US website Ancestry.com – the world’s largest for-profit genealogical company – is to locate its international operations in Dublin. Starting with 15 people, the operation will grow to 50 people within two years.
The company has leased a property on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin and will move into the new premises in September.
The world’s largest family history resource has been operating out of temporary offices in Dublin since autumn last year.
The new office is part of Ancestry.com’s long-term growth strategy and represents an exciting new investment by the company in its international division which covers the organisation’s operations outside of the US.
Ancestry.com’s Dublin employees will include staff working within management and finance functions, as well as website developers and member service agents.
“We are delighted to be opening our new offices at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and are looking forward to growing our international business from Dublin,” Olivier van Calster, Ancestry.com’s VP and general manager (International), explained.
“Ireland is the perfect location for our international headquarters and was chosen for a number of reasons, not least because of the great availability of talented people, but also because it is a country that has a long history of emigration and plays a significant role in the family history of people across the globe,” van Calster added.
The new premises will be officially opened later in the year, when further details of Ancestry.com’s plans will be announced.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, TD, said: “Ancestry.com is a very welcome addition to Ireland’s growing cluster of online companies. Through continued implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government is determined to build on this and create the jobs we need.”
Building the family tree
Headquartered in Provo, Utah, Ancestry.com operates a network of genealogical and historical record websites focused on the US and various other countries. As of December 2011, it provided access to more than 8bn records, 31m family trees and more than 1.7m paying subscribers.
As well as its flagship website, Ancestry.com operates Genealogy.com, MyFamily.com, ProGenealogists and Rootsweb. It also owns Footnote.com, which provides images of historical records. Footnote’s Family Tree Maker software is the largest-selling genealogical software in the world.
“Ancestry.com’s decision to locate its new international operations centre in Dublin follows a strong flow of investments in recent years in the digital sector and highlights Ireland’s place on the global digital map,” said Barry O’Leary, IDA Ireland’s CEO.
“It is a welcome addition to the existing dynamic technology cluster in Ireland,” he added.
Family tree image via Shutterstock
