Dr Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, today received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Ulster in recognition of his services to marketing and to the dairy industry in Northern Ireland.

Among his many professional achievements, Mike is a former International Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, an Honorary Fellow of the CIM, as well as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketers. He is past President of the International Milk Promotion Group of the International Dairy Federation.

A graduate of the University of Ulster and a Visiting Professor in the Ulster Business School, he is currently a Skills Ambassador with the Sector Skills Body, Lantra, and holds external Board positions with Food NI and CAFRE’s Food Business Incubation Centre.

He has had a long and close relationship with the University of Ulster, having established a Dairy Council Scholarship for the MSc in Agri-Food Development. He also initiated the annual Dairy Council Nutrition lecture, which embodies a long-standing relationship with Ulster’s Faculty of Life and Health Sciences.

Dr Johnston may be best known for his involvement with the Dairy Council in the sponsorship of the Milk Cup, a competition established 30 years ago and now one of the biggest and most renowned youth soccer tournaments in Europe.