2008 Commencement Speaker
Dr.
Pearse Lyons is the founder and
president of Alltech, a global animal
health company that employs more than
1,800 people and has a presence in 85
countries around the world. Lyons
received his B.Sc. from the National
University of Ireland in Dublin and
pursued his M.Sc. and Ph.D. at the
University of Birmingham. He later
worked as a biochemist in Irish
Distillers before founding Alltech in
1980. Today, the company is a global
leader in the animal health industry,
boasting group sales of approximately
$350 million.
Lyons received the State Export Award for Kentucky and was acknowledged as the leader of one of the top 100 fastest growing high tech companies by World Trade Magazine. He was the Kentucky recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993. Lyons has been recognized for his contribution to science and industry and has been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Plymouth and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His alma-mater, National University of Ireland, Dublin, selected Lyons as one of their honorary doctorates on the occasion of their 150th anniversary. Most recently he was recognized as one of the top 15 Irish-American life scientists of the year by Biolink USA-Ireland. He has authored over 20 books and many research papers in scientific journals.