Leadership

The World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting – Davos 2013 – opened last night with the presentation of Crystal Awards to artist Vik Muniz, documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and the actress Charlize Theron. The meeting was opened by WEF founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, who welcomed more than 2,500 participants from over 100 countries, including nearly 50 heads of state or government, 1,500 business leaders, and representatives from civil society, media, academia and the arts, and called for “soul, heart, brains and good nerves”. “It is my hope that you come out of this meeting with a vision that goes beyond crisis management,” he said. At the opening,…

Hilton Worldwide is championing youth development having commissioned a white paper from the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and launched its own strategy for the area called Bright Blue Futures. The white paper, ‘Creating Opportunities for Youth in Hospitality,’ looks at the economic and social struggles facing the world’s youth and the key issues that need to be addressed to solve those challenges. Hilton Worldwide announced its publication at the World Economic Forum. Leveraging insights gained through its partnership with the hotel group, IYF also presents the hospitality industry with a roadmap for action that focuses on creating career pathways while also meeting critical industry-wide hiring needs. “We have a tremendous…

A pan-European eHealth conference is taking place in Dublin next May, expecting to attract 2,500 international delegates and 100 exhibitors. eHealth Week is made up of two main events: the High Level eHealth Conference co-organised by the European Commission and the Irish Department of Health and the WoHIT (World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition) organised by HIMSS Europe. “eHealth solutions are critical in the delivery of a world class health system and offer significant opportunities for stimulating economic growth,” said Dr James Reilly TD, Minister for Health in Ireland. “I firmly believe that enhanced health service and industry collaboration can lead to great innovation and result in efficiencies, savings…

Four young Irishmen have made it into US business magazine Forbes’ ‘30 under 30’ to watch in 2013, which includes figures such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. They are Limerick entrepreneurs Patrick and John Collison, computer programmer James Whelton and advertising guru Jonathan Cloonan. The list, which began last year, aims to highlight the “young disrupters, innovators and entrepreneurs’ that are changing the world. The Collisons were named for their work in the technology sector, having sold their business Auctomatic in 2008 for an estimated €3m. They are now based in Silicon Valley and running an online payments company called Stripe, which analysts estimate to be valued at between €500m and…

The next governor of the Bank of England has been named this afternoon as Mark Carney, who is currently governor of the Bank of Canada. Carney will replace the current governor, Sir Mervyn King, when the latter steps down in June 2013. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that Carney will serve in the role for five years. He described Carney as the “outstanding candidate” for the job. Carney will continue to serve in his current position until 1 June and will take over at the Bank of England on 1 July. He will remain chair of the G20 body, the Financial Stability Board. “I am honoured to accept…

HiberGene Diagnostics, a diagnostics company, utilising the latest medical technology to develop, market and manufacture molecular diagnostic tests for human infectious diseases, has announced the appointment of Tony Hill as chief executive officer. HiberGene is based at NovaUCD , the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin . Hill joins HiberGene from Innogenetics, an international diagnostics company, where he was global sales director. Before this, Hill was the vice-president at OraSure Technologies , and earlier roles included some positions at Sigma Aldrich. Hill has a wealth of experience from more than 20 years in the diagnostic and life science industries. He brings with him expertise in general management and marketing and sales, coupled with a…

Ireland’s food and beverage industry needs to extend the sustainability agenda beyond the ‘greenness’ of food production to include the financial stability of the sector and the sharing of risk, reward, and effort across all participants in the supply chain, according to a report published today by Grant Thornton. The Food 4.0: The dynamics of Supply & Demand report states that businesses need to act now to capitalize on the opportunities brought about by a rapidly growing global population together with fundamental shifts in productivity, technology, supply chain efficiency and innovation. The fact that30pcof EU citizens will be 65 or older by 2060, compared to just 12pc in the 1960s, creates challenges and opportunities for producers and consumers…

The first major business event of The Gathering 2013 is taking place in Cork, as the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) is holding its ‘Silicon Valley comes to Ireland’ event there in January. Cork City Council, Cork Chamber, University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology have joined forces to bring the event to Cork as part of The Gathering, following a mission to Silicon Valley earlier this year and meetings at the ITLG headquarters in San Jose. Technology leaders from Europe, China, Russia, India and across the Americas are due to attend the summit in January. Hosted in venues across the city, the event will be led by former…

The OECD has launched an online portal to provide consumers, businesses and governments quick and easy access to the latest information on products recalled from the market in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States. The portal is designed to promote and improve product safety. According to the OECD, deaths and injuries worldwide from unsafe products are estimated to cost more than US$1trn each year. Through the portal, consumers will be able to check whether a product they are planning to buy in a store or online has been taken off shelves in another country. Businesses, such as importers or retailers, will be able to react quickly and pull products as…

Education agreement to bring 4,000 Brazilian undergrads to Ireland over next four years Pictured: Mark Ferguson, director general, Science Foundation Ireland; Glaucius Oliveira, President of CNPq, Brazil; Minister Joe Costello; Marina Donohoe; and President Michael D Higgins (Photo: © Túlio Vidal/Enterprise Ireland) An education and research agreement that will see 4,000 Brazilian undergraduates study in Ireland over the next four years was signed today during Enterprise Ireland’s trade mission to Brazil . The agreement is part of Brazil’s Science Without Borders programme –  a government scholarship programme that aims to send 100,000 of the country’s students on undergraduate and PhD courses to study in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and creative industries at top universities around the world. It builds on…