Speaker Profile: Claire O’HALLORAN |
Emerging Partners Lead, Microsoft UK Title: ‘Partnering for the Future: How Microsoft is supporting Innovation’ Hear about Microsoft’s investment in entrepreneurship and enterprise, programs and initiatives designed to support the next generation of start-ups and help young, small companies grow and become profitable About the Speaker: For the past three years at Microsoft, she has applied her energy and passion to creating a vision for growth for the software developer and independent software vendor (ISV) channel – which has resulted in numerous best practices and awards. With a remit to create a strategy for Partnering for the Future and ‘next generation’ partnerships, Claire has pioneered initiatives around off-shore development helping UK companies partner with others in SE Asia, Her work with the Emerging Business Team, which actively partners with the Venture Capital community, focuses on helping ‘high potential’ start-up and young companies from the UK and Overseas. Driving the Cross Border strategy, partnerships with Enterprise Ireland and Investment New Zealand have seen incremental business for Microsoft UK and overseas ISV partners. Before Microsoft, as a self-employed Sales & Marketing consultant, Claire helped start-up companies and small businesses grow. In her twenties Claire worked with Compaq (managing a $90m business unit for Ingram Micro) and at Marconi Communications where she managed the global relationship with Siemens and set up a new business to sell Intelligent Network solutions based on the new alliance with Compaq. Claire began her career as a graduate with IBM Ireland. In addition to pushing the boundaries in corporate land, Claire invests her time into community projects and has a keen interest in Entrepreneurship, Regional and Women’s Enterprise. Her latest project with Trestle Group Foundation – Empowering Women IT Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries – saw her receive a Microsoft GM’s award for Citizenship. Claire is a representative on the UK Women’s Enterprise Taskforce announced in November 2006 by Gordon Brown, a charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), representative for Microsoft on the Thames Valley Innovation Advisory Group and the West Midlands ICT Steering Group, member of the Irish International Business Network (IIBN), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and an active networker. |
|
|
