Ms Doolan, of Atlantia Food Clinical Trials, was named Matheson Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel.

Tara Doyle, partner and head of asset management at Matheson, sat on the judging panel for the award.

Ms Doyle said: “Matheson is delighted to once again be involved in the Women Mean Business annual awards which acknowledge the great work of so many of Ireland’s female entrepreneurs and business leaders.

“I would like to congratulate Andrea Doolan as CEO and co-founder of Atlantia which provides clinical trial expertise for Irish and international companies operating in the food, beverage and supplements sector.

“I would also like to recognise the strong calibre of finalists across the board in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category – it made my job as a judge extremely difficult.”

The finalists included Siobhan Lawless, founder and CEO of The Foods of Athenry; Mairead Mackle, co-founder and CEO of Homecare Independent Living Ltd; Deirdre McGlone, managing director at Harvey’s Point Ltd; Claire McHugh, co-founder and CEO of Axonista; Sara Mitchell, co-founder of Poulet Bonne Femme; and Karen Clince, founder and CEO of Tigers Childcare.