Tom Griffin

As general counsel, and reporting to Group CEO Michael Hanley, Mr Griffin will provide legal advice across the Group on every aspect of corporate, business and commercial law in support of the Society’s ongoing growth and development.

As company secretary, he will lead the corporate governance function across the Group, reporting to the chairman and board of the Society while ensuring compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements.

Mr Griffin is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer, having worked most recently as a corporate commercial solicitor with AIB Bank for over seven years. Prior to this, he was a solicitor with KPMG’s corporate legal advisory department, specialising in corporate, commercial and employment law.

Mr Griffin studied Business and Legal Studies at University College Dublin, trained at ByrneWallace and qualified through the Law Society of Ireland in 2005. He was also admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales in 2011 and was awarded an Advanced Diploma in Corporate Law from the King’s Inns in 2015.

In the role of company secretary, Mr Griffin succeeds Michael Ryan, who is retiring as company secretary after more than 20 years at Lakeland Dairies, including as former financial controller of the co-operative.

Michael Hanley, chief executive of Lakeland Dairies, said: “I welcome Tom to the senior leadership team. He has an excellent track record in corporate governance and legal practice which will contribute strongly to our ongoing growth and development as we continue our progress in an increasingly globalised and often complex business environment.”

Lakeland Dairies is a farmer-owned dairy processing co-operative with operations across 15 counties on a cross-border basis. Lakeland collects and processes over 1.2 billion litres of locally produced milk each year into a wide range of value-added dairy foodservice and food ingredient products, which it exports to more than 80 countries worldwide.