A group of Irish ex-pats who hold prominent positions in Silicon Valley technology companies will later next month present Intel chairman Craig Barrett with an award to recognise the impact which Intel’s investment in Ireland has had.
Intel today employs over 4,800 people in Ireland, principally at its Leixlip manufacturing plant, with another 200 at an R&D operation in Limerick.
The Irish Technology Leaders Group (ITLG) is a thinktank comprised of senior Irish executives in Silicon Valley who are motivated to ensure Ireland gets its fair share of R&D projects, as well as helping Irish firms break into the Valley.
The group includes: chairman John Hartnett, senior vice-president of global markets at Palm; Barry O'Sullivan, senior vice-president of Cisco's Voice Technology Group; John Gilmore, chief operations officer of Sling Media; Brian Fitzgerald, former vice-president of operations at Intuit Inc; Niall O'Connor, chief information officer at Apple; Rory McInerney, director of engineering at Intel; and Tony Redmond, chief technology officer at HP Services.
ITLG's awards presentation, entitled "Irish Technology Leaders Silicon Valley Awards", will be held on 27 March at Stanford University.
"In the spring of 1993, Intel produced its first Irish microprocessor – a Pentium processor," said Hartnett.
"What Intel recognised fifteen years ago was Ireland's potential to become one of the powerhouses of the global high-tech industry and the company's investment in that potential has helped to spur unprecedented growth.
"Intel has since expanded its investment in Ireland to include product development and most recently has acquired Havok, the leading provider of interactive software and services in the game and movie industries, based in Dublin.
"Thanks to the leadership of people like Dr. Barrett and Minister Micheál Martin, Ireland is now entering a new phase of growth, driven by creative thinkers and entrepreneurs who have been inspired by the astounding contribution our small but dynamic island has made to the global technology sector.
"It is the goal of the ITLG to honour the leaders of the past 15 years, as well as the up and coming leaders of the future," Hartnett said.
By John Kennedy
David D'Arcy
