Director profile: Tom Arnold, CEO, Concern Worldwide
Director profile: Tom Arnold, CEO, Concern Worldwide Pastoralist Jarso Ada speaking to Tom Arnold and Mary Robinson in Kenya When Tom Arnold steps down as chief executive of Concern Worldwide next year, he’ll leave behind him an organization that, during his time in the top job, has evolved from being an effective and respected Irish charity into one of global scale and reputation. Last year, Concern had 3,500 people working in 25 countries and had a budget of €16om, with €104m of this coming from a number of governments, including Ireland, the UK, and the US, as well as the EU and the UN. Income in 2001 was just short…
Read MoreMarketing feature: reputation intact
Reputation is one of a series of intangible assets that are becoming the new drivers of future value, writes John Keilthy, managing partner at Reputation Inc. Intangible assets account for a significant percentage of the market value of listed companies. Independent studies have suggested that in the case of the US market, for example, intangibles account for nearly 60pc of stock market valuations. Most business people are very familiar with what constitutes tangible assets, like property, plant, equipment, cash and investments, but are less aware of the growing suite of intangible assets that are becoming the new drivers of future value. Included in intangibles are some traditional accounting assets such…
Read MoreInsulCheck raises €350,000 investment and creates 12 jobs
John Phelan, manager of Halo Business Angel Partnership and John Hughes, co-founder and managing director of InsulCheck Halo Business Angel Partnership (HBAP), the Irish business angel network, has announced that diabetes medical device company InsulCheck has secured investment of €350,000 to facilitate its international growth strategy. The investment will fund new product development and the creation of 12 jobs over the next two years, bringing the total number of employees to 15. The investment was facilitated by HBAP, managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre, and came from multiple sources including HBAP angel investors, AIB Seed Capital Fund and Enterprise Ireland. The new jobs will be in the areas of research and…
Read MoreMoPowered develops mobile commerce platform for SMEs
MoPowered develops mobile commerce platform for SMEs A recent study on mobile commerce and SME retailers, carried out by OnePoll on behalf of MoPowered, has found that some 76pc of SME retailers do not have a mobile commerce site, but 89pc thought mCommerce was necessary for growth in the retail industry. The retailers surveyed believed that mobile commerce sales would increase by a third in the next five years but 79pc said they had found shopping via mobile on non mobile optimised sites slow and difficult to navigate. In fact 27pc had abandoned mobile transactions. MoPowered says that while these statistics comes as no surprise, it has developed a Pay…
Read MoreCorporate Reputations announces account wins and retentions
Marking its eighth year in business, Dublin-based marketing and PR consultancy Corporate Reputations has announced a series of account wins and retentions, including ‘The Irish Times’. Corporate Reputations recently won a public tender for the provision of PR services to UCD School of Business, having represented the school since 2004. It has been retained by The Irish Times to develop a national PR campaign to support the growth of the newspaper’s circulation by highlighting key initiatives and partnerships, special supplements, magazines and awards. This is in addition to developing and managing the PR and media campaign for The Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswoman Awards for the past three years. It has been…
Read MoreBeaumont becomes a tobacco-free campus
Beaumont Hospital will become a tobacco-free campus from tomorrow – 4 July – as the hospital moves to create a healthy, clean and safer environment for patients, staff and visitors. The move to go tobacco free across the campus follows extensive work by a multi-disciplinary steering committee and working groups. The policy was designed in response to the ongoing concern about the harmful effects of tobacco use and smoking in a healthcare environment. According to a statement released by Beaumont in advance of the change, “the HSE Corporate Plan (2008-2011) recognises the need for a shift towards prevention and better self care in respect of tobacco. Research and experience shows…
Read MoreShannon Airport to get new VIP lounge
Shannon Airport has announced that Quintessentially Aviation, the aviation wing of the luxury lifestyle group Quintessentially, is to develop its first Irish VIP lounge at Shannon Airport. Contracts for the investment were signed last week at the second annual ‘Irish Business Aviation Convention’ hosted jointly by Shannon Airport and Shannon Development at Dromoland Castle Hotel. Quintessentially will use the service as its flagship for corporate jet traffic operated from Al Bateen Airport in Abu Dhabi, which is the Middle East region’s only dedicated private jet airport. The investment by Quintessentially Aviation will result in Shannon Airport being heavily marketed for its US pre-clearance facility into this area of the Middle East, which will…
Read MoreIndigenous Irish exports doing well in Russia
One of the most notable things about Irish exports to Russia is that indigenous companies contribute more to the total than in other export markets, according to Constantin Gurdgiev, economist and chair of the Ireland-Russia Business Association. “Focusing on goods shipments in the first quarter, it is very much apparent that a broad spread of trade categories is represented. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals make up only 12pc of total goods exports to Russia, compared to 50pc of the total going to other markets,” he says. “One-tenth of exports to Russia are of meat and meat preparation products – a significant proportion – and 8pc of the total is coffee/tea/chocolate.” He…
Read MoreSalesforce.com to hire 100 people in Dublin
Enterprise cloud computing company Salesforce.com is hiring an additional 100 staff in Dublin to meet the demands of continued growth in Ireland. Salesforce.com first established operations in Dublin in 2000 and IDA Ireland has been working with it since on its developments in Ireland. It currently employs over 400 people here. The company is immediately looking to take on qualified professionals in sales, marketing, IT and customer support functions. “Salesforce.com is driving a massive transformation in the technology industry, showing companies the power of social and mobile cloud computing. Ireland has played a key role in our success and we are delighted to be able to expand our reach in…
Read MoreRedmills makes first shipment of horse feed to China
Based in Goresbridge, Co Killkenny, animal feed company Connolly’s Redmills has increased the export proportion of its revenue from 2pc in 2007 to 15pc last year. This family-run business, in operation since 1908, recently became the first foreign company in the world to be registered to distribute horse feed into China. Group business development director Michael Connolly says taking part in leadership development programmes run by Enterprise Ireland has helped the company to have a strong focus on strategy and significantly increase exports. His brother, managing director Joe Connolly, took part in Enterprise Ireland’s Leadership for Growth programme last year. Another brother Bill is joint managing director and there are…
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