The Irish Technology Leaders Group (ITLG), which comprises high-level Irish executives from Silicon Valley companies, is to open an office in Shannon.
The decision comes as Westpark Shannon moves to develop closer ties between Silicon Valley companies and the Atlantic Way region of the West of Ireland.
The office at the Co Clare Business Campus will promote the existing technology-related strengths of the Shannon Region, and will seek to link established and new start-ups in the region with leading and emerging companies in California.
ITLG already has offices in Dublin and Belfast.
“This initiative is especially timely. It highlights the attraction of the Shannon Region of Ireland as a low-cost, high-contribution centre for US companies wishing to develop their global enterprise models through a presence in Europe,” explained Brian O’Connell, managing director of Westpark Shannon and chairman of Atlantic Way.
Established in 2005, the Atlantic Way has set out to establish strong alliances and co-operation between people and business in diverse locations, with the intention of creating a region of excellence for future economic and social growth along the Galway to Limerick/Shannon corridor.
The voluntary organisation’s membership includes leaders and decision-makers in business, education, community organisations, local government, voluntary services and development based in the West and midwest of Ireland.
Strategically located next to Shannon International Airport and in the heart of the Atlantic Way, Westpark Shannon has become a unique and prestigious office location for global corporations to headquarter their European operations.
The campus is home to some of the world’s leading companies such as GE, Digital River, Genesis Lease and SES, as well as serving as the National Regional Headquarters for Enterprise Ireland.
ITLG chairman and Limerick native John Hartnett, who is CEO of the Cardiff-based G24i Technology Group, emphasised the importance of innovation for Ireland in the current difficult global economic climate: “This new office will act as a conduit for contacts between major US technology corporations and Irish enterprises.”
By John Kennedy
Pictured in Stanford University, California at the announcement of the Irish Technology Leadership Group’s new Westpark offices are (from left) Jason O’Connell, Westpark Shannon; Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Coughlan TD; and John Hartnett, chairman, Irish Technology Leadership Group
