By Business & Finance 
The Business & Finance Awards celebrates its 45th anniversary of honouring Irish and international businesses and global business, political and social leaders this year.
Announcing the theme, CEO of Business & Finance Media Group Ian Hyland said,
The Business & Finance Awards have been honouring and promoting both Irish and international businesses and global business, social and political leaders for 45 years, and over this time the Irish economy, while having its ups and downs, has ultimately gone from strength to strength.
“Key to this is the work of agencies such as the IDA who are celebrating their own major milestone this year with their 70th anniversary. To celebrate the stellar and essential work the IDA has done, I am pleased to announce that ‘FDI in Ireland’ will be a key theme of this year’s Awards programme.”
The IDA celebrates 70 years
Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA
The IDA, the agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ireland celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Responsible for bringing major American companies such as Intel, Google and Facebook to Ireland and creating over 200,000 jobs, the IDA released its 2018 results showing that Ireland continues to perform strongly in attracting FDI to the country.
The IDA released figures showing 70 Brexit-related investments from firms looking to move their EMEA HQs out of Britain with over 5000 associated jobs.
“These updated figures are another reminder of how our European Union membership and stable pro-enterprise policies are appealing to investors who are looking for certainty,” said CEO of IDA Martin Shanahan.
He said about the figures, “For US companies with ambitions to be global players, Ireland is a natural fit for their international operations.”
Companies such as Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Legal & General, Everest Re, Central Pharma, The Standard Club, Coinbase, Citi Group, Barclays, AXA XL, Wasdell Group, EquiLend, Thomson Reuters, BRE Global, Simmons & Simmons, Neueda Technologies and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have all declared a new or expanded presence for Ireland in 2018 or 2019.
The history of FDI in Ireland
Henry Ford set up Ford in Cork in 1917 and since then Ireland has opened its doors to international companies setting up a base here. A major coup was attracting Swedish telecoms Ericsson in 1957 and Intel in 1989 – with the core processor company celebrating 30 years in Ireland this year. Recent years have seen major foreign companies such as LinkedIn, Pfizer, Paypal, EMC and Airbnb making Ireland their EMEA HQs.
Speaking on Ireland’s ability to attract FDI, Martin Shanahan said,
Ireland is one of the most open economies in the world. Trading and doing business with the outside world comes naturally to the Irish, thanks to a blend of historical, cultural and social factors.It is no surprise that businesses from all over the world have been calling Ireland home for decades, in fact for almost a century now.
Special FDI award at the Business & Finance Awards
Shaun Murphy, KPMG, Jose Manuel Barroso, Mary McAleese, Joe Schmidt, Ian Hyland, Business & Finance.
A key theme running through the Business & Finance Awards 2019 Awards programme will be the celebration of FDI in Ireland and the IDA will be presented with a special award on the evening, the Outstanding Contribution to FDI in Ireland Award.
The Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG, are Ireland’s foremost Irish business awards, running for the last four decades. The 2018 honourees included former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, who received the inaugural Sutherland Leadership Award, former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, who received with the TK Whitaker Award, along with Irish Rugby Team Head Coach Joe Schmidt who received the Outstanding Contribution to Brand Ireland Award.
Previous honourees include President Clinton, Sir John Major, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Sen George Mitchell, Sir Bob Geldof, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and President of Ireland Michael D Higgins.
The Business & Finance Awards, in association with KPMG, are Ireland’s foremost Irish business awards and celebrate their 45th anniversary this year.
Strategic Partners to the 2019 Business & Finance Awards include: HSBC, IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Ibec, Jaguar, Brightwater Executive, The Irish Post.
