IIA chief executive Joan Mulvihill
The forthcoming Irish Internet Association annual conference will equip Irish firms waking up to the online opportunity with the nous to target opportunities in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, IIA chief executive Joan Mulvihill explained.
The conference, which takes place on 10 May at the Aviva Stadium and will be attended by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, will equip firms with the know-how for selling to these vibrant and fast-growing markets.
Economist Constantin Gurdgiev will outline the challenges and opportunities and a number of Irish companies already operating in Brazil, Malaysia, the Middle East and Russia will relate their experiences.
Saongroup’s Denise McQuaid will talk through her experiences of building a business empire in China in recent years.
RTÉ Dragons’ Den star Sean O’Sullivan will be on hand to present his vision of how Ireland can become more open for business, tell how his Open Ireland initiative is doing and offer his perspective on establishing links with fast-rising economies like China.
Neil Leyden, the driving force behind the Irish Digital Services Centre (IDSC), will be at the conference to explain how the IDSC will become a global entity that will put Ireland firmly on the map of the global creative economy.
The fabric of the nations’ digital future
The conference will also address a myriad of facets of the digital economy from the point of view of social media, mobile advertising and payments and brand management in the social media sphere. The marketing director of Heineken Ireland Sharon Walsh will present on how Heinken has used social media and mobile apps for the Champions League campaign.
“The IIA Annual Conference ‘Building BRICS’ is really for everyone selling into international markets and particularly the BRIC countries,” Mulvihill explained.
“Unlike other web events, this conference is the not the preserve of the tech community. It has deliberately been designed to suit anyone looking to expand their business as for many this will start with growing their online presence and using technology to facilitate that growth.
“It’s a perfectly engineered networking forum as its one of those rare opportunities where the providers of the technology and the consumers of the technology actually get to meet and exchange,” Mulvihill added.
