.
Martin Shanahan (centre) was the recipient of the Whitaker Award for 2023.
THE Irish Academy of Management (IAM) has announced an Abbeydorney man as the recipient of the Whitaker Award for 2023.
The accolade, which is awarded annually, acknowledges those the Academy believes have made an exceptional and life-long contribution to Irish business and society.
The award was presented to Martin Shanahan at a ceremony at J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, University of Galway, earlier today.
Continued below…
.
Accepting the award, Martin Shanahan said: “I am humbled by this recognition from the Irish Academy of Management, not least because the award carries the name of its first recipient TK Whitaker and to be considered in the same sphere as him and the roll call of exceptional nominees that have been awarded it over the years is a huge honour.”
Martin Shanahan is a Partner and Head of Industry and Foreign Direct Investment at Grant Thornton. He is also an Adjunct Full Professor at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business since 2019.
Before taking on his role at Grant Thornton, Martin led two government agencies (IDA Ireland and Forfás) at the highest level and was integrally involved in the development and execution of industrial policy for Ireland over the past twenty years.
Martin is also a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion across the Irish public sector & business community. In particular, Martin has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He has stated previously that one’s sexual orientation should be unremarkable regardless of what role one holds.
These significant contributions to economic development and employment, coupled with his work in developing a more inclusive workplace were driving factors behind Martin’s nomination for the award.
The award is named after T.K. Whitaker, the first recipient of the award in 2009, and is the highest honour the Academy can bestow.
The recipients since Dr. Whitaker have been similarly distinguished and include Dr. Miriam Hederman-O’Brien (2010), Dr. John Teeling (2011), Kieran Mulvey (2012), Fergal Quinn (2013), Denis Brosnan (2014), Dr. Margaret Downes (2015), Dr Martin Naughton (2016), Jerry Kennelly (2017), Máire Anne Geoghegan-Quinn (2018), Chris Horn (2019), Josephine Feehily (2021) and Siobhan Talbot (2022).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
