12 April 2021
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The role of Chair now passes to Ms. Gillian Bergin, Senior Consultant in Global Business Transformation at Dell Technologies
Strategic growth following a year that inspired the organisation to adapt, engage and support its members with creative tech-powered agility was the key theme discussed at the 2021 it@cork virtual AGM, at which the outgoing Chair of the organisation, Anthony O’Callaghan, reflected on his time as Chair and the outlook for the future of tech in Cork.
it@cork is an independent, not-for-profit business organisation representing the interests of the tech industry throughout Cork and the South West region. The tech sector in the southern region employs an estimated 30,000 people.
Addressing the AGM attendees, Mr. O’Callaghan commented on his tenure as Chair,
“Leading this organisation for the past two years has been a hugely rewarding experience. The challenges of 2020 brought the very best of the skills and expertise of our thriving tech sector to the fore and I was honoured to lead the organisation through a period of unprecedented change. Cork has continued to forge ahead in areas such as Cyber, Data, Infrastructure and Cloud with its emerging FinTech, AgTech, BioTech and AI profile gaining world-wide recognition during a period of exceptional tech innovation. I acknowledge and appreciate the great support of the Board, Directors and team over the past two years.”
The role of Chair now passes to Ms. Gillian Bergin, Senior Consultant in Global Business Transformation at Dell Technologies. At the post AGM Board meeting, Mr. O’Callaghan went on to say “I offer my sincere congratulations to Gillian Bergin on her election as chair. Gillian is an experienced, generous, creative and tireless leader with the vision and ambition to steer this organisation on its growth path. I wish her every success in the role and she has my full support.”
Ms. Bergin spoke of her new appointment, saying she is “deeply honoured to take on the position as chair of it@cork. As an 8-year veteran of the organisation, I’ve seen it go from strength to strength, evolving from operational to a strategic and ambitious powerhouse in Ireland’s technology ecosystem. I would like to personally thank Anthony, the Executive, Board, Vice Chair Donagh Kiernan and the team of exceptional people who make this organisation shine. I am excited and energised to continue the mission of leading it@cork into its next phase of positive growth and welcome our many new members both local and international. it@cork recently welcomed three new member companies from Malta – Cybergate International, CBS and 56bit which demonstrates our commitment to building relations with clusters and strategic partner organisations across Europe.
As we look optimistically to a post-Covid-19 environment, the potential for Cork as a tech hub is immense with possibilities. It will be our continuing focus to be the voice for the sector in ensuring that the necessary localised and remote infrastructure is in place to facilitate our memberships’ hybrid workforce and changing workplace while supporting strong growth and development.
I have also placed specific emphasis on the growth of it@cork Skillnet, the learning network, through the launch of ambitious new programs ensuring that upskilling and reskilling will continue to be cornerstones of how we support and optimise our rich talent base.
I’m looking forward to leading this high performance, high energy organisation and there has never been a better time for me to play my part in influencing the future of tech in the region.”
