Executive chairman of Bega Cheese, Barry Irvin, said Mr Byrnes' contribution to Bega Cheese over 24 years represented an enormous commitment and effort.

“When he joined Bega Cheese it had 60 staff and produced 2500 tonnes of bulk cheddar cheese on a single site at Bega," Mr Irvin said.

"Today the Bega Cheese group manufactures and value adds in excess of 170,000 tonnes of dairy products across five sites and employs in excess of 1200 people.”

The growth of Bega Cheese has included the purchase of a 70 per cent share of Victoria’s Tatura Milk Industries, the acquisition of cheese processing facilities from Kraft at Strathmerton in Victoria and the acquisition of cheese manufacturing infrastructure in Melbourne.

“In recent years as Bega Cheese expanded to become a multi-site operation, Mick’s capacity to build teams and recruit the right people for the right job has given the company the confidence to take on many challenges," Mr Irwin said.

Mr Byrnes stepped down from his position last week.