Former RTÉ political correspondent Martina Fitzgerald to give voice to the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs as CEO of Scale Ireland.
Scale Ireland, the independent not-for-profit organisation which represents and advocates on behalf of tech start-up and scale-up companies has appointed Martina Fitzgerald as its new CEO.
Fitzgerald has two decades senior communications experience working as a national journalist including as political correspondent with RTÉ, is a best-selling author and was more recently a visiting fellow at Columbia University in New York. She is a member of the board of Dochas and the National Screening Advisory Committee.
“Securing a supportive policy environment for Ireland’s high-growth companies is more important than ever”
“I look forward to building on the outstanding work undertaken to date to further support the next generation of entrepreneurs and give a voice to the tech start-up sector,” said Fitzgerald.
Ireland’s scale-up prerogative
Scale Ireland started as a project within startup hub Dogpatch Labs in 2018, and was formally launched in 2019 to support, represent and promote the interests of innovation driven enterprises, which operate in a range of sectors including ICT, fintech, biotech and medical devices.
There are currently more than 2,000 indigenous tech start-ups and scale-up companies employing more than 45,000 people around the country.
Scale Ireland is supported by the wider sector with leading figures Brian Caulfield (chair and Venture Partner at Draper Esprit, previously founder at Exceptis and Similarity Systems) and Elaine Coughlan (Atlantic Bridge Ventures) as well as Dogpatch Labs CEO, Patrick Walsh on its board. The founders of prominent start-up companies including Teamwork, Axonista, Pointy and Aylien are members of its Advisory Council.
Founder and outgoing CEO of Scale Ireland, Liz McCarthy said: ‘’I have really enjoyed my time leading Scale Ireland and seeing our policy work bear fruit at both a national and EU level. Securing a supportive policy environment for Ireland’s high-growth companies is more important than ever, and I am delighted that the organisation will be in safe hands going forward.”
The chair of Scale Ireland, Brian Caulfield added: ‘”We are delighted to have been able to attract someone of Martina’s ability and experience to become the new CEO of Scale Ireland. I look forward to working with Martina to help create an environment where startups can thrive all around Ireland.”
By John Kennedy (john.kennedy3@boi.com)
Published: 16 November, 2020
