Glandore: Helping Build the Gateway to Europe
Earlier this month, Glandore’s Managing Director, Michael Kelly, Director, Clare Kelly and Head of Marketing, Henry Daly joined a delegation of like-minded business people on a business development mission to Chicago and Boston. This was the first US trip for our team in over two years and to say there was excitement is an understatement. US business in Ireland is pivotal to the survival of so many service providers in our ecosystem and it is fantastic that they are still choosing our island in which to land their businesses. The purpose of this trip to Chicago and Boston was to strengthen some existing relationships and build many more new ones.
Our first excursion in Chicago brought us out to visit the Northwestern University Sports Campus in Evanston, Illinois, where we got a tour of their state of the art sports centre, medical facility and athletics arena from their world famous College Football Coach, Pat Fitzgerald.
The tour and lunch were followed by an interview by Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Dean, Francesca Cornelli and the former Irish Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern (1997 – 2008) who both gave some brilliant insight to the delegation and masters students on International affairs and diplomacy. Our first day in Chicago was topped off by an Ireland-US delegate dinner in the famous Chicago Cut restaurant in the riverside area of Chicago City Centre. At the dinner we heard from Glen Dimplex President, Neil Naughton on the work he has been doing with Northwestern University and the team from College Football Ireland to bring the American Football Classic to the Aviva Stadium this August, an event that will bring millions of euro in revenue to Irish businesses and fly in US tourists in their thousands. All in all our visit to Chicago was fantastic, the relationships between Irish and Chicago based businesses are stronger than ever and there is a robust pipeline of businesses in the city on route to set up their European HQ’s in Ireland. Brand Ireland is alive and well in the Windy City!
The next stop on our tour took us to Boston where the Glandore Team and the wider delegation had the pleasure of visiting Boston College Club, a venue offering spectacular views over the City of Boston. Our first evening in Boston brought us to a dinner in the beautiful surroundings of the Boston College Club Dining Room where members of the college and club had the chance to meet the travelling businesses from Ireland and some representatives from IDA Ireland, our industrial development agency.
We then heard from Robert Mauro, Director at the Irish Institute at Boston College, on the work that the college are doing and their links with Irish businesses. This introduction was followed by a conversation between Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig of Sigmar Recruitment and Bertie Ahern (Former Taoiseach). The highlight of our evening in Boston College Club was the panel discussion led by Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig and featuring Rosaleen Blair of Alexander Mann Solutions, Draft Kings CEO, Jason Robbins and Bob Cahill, CEO of Globalization Partners. All panellists emphasised the wealth of talent in Ireland at present and the support that they have received from Irish service providers to help their businesses grow in Europe.
On the final day of our trip, we visited the offices of Drift, one of the world’s leading b2c communications platforms, for a breakfast briefing and breakout session with their leadership team and the members of the delegation.
The morning kicked off with a panel discussion hosted by Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig and featuring Amy Spurling, Founder of Compt and Alison Darcy, Founder & CEO of Woebot. This discussion was followed by a breakout session where the travelling delegates broke into teams to brainstorm and present findings on the future of work. Luckily for us, the office and the necessity for in-office culture came out on top!
The last scheduled stop on our tour of Boston brought us to Silicon Valley Bank for a lunch with the Boston College CEO Club, where leading Irish entrepreneurs Eric Mosely, CEO of Workhuman and Rosaleen Blair of Alexander Mann Solutions sat down to discuss their experiences in business, life, expansion, talent sourcing and International relations.
All in all, our first week in the US since early 2020 was a huge success and we would like to thank Robbie, Adie, Jamie, Claire and all the team at ‘Ireland: Gateway to Europe’ for the huge effort made to organise a fantastic week that has further strengthen the business relationships and brand Ireland in the United States.