About Lisa Phelan

Lisa Phelan concedes she likes things to be a little different. While her journey to her present career and role are standard fare in some respects (school and college in Ireland), she was never going to just settle for a plain vanilla career journey.

She says growth opportunities and growth markets, to be more specific, have always been something she has sought out. While bearing no grudge against more traditional markets like Europe and North America, Asia has always held a fascination for the Bord Bia executive and this fascination mainly started when she took a Masters program in UCD, in International Business in 2011/12.

While working on a project on Irish food, she became all consumed by the growth trajectories of the so-called Asian tiger economies and sampling this growth mindset up close became a personal objective. She acknowledges it was somewhat a shot in the dark at the time. “I'd actually never even visited Asia before, but I had this calling for it. I just knew there was something happening over there that I just wanted to go to, and thankfully it was Singapore where I went eventually,” she recalls.

Phelan did an undergraduate at NUI Maynooth, but it was at UCD Smurfit, where she took the Masters that the Asia bug bit and she is full of complements for the program, beyond just the Asia connection.

“To be honest, I mean from the minute it started, it was just, I knew it was the best thing I'd ever done. It just gave me such great exposure to things. The modules were really, really interesting, and they were held in a very practical manner. It wasn't just like, sit here and listen to this person speak for 2 hours. It was very practical. And then because I was studying international business over half my class were international students, a lot were, obviously from Europe or the US. But quite a few from Asia. And I think that's what really started kind of tickling my interest in Asia and kind of making me think, ‘wow, there's something happening over there.”

While many of her classmates were occupied with landing roles in the ‘Big 4’ consultancy firms, Phelan was getting slowly more interested in the food industry, even though there was no branch of her family previously in the area. This was pure curiosity on her own behalf, triggered by the projects she undertook while at UCD. Soon she noticed that Kerry Group were were taking applicants for their graduate programme, and she applied and was accepted. “When I saw that programme, it made me think, oh, I like food, and I think that will be quite an interesting industry,” she recalls.

“So I did 18 months then in Ireland with them in procurement, working in the purchasing division, and then, I had told them at my interview, I wanted to go to Asia and they heard me, and they sent me to Asia. After 18 months, which was amazing,” she recalls fondly.

Phelan has strong roots in Newbridge, Co Kildare and ironically, for a period she worked in nearby Naas, but the Asia option refused to disappear from his career journey.

“Theres absolutely nothing wrong with Newbridge, its a wonderful place that I have great friends and great memories. But I just wanted something different. And so yeah, so it was great. As I said, Kerry Group were really open.I don't think everyone was putting their hands up to go to Asia at that time, and they were really, really open to me coming out. So I moved over and in the same division, and but looking after procurement(Herbs, Spices, Fruits and Vegetables,” She was in Asia from 2015 and definitely got a sense of painting on a larger canvas straight away.

“When we did projects, you know in UCD, I was like, wow, there's such opportunity, and there's such growth out there. And then, when we were really studying the markets, trying to understand the opportunities and you are seeing double digit growth in all of these countries. You were seeing like populations of 250 million people. And I was just kind of like, that's something I'm not really familiar with.” That sense of operating in a growth region continues to motivate Phelan.

Right from the start she was operating in unknown areas, but loving every moment. “So I was regional category manager so I was working in procurement there, looking after purchasing, all their herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables. So Kerry obviously is a big ingredient supplier. And so they buy a lot. They're one of the biggest buyers globally, actually, in some herbs and spices, and they're big buyers in fruit and vegetables for different products that would be going into McDonald’s or Unilever etc. So I was responsible for the sourcing of all of those. So it was the perfect region to be in, because I'd have to travel to India and China and Vietnam every week and go to, you know, fruit fields, and pepper fields in Vietnam and mango fields.”

While this was day to day business life for Phelan, she accepts there is a sense of exoticism to such food supply chains for an Irish audience. After a few years of this work she moved into business development with Kerry, in end use markets. While different from procurement, Phelan says it was a move she wanted and was ready for, although in time she started to question was it really ideal and Kerry recognised this and gave her a new role in strategy and transformation, looking at the commercial operating model in Kerry for the Asia Pacific Region.

Last September however Phelan decided to leave Kerry, but still retains her Asian connection as she has joined state food promotion agency, Bord Bia. “I felt I had come to a good time for me to kind of start looking around externally. I had been 10 years with the Kerry group, most of them in Asia. I was quite conscious that I only knew what I knew. I loved it (at Kerry), and I couldn't speak more highly of the business and the people, but I thought change is good, and you know I kind of thought the next milestone might be 20 years, and then it's a lot harder to move. And so it was a good time for me, personally and professionally.”

Asked about Bord Bia and the current role, one can sense the energy around it for Phelan. ”I think what excites me the most is I get to see Irish food and beverage companies on their amazing journeys in Southeast Asia, and I get to help them in that growth.” The variety is notable, with everything from seafood to whiskey on Phelans’s promotional agenda. While Ireland remains a reasonably lesser known ‘brand’ in Asia, Phelan sees the advantages in this. “For Ireland the bonus is a clean slate kind of thing,” she explains. In other words Ireland can become associated with all sorts of categories yet, which may be more difficult for other countries who are locked into certain areas, due to tradition. 

Life in Singapore itself is not losing its appeal for Phelan either. “I could not speak more highly of it. Its small, it's so safe, genuinely, crime is pretty much non-existent. It just has such a good standard of living,” she points out.

The blending of cultures is something Phelan also highlights. “So when you're in Singapore. People don't say I'm Singaporean they say I'm Chinese, or I'm Malay or I'm Indian, you know, even if they're born in Singapore. They just associate with their heritage and their culture. On one street there's a mosque right beside a Buddhist temple right beside,” is how she sketches the vibrancy.

“A lot of the population who move there are, you know, are foreign workers and expats, and it's just so easy to meet people. It's so easy to connect, so easy to make friends, and most people who are there are far away from home. So they're looking for that connection”.

Phelan is in the city for nine years now, but has other things to keep her occupied, such as wedding plans back in Ireland in late summer, but even that has a Singapore connection, as she met her fiancé there. While Asia remains central to her life, she still has a liking for Dublin, where the wedding will be held, but after its over it will be back to the fast pace of Singapore for Phelan once again.

Insight Track

Reflecting on your time at UCD, what experience stands out as particularly impactful or memorable?

There are two. Firstly the people - from classmates to staff to faculty, there was a great sense of camaraderie and everyone was so helpful. Secondly was a negotiation module - I had never had a lecture that was so practical and interactive, and some of the lessons I learned still stick with me to this day.

Is there a particular book or song you have carried with you for much of your life?

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari - Robin Sharma

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received, funny or serious?

Take every opportunity that comes your way

What's a hobby or activity you've always wanted to try but haven't gotten around to yet?

Diving. I am an avid beach goer and water lover, but haven't gotten around to getting my diving licence yet. It's on the bucket list.

If you could have a conversation with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask that person?

Musicians - like Phil Lynott, Freddy Mercury, etc. I love music and would love to understand their inspiration and creative process.

May 2024