Bobby Kerr is an Irish entrepreneur and businessman. He was the chairman of

Insomnia Coffee Company Insomnia Coffee Company is an Irish independent coffee chain, with headquarters in Dublin. The first store location opened in the back of a Galway bookstore in August 1997. The company has over 150 stores and over 400 self-service units in ope ...

. In 2009, he was a "dragon" on the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

version of ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...

'', produced by

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

(RTÉ).

Career

Kerr's first job was in 1981 as chef/trainee manager in AIB Catering

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

. For two years he worked at the

North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and ...

rigs, before working for Versa Food Services in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1984. While in Canada, Kerr held Assistant Catering Manager positions in the CNE Stadium Toronto,

Ottawa Civic Centre TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, seating 9,500. With temporary seating and standing room it can hold 10,585. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, inc ...

Crystal Beach Park Crystal Beach Park was an amusement park in Crystal Beach, Ontario from 1888 to 1989. It was serviced by the ''Canadiana'' passenger ferry in Buffalo, making it a popular tourist destination for both Canadians and Americans. The park was known ...

and

African Lion Safari African Lion Safari is a family-owned safari park in Southern Ontario, Canada, straddling the cities of Hamilton and Cambridge, located west of Toronto. Guests may tour seven game reserves, with a total area of about , on tour buses or in vis ...

and coordinated the catering for Pope John Paul II's visit to Canada in 1985 for one million people. When he returned to Ireland in 1986, Kerr took the position of Assistant Manager in Jury's Hotel Ballsbridge. He then took up the role of Catering Manager for Campbell Catering in UCC from 1987–1989. He took up various roles in Campbell Catering, then moving on to business and marketing for Contract Catering Company. In 1992, Kerr transferred to Campbell Bewley's

Bewley's Bewley's is an Irish hot beverage company, located in Dublin and founded in 1840, which operates internationally. Its primary business operations are the production of tea and coffee, and the operations of cafés. Bewley's has operations in Ire ...

operations and took on the role of Managing Director Bewleys Oriental Café, Bewleys Franchising and Bewleys Bakery. In 1997 Kerr became Director of Development, Campbell Bewley Group, with responsibility for the overseas development of the Bewley Brand in the United Kingdom, United States and Japan. In 1999 Kerr set up PERK Coffee Shops. In 2003 he bought out Fitzers, who held 50% of the shares in PERK, and then sold Perk to Insomnia in 2004. Kerr reinvested all the proceeds of the Perk sale back into Insomnia and became a shareholder and CEO of Insomnia. Since 2004, Kerr has led the expansion of Insomnia from 17 to 50 shops and increased turnover from €5 million to €13 Million. In 2008, he sold 51% of Insomnia to the Icelandic Penninn group valuing the business at €16 million. In 2009, he was an investor on the RTE's ''

''. In October 2010, he took over for Mark Mortell as host of ''Down to Business'' , a business focused radio show aired on

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Autho ...

, an Irish talk radio station. Also in 2010, Kerr transitioned from chief executive to chairman of Insomnia Coffee. In December 2017, Kerr sold the rest of his stake in Insomnia to other shareholders.

Personal life

Bobby Kerr was brought up in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

where his father ran the family business, the 4 star Newpark Hotel. Kerr was educated in CBS Kilkenny and

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one o ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and went on to study Catering Management at

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological Un ...

. Bobby Kerr currently lives in

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for me ...

with his wife of 20 years Mary and their four daughters Meghan, Emily, Rebecca and Michaela. Kerr played for Bective Rangers in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pemb ...

for ten years. In April 2011, Kerr spent time doing charity work in Zambia, building a house for a local family caring for AIDS orphans. On 7 November 2015, Kerr revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the head and neck.

References

External links

*
RTÉ Profile on Bobby Kerr

Down to Business Radio Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Bobbu 1960 births Living people Businesspeople in coffee Businesspeople from County Dublin Newstalk presenters People educated at Castleknock College Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology