Seasoned Entrepreneurs

JIM BARRY is the Managing Director of Barry Group which was established by his father. Today, the Barry Group has grown from a once local business to now one of Ireland’s leading wholesale distribution groups. Jim Barry was as a finalist in the Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2010 while they were also shortlisted for Cork Chamber’s ‘Cork Company of the Year’ 2010 and Great Place to Work Award 2010.

JIM BREEN founded PulseLearning in 1999 and is the driving force behind the company’s high standards of excellence and its rapid progression as a globally dominant organization. In 2007, Jim was shortlisted for the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and graduated from the Executive Development program at Stanford University in California.

LIAM CASEY is the founder and CEO of PCH International, a venture-backed supply chain management company focused on the consumer electronics, personal computer, medical device and telecommunication industries. Liam founded PCH in 1996 and has grown the business to well over $100 million in revenue and over 800 employees In 2007, he was awarded Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Ireland.

JOHN FLAHAVAN is the current chairman of E Flahavan and Sons. Irish hot oats are worth €20.3 million at retail, and Flahavan's currently has over 65% of the market. The Waterford-based company won the Irish Exporters Association's “food and drink” and overall Exporter of the Year Award 2009 and John Flahavan was a finalist in the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Programme.

MICHAEL FLYNN founded FLI Environmental in Waterford in 1989. FLI Environmental is an International Environmental Services company that supplies specialised technical services in the broader environmental services market Michael was a finalist in the International Category in the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

DECLAN FOX, Serial entrepreneur, technologist and business coach, co-founded Comnitel Technologies in 1999 and as CEO, grew the company raising €30M. Comnitel later merged with a US Telco, and was acquired by IBM in 2007. Founder of Magellan Partners, a venture & advisory consultancy, Declan is actively involved in mentoring and promoting entrepreneurship for early stage companies, innovation centres and academic institutions.

CHARLES GARVEY,  CEO of Horizon Technology Group from 1990 to 2003, grew from being a small Apple Computer reseller with 7 employees to become Sun Microsystems’ largest partner in Europe. At its peak the group was worth over €1bn and employed 720 people. The company completed 13 acquisitions and disposals, was listed on the main board of the London and Dublin stock exchange and was sold to Avnet Inc in 2009. Currently Charles is CEO of NitroSell, an eCommerce company focussed on web enabling bricks and mortar retailers.

PAUL HANDS, serial entrepreneur, has founded a number of technology companies, including QCL (acquired by Calyx in 2003) and QUMAS, a global leader in delivering enterprise compliance solutions to Life Science companies and financial institutions (Irish Technology Company of the Year 2006). 2011 sees Paul as the business promoter of a number of high potential startup ventures and he is an active board member of the Chamber of Commerce in Cork and a member of the recently established Cork Entrepreneurship Steering Group.

PAUL HOURICAN is CEO of PFH Technology Group, an end- to–end ICT Solution provider of integrated Voice and Data Solution to over 1,400 customers in Ireland and abroad. In 2006 PFH purchased CK Business Electronics. PFH doubled its turnover and subsequently took over the Irish arm of Siemens Enterprise Communications in May 2010, followed by the acquisition of Redstone Technology in November 2010. Today PFH employs 237 people and has offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast. Paul was a finalist in the 2011 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year awards.

FRED KARLSSON founded DoneDeal.ie in 2005. The company provides an online marketplace for people to buy or sell items.The site facilitates the advertisement of over 60,000 new items a month, and more than 250,000 Irish people visit the web site every day. The company is now Ireland’s biggest classified website. Fred was a finalist in the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Programme.

JAMES J. KETT is Chief Executive of VoiceSage, a leading global provider of Enterprise driven customer communications, hosted in the cloud. VoiceSage has won an Innovation Award from Telco 2.0 and two awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2011. JJ Kett was a founder of KineMatik, Agrilink, the Cork Cancer Research Centre and Cork University Foundation. He is the founder of the University College Cork Entrepreneurship Programme and former Director General of the Cork University Foundation (raised IR£65m for the university in Ireland and the US).

GRAINNE KELLY is the CEO and inventor of BubbleBum UK Ltd, manufacturer of the world’s first inflatable car booster seat. BubbleBum was founded in December 2009 and has rocketed to success winning major worldwide product awards. The product is now for sale in 21 countries globally Grainne was named Belfast Telegraph Business Woman of the Year in 2010 and was also a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011.

AIDEN LEE founded Eolas International Research in 2002, which has become a leading global research company with its headquarters in Cork. Turnover has grown double digit year on year to over 3 million EURO in 2009 with over 65% of this generated from international research projects. Aiden was a finalist in the 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Programme.

BILL LIAO, diplomat, investor, entrepreneur, business mentor, speaker, philanthropist and author, co-founded the business social network service XING and is a venture partner at SOS Ventures, a global venture capital firm and investment management firm. Bill is dedicated to the vision that business and enterprise, both commercial and social, conducted fairly and with respect for the environment, can and will create a better environment for work, life and the world that we all share. This vision is captured in his book: Stone Soup.

PAT LYNCH is a Cork based Entrepreneur and business owner. Pat founded Microtech Cleanroom Services in 1998. He previously worked as finance director / controller for the Irish operations of US multinationals Seagate Technology and Summit Technology. He is currently Director of Compliance & Risks and Omnivend. He also holds the roles of CEO of Cork based YouGetitBack Ltd and Founder and CEO of Stock Market Training Ltd.

PAT O’FLYNN, CEO of Solvotrin, is an entrepreneur with over fifteen years experience ranging from operational management to strategic leadership roles. He has successfully built businesses from inception and has a proven track record in the Pharmachem and related industries. Pat was a finalist in the 2008 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a principal in the OFactum Group and is CEO of Solvotrin Therapeutics Ltd.

ANNE O’LEARY started CADCO Ltd in 1990 and became Autodesk Distributor for Ireland in Sept. 1990 and N.Ireland in 1993. CADCO continued to develop with 3 office locations Cork, Manchester and Belfast and 52 employees and received the Cork Chamber of Commerce Company of the year award (SME) in 2003. In 2009 CADCO’s business was sold to Computer2000. In 2010 Anne became Executive Chairman of Kinematik a software development company based in New Jersey USA and Cork.

KEVIN O'LEARY has been with QUMAS since its inception and was responsible for the original design and development of the company's first product release. He established the company's presence in the United States in 1997 and now serves as the company's chief executive officer. In 2006, Qumas was named Company of the Year by the Irish Software Association and Kevin was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award.

DAVE RONAYNE is Chief Executive of Irish Mainport Holdings. The Mainport Group is an integrated marine services company providing global shipping services to offshore oil & gas exploration companies and international seismic operators. Dave was a finalist in the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards Programme.

ASIER RUFINO currently works with the Basque Institute of Competitiveness (Orkestra) in their platform Crecer+ (which is aimed at helping local high growth technology companies to internationalise) worked as a management consultant for Accenture, BNP Paribas and The Parthenon Group. Asier holds an MBA from London Business School / Sloan MIT and has a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the Basque Country University in Spain.

SEAN RYAN is founder and CEO of Aspen Grove. In 2008 Sean and his business partner took 100% control of the company and since then the company has grown rapidly. Since 1995 Sean has been working on Internet-based business-service solutions and has successfully put the Internet to work as a service medium in many industries including insurance, legal, education, construction, energy, and property management.

MICEAL SAMMON is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Sammon Group, an international construction company specialising in the design and build of world class educational facilities with Head Quarters in Kilcock, County Kildare. The company originally focused on manufacturing for and fitting-out Irish pubs at home and abroad. The company commenced its first International education project in United Arab Emirates in 2008. Miceal was a finalist in the 2011 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year awards.

JENNI TIMONY is a serial entrepreneur with a broad range of experience in commercial and social entrepreneurship projects. In 2011 Jenni launched www.frankley.com , a new brand of auto-shipped underwear based in San Francisco. Prior to this, in 2003 Jenni founded and grew Doolittles, a nationwide sandwich manufacturing and distribution business. Jenni was shortlisted in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2007 and is a director of the Soul of Haiti Foundation.

DR JOHNNY WALKER, a diagnostic imaging specialist, who founded Global Diagnostics in 2002 was on a mission to fundamentally change the way healthcare was delivered through the design and implementation of a simple digital tele-radiology solution. In 2007, Global Diagnostics entered the Irish market through an alliance with Centric Health and has since captured a number of significant contracts in the Irish market. Johnny was a finalist in the 2010 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year awards.

FRANKIE WHELEHAN secured the Choice Hotel franchise for Ireland in 1998 and developed the 4 Star Clarion Hotel Group, the 3 Star Quality Hotel Group and the budget Comfort Inn Group. Choice Hotels Ireland now focus’s its attention on the development of its Clarion Hotel Group here in Ireland and abroad.