May21Wed
7:30 am - 10:00 am

Invest in Ireland – An Insider’s Perspective

InvestinIreland

An insider’s perspective on investment opportunities in Ireland with presentations from leading professionals in residential and commercial property, venture capital, and the business and banking sectors.

IMG_1517To view photos from our event, please visit our Flickr page.

 

Presentations from our event are available for download. Click on the speaker’s name to view and download their presentations.

 

Related news:

  • Article from IrishPhiladelphia.com
  • “Buying or Selling a Property in Ireland – The Facts You Should Know About Conveyancing” – click HERE to read more.

In December 2013 Forbes magazine named Ireland as “the best country for business.”

On Wednesday, May 21st, IABCN and Bank of Ireland hosted a networking breakfast and panel discussion.  We provided an in-depth overview of the current Irish economic climate, the commercial and residential property markets,  the entrepreneurial environment for small and mid-sized business, and banking services for foreign investors.

Learn from our experts about what makes Ireland great.
What makes Ireland great?

sf_group  SmartInvest Logo-small

Special thanks to our event sponsor and co-presenter:
bankofireland

Panel Speakers

Economic Overview of Ireland
Michael Crowley, Senior Economist, Economic Research Unit, Bank of Ireland Global Markets

Michael Crowley is a senior economist in the Economic Research Unit (ERU) of Bank of Ireland Global Markets. He joined Global Markets in June 2001 having previously worked as an economist with Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin. He is a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) graduate of University College Galway, Ireland, and holds a Masters Degree in Economic Science from University College Dublin, Ireland.

The Economic Research Unit in Bank of Ireland Global Markets provides specialist analysis of the Irish economy. It also provided detailed analysis of macro-economic trends; interest rate and foreign exchange rate forecasts; and projections for the major economies. Michael presents regularly on the Irish and international economies.

Overview of Irish property market, focus on residential and investment properties
Marian Finnegan, Chief Economist, Sherry FitzGerald / DTS Sherry FitzGerald

Marian Finnegan is the chief economist and director of research with the Sherry FitzGerald Group.  She graduated from NUI Galway with a Bachelor of Arts and subsequently completed a Masters of Arts in Economics in 1993.

Marian joined Sherry FitzGerald Group in 1996 having worked for a number of years in academia where she specialised in urban economics. While working in academia, Marian lectured economics to undergraduate level at both the University of Limerick and the Shannon College of Hotel Management, which is affiliated to NUI Galway.  While working in University of Limerick, she was also involved in an international research team whose function was to analyse the development of European cities.

Marian was appointed an Associate Director of Sherry FitzGerald in 1997 and a Director of Sherry FitzGerald in 1998. Heading up a team of three, Marian’s position in the Sherry FitzGerald Group involves monitoring and analysing economic and property indicators in the domestic and international markets.  She is also the spokesperson for the Group and regularly writes and lectures on the property market.

Overview of SME (small & medium-sized enterprises) business environment, key growth sectors, non-resident investment opportunities
Gerry Moan, Founder, SmartInvest

In addition to his role at SmartInvest, Gerry Moan is Founder and Managing Director of SmartStart, a group of like-minded investors, mentors and serial entrepreneurs who have supported hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses in Ireland to start and grow. He is a business advisor to multiple enterprise programs through Enterprise Ireland, County Enterprise Boards, Intertrade Ireland and the National Institutes of Technology and Universities. He is deeply integrated in the start-up community in Ireland through SmartStart Pitching Events and direct support of teams in fundraising, strategy and business development.

With both SmartStart and his previous organization, Constructive Intervention, Gerry has more than 25 years of business development and coaching experience across a broad range of market segments. He has carried out due diligence on many hundreds of companies and guided entrepreneurs through all stages of enterprise development. He was a founder in Geo-mapping start-up SMW (which was sold to Lotus Notes) and founded and ran two consulting and training organisations before founding SmartStart. His enterprise focus is on growth, market development and customer acquisition. He has successfully advised many early stage ventures through investment rounds and exit.

Gerry holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Ulster, UK. He also holds Diplomas in Business Counselling from the University of Durham (UK), in Sales and Marketing from the Marketing Institute of Ireland and a Diploma in Psychology from Mindsfields College in the UK.


Overview of banking services available to non-residents, availability of property mortgages, money transfer and foreign exchange.

Joe Connolly, EVP Business Development, Bank of Ireland

Joe Connolly is the Executive Vice President and head of business development for Bank of Ireland’s U.S. Branch. In this capacity, he and his team are responsible for identifying and establishing relationships with the many U.S. multinationals operating in Ireland.  Mr. Connolly joined the Bank of Ireland in 1978 and has held a number of senior treasury management positions in Dublin.

In October of 2003, Mr. Connolly relocated to the United States to embark on the Bank of Ireland’s aggressive U.S. growth strategy.  In 2007, Bank of Ireland’s U.S. presence grew from a Representative Office to a full Branch.  Mr. Connolly is responsible for all new business development in the United States and works closely with a number of fast growing Irish companies that have established U.S. subsidiaries in recent years.  

Mr. Connolly is a member of the Bank of Ireland Capital Markets US management team. He is also a director of The Ireland – U.S. Council, a business organization founded to promote business opportunities between the two countries. In 2013, Mr. Connolly was named by the Irish America magazine on the “Wall Street 50 list”.

Jane Kealy, Senior Manager Channel Relationships Mortgages, Consumer Banking, Bank of Ireland

Jane Kealy is a Senior Manager with the Mortgage Business in Bank of Ireland with over 20 years’ experience in financial services working across mortgage, cards, deposit  & insurance products. In her current role Jane has responsibility for the relationship with the Bank’s sales channels and in driving the growth agenda through the branch network, direct and Broker channels. Prior to joining the Bank she held marketing roles in MBNA Bank and AIB Bank.  Jane is a graduate of University College Dublin.

Location
The Union League of Philadelphia
McMichael Room, 2nd Floor

Questions
Email Alanna Barry-McCloskey at abarry@iabcn.org or call 215-772-3101.