130 countries valued at €1.4 million annually," she stated.
Noting that Irish whiskey is now the fastest growing global spirits category, she said that over €1 billion will be invested in Irish whiskey distillery projects between 2010 and 2025.
"However, the industry faces considerable challenges in the form of a hard Brexit and measures proposed in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, both of which threaten the sector’s ability to grow and thrive" the new ABFI director added.
