Owner of Velo Coffee Rob Horgan named new president of Cork Chamber

Entrepreneur and owner of Velo Coffee Rob Horgan has been announced as the new president of Cork Chamber.

Mr Horgan outlined his vision and commitment to furthering Cork’s economic and social prosperity during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Imperial Hotel Cork on Monday.

“Cork Chamber sets out a firm, ambitious, and determined vision for an invigorating and smart city region. One that is relentlessly progressive, yet regenerative, authentic, and expressive,” he said.

Highlighting Cork’s unique blend of reliability and innovation, Horgan emphasised the Chamber’s role in fostering a robust business environment.

Reflecting on his personal connection to Cork, Mr Horgan said: “I grew up not far from here, on the outskirts of the city. What was then a rural, sparsely populated patch, is now an established suburb and part of the bustling metropolitan area. This city has been my playground, my school ground, my workplace, my homeplace.”

He lauded Cork’s evolution into a bustling metropolitan area and its international reputation as a place for business, saying Cork deserves its place as one of Europe’s top city regions.

“As an international hub for business, giving Ireland a second city that punches well above its weight. Cork City generates the highest revenue per person in Ireland. 

Cork boasts strong business clusters across ICT, pharma, cyber security, renewable energy, financial and professional services, maritime and agri-food.

“Our universities and colleges of further education have over 40,000 students and 10,000 graduates annually combined. With our pro-business environment, it is no wonder that Cork was ranked No 1 small European city for FDI strategy in the Financial Times European Cities and Regions of the Future.”

Speaking about critical challenges that must be addressed to support the business community in Cork, Mr Horgan said: “Delivery of housing remains a challenge. And while we are seeing some developments come on stream, and these will have the most impact on housing numbers, we must remain focused on delivery to ensure our economy can continue to grow.

With the population of Cork set to grow significantly, we need to see a pace of housing delivery not witnessed before.

Mr Horgan also called for creative solutions to rejuvenate vacant properties and transform urban spaces.

“The renovations that are most needed are those to our thinking if we are to deliver this. Instead of listing the barriers, we need lists of solutions. We simply must find creative resolutions to the issues that are rendering so much real estate vacant and falling into disrepair.

“The city centre needs to be a welcoming place where everybody feels safe. There is no doubt that we need greater resourcing for our Gardaí to support our communities. 

This resource needs to be a publicly visible Garda presence, not a quoted number.

He also highlighted the importance of Cork’s multicultural fabric, the continued investment in higher and further education and expansion of apprenticeship programmes necessary to support international competitiveness, and the ambitious plans for Cork’s transport and energy systems, aiming to reduce car dependency and promote sustainability.

Mr Horgan thanked outgoing president Ronan Murray for his contributions to Cork Chamber and the region’s business community and pledged to work diligently with the Chamber team and members to ensure Cork’s continued prosperity.