ABOUT STIOFÁN NUTTY
Stiofán’s experience is vast and revolves around his exceptional knowledge of government, the small and medium business sector, and the horticulture, forestry, golf course and organic food industries in particular.
Education
Stiofán graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1983 with an honours business degree and a higher diploma in education. Also holds a higher diploma in mediation and conflict resolution.
Business Experience
In 1984 Stiofán founded a garden centre adjacent to a family wholesale nursery business. After redeveloping the site in 1990 he doubled the turnover in 3 years. During 1994-95 he won the Bord Bia award “Best Garden Centre in Ireland” and helped found both the Garden Centre Association (GCAI) and the garden centre buying group, GIO. Stiofán was elected Chairperson of GCAI in 1997 and became a board member of the International Garden Centre Association.
Stiofán was appointed to Fingal County Enterprise Board’s Business Mentor Panel in March 2013 and reappointed to the LEO Mentor Panel in 2016. He was a Fingal LEO judge for the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019), the National Enterprise Awards competitions in 2014 and the Fingal Enterprise Awards in 2019.
Horticulture Consultancy Business
Following the sale of his business in 1998 Stiofán developed a management consultancy business. Clients include many of the leading garden centres in the country. In 2000, he was commissioned by Bord Glas (now Bord Bia) to bring the different strands of the amenity horticulture industry together to form the Amenity Horticulture Council and became its first Chairman. In 2015 Stiofán was appointed as Co-ordinator of the Horticulture Industry Forum (HIF) and in October 2017 he delivered the Horticulture Industry “Vision” report.
Broadcasting
During this period Stiofán also started working in broadcasting. Among his media contracts were 6 gardening television magazine series and radio gardening series both in Irish and English. He began television presenting on “The Garden Show” on RTE 1 in 1998. He was the gardening expert on live TV magazine “Open House” in 1999 and 2000. In 1999 he devised and presented the first gardening series on TG4 “Garraí Úr” and a second series followed. Stiofán produced and presented the first series of “Garden Heaven” on RTE 1. His radio broadcasting began on Sunshine Radio in the mid eighties as a gardening and weather expert. Commissioned by Bord Glas as gardening expert on Lite FM in 2001 and 2002. In the mid nineties, he was the weather forecaster “Barry Metric” on 98FM and weather expert on RTE Radio One’s “Quantum Leap” in 2005. Stiofán was a columnist with Wild Ireland magazine and contributor to other publications. Stiofán provideds the weather forecast every Saturday and Sunday morning to “The Hamilton Scores” RTE Lyric FM 2015 – 2021
Management and HR
Stiofán acted as the Green Party Leader’s Director of Elections for the 2002 and 2007 General Elections. He became Green Party’s first General Secretary from 2003-2004. Achievements included successful local election results, new strategic plan for the party, membership increase of 55% and a well resourced and more professional administration. In 2005 Stiofán re-launched his business consultancy and broadened consultancy to general business and the political world to include project management commissions, general business advice including financial and HR consultancy, lecturing, mediation and facilitation services. Stiofán was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland in June, 2022.
Public Affairs & Government Relations
November 2007 appointed as Special Advisor to the Minister for Food and Horticulture, Trevor Sargent. Was member of the National Board for the development of the Organic Sector, Forás Orgánach. Chaired the Green Party Reference Group that agreed the renewed Programme for Government in October 2009. Appointed as Special Advisor to Minister for Sustainable Travel, Horticulture and Planning, Ciarán Cuffe in April 2010. Since that change of government, he re-launched his business consultancy. Among projects completed was a report in 2011 for the Department of Agriculture on the future development of the Organic Industry and an Irish Organic Trade Board. Stiofán was appointed as Special Advisor to Minister for Land Use and Biodiversity, Pippa Hackett in 2020.
In 2013, Stiofán was appointed as Director of Education Programmes at Green Foundation Ireland. Stiofán was appointed as PR consultant to the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (MII) in 2015 and managed MII’s engagement with government on the Mediation Bill, which became enacted in October 2017.