The Irish Technology Leadership Group expands

Published 21 May 2009

ITLG, comprising Irish and Irish-American business leaders in Silicon Valley, is opening an office at Westpark Shannon; the new office will seek to link established and new start-ups in the region with leading and emerging companies in California

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), comprising Irish and Irish-American business leaders in Silicon Valley, is opening an office at Westpark Shannon as part of a newly signed agreement.

The office at the County Clare Business Campus will promote the existing technology-related strengths of the Shannon region. It 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,” said Brian O’Connell, managing director of Westpark Shannon and chairman of Atlantic Way, an organization for businesses in west and mid-west Ireland. “It highlights the attraction of the Shannon region of Ireland as a low-cost, high-contribution center for U.S. companies wishing to develop their global enterprise models through a presence in Europe.”

ITLG chairman John Hartnett, chief executive of the Cardiff-based G24i Technology Group, emphasized the importance of innovation for Ireland in the current economic climate. “I am very excited that the opening of this new office will greatly assist in that process,” he said. “It will act as a conduit for contacts between major US technology corporations and Irish enterprises.”

Westpark Shannon, located next to Shannon International Airport, is home to companies such as GE, Digital River, Genesis Lease and SES — as well as serving as the National Regional Headquarters for Enterprise Ireland.