Tech leaders gather to discuss Ireland's digital future

It is vital as a country that we put in place the right policies in education and skills, digital infrastructure and social inclusion, if we are to create a sustainable recovery, and the jobs and prosperity that implies. At The Digital Ireland Forum, our leading keynote speakers were joined by Ireland's technology CEOs, who took part in mediated panel discussions, on the key issues that need to be tackled in Ireland: Digital infrastructure; jobs and skills; education and creating a digital society.

Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation gives the opening address at the DIgital Ireland Forum

Richard Bruton gives the opening address at the Digital Ireland Forum

Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD

Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Richard Bruton opened proceedings at the Digital Ireland Forum. A research economist by profession, he was first elected to the Dáil in 1982, was Minister for Enterprise and Employment from 1994 to 1997, and chaired the European Industrial Council during Ireland's EU presidency in 1996. He was Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce from 1986 to 1987. Read report.

Lord David Puttnam tells the Digital Ireland Forum how education and ICT investment is key to economic survival

Lord David Puttnam: How education and ICT investment is key to economic survival

Keynote 1: Lord David Puttnam

Lord David Puttnam spent 30 years as an independent film producer with many award-winning films, including Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields, Midnight Express and The Memphis Belle. Retiring from film production in 1998, he has focused his work on education and the environment. Today Chancellor of the Open University, in 1998 he founded the National Teaching Awards in the UK, and served as the first Chair of the General Teaching Council (2000-2002), and on various other public bodies. He is former digital adviser to Gordon Brown's UK government. Read report.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist and diplomat Bill Liao outlines Ireland’s creative future

Bill Liao outlines Ireland's creative future

Keynote 2: Bill Liao

Diplomat, investor, entrepreneur, business mentor, speaker, philanthropist and author, Bill Liao co-founded the business social network service XING and is a venture partner at SOS Ventures, a global venture capital and investment management firm. Bill is also the co-founder of the Coder Dojo movement to assist young people to learn how to program. Author of Stone Soup; a Secret Recipe for Making Something from Nothing, Bill is a regular speaker at conferences and seminars, like TED at Long Beach California, The Globe Forum in Stockholm Sweden, and The London School of Economics, among others. Read report.

Mary Lou Nolan, Country Manager, Cisco

Mary Lou Nolan has more than 15 years of experience within the IT industry. She was previously director of sales for Hewlett-Packard Ireland. Mary Lou is actively involved in the Business in the Community mentoring programme and is a champion of Cisco's Inclusion and Diversity programme. She is a business management graduate from the College of Marketing and Design, Dublin.

Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO, Vodafone Ireland

Jeroen Hoencamp joined Vodafone Ireland from Vodafone Netherlands, where he was Director Enterprise from 2006. He has been a member of the General Management Board for the last six years. He spent the earlier part of his career in Curacao, where he worked as an officer in the Royal Dutch Marine Corps and in Atlanta (USA) as senior marketing representative at Canon Southern Copy Machines, Inc.

Jim Wynn, Chief Education Officer, Promethean

Jim Wynn has more than 30 years of experience in education technology across more than 50 countries. He joined Promethean from Cisco, where he led its public sector consultancy for emerging markets, with an emphasis on education. Wynn's previous appointments include head teacher of two secondary schools in the UK, where he pioneered the use of ICT, head of research at RM Plc and partners in learning lead for EMEA at Microsoft.

Jason Ward, Country Manager, EMC

Jason Ward began his career with Misys Financial Systems, before moving on to JD Edwards, and then to Siebel Systems, where he worked with the management team to establish the Siebel CRM business in Ireland. Prior to joining EMC, Ward spent eight years with Business Objects, where he managed the direct and indirect channels and also oversaw the integration with SAP following Business Objects' acquisition in 2006.

Maurice Mortell, Managing Director, Ireland, TelecityGroup

Maurice Mortell was appointed Managing Director, Ireland, of TelecityGroup in 2011, after its acquisition of Data Electronics, where Mortell was CEO for 10 years. A seasoned IT specialist, Mortell is a regular speaker on the managed services and data centre markets in Ireland. A member of the Telecommunications Information Federation Committee (TIF), he is a former chairman of the Outsourced Services Group within IBEC and sits on the board of the Irish Internet Association. 

Fiona O'Carroll, Executive VP, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Fiona O'Carroll is executive vice-president at HMH and general manager of new ventures and innovation at the company. She joined Riverdeep in 2002 as the executive vice-president for marketing, product development and services, where she helped it to become a $300m company prior to its integration with HMH. Previously, she was general manager at Vivendi Universal, a global leader in entertainment and gaming.

Colm O'Neill, CEO, BT Ireland

Colm O'Neill became the new chief executive officer of BT Ireland as of 19 September 2011.  O'Neill joined BT in 2009 as managing director of Business in Ireland. He previously worked for nine years in EMC, holding a number of senior management positions across the UK and Ireland, most recently as country manager for EMC Ireland. He succeeds Graham Sutherland, who has been appointed managing director of BT Business in Great Britain.

Colin Mac Hale, Ireland Country Manager, Sales & Marketing, Intel

Colin is Country Manager for Sales & Marketing and is responsible for Intel's strategic relationships and market development in Ireland. He is focused on creating demand for Intel platforms via solutions, new usage models, and ecosystem scaling. Colin has more than 23 years of experience in the Irish computer industry and he joined Intel in 2000. Prior to this, he held positions in the computer industry, and much of this time was spent in Digital Equipment Corporation.

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