Barry O'Sullivan, Cisco's senior vice-president in charge of voice products
Barry O’Sullivan, a senior vice-president at internet and communications giant Cisco who divides his time between Silicon Valley and Ireland, has been added along with Claddagh Resources chairman Peter Casey to the team of decision-makers on RTÉ’s Dragons’ Den.
O’Sullivan is a Cork native who is Cisco’s senior vice-president in charge of voice products, a US$2bn a year business.
O’Sullivan is also one of the earliest members of the influential Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), established by Irish and Irish-American executives in Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Wall Street, who decided to it was time Ireland tapped its diaspora opportunity.
Also joining the line-up alongside existing ‘dragons’ Gavin Duffy, Sean O’Sullivan and the recently announced Ramona Nicholas of the Cara Pharmacy chain is Peter Casey, founder and chairman of Claddagh Resources, a global recruiting company for the world’s largest consulting and IT firms.
Based in Atlanta, Derry-born Casey’s business empire operates across five continents and its clients include Tata Consulting, Ernst & Young, Oracle, AVG Software, SAP and many other household names.
Bank of Ireland-sponsored Dragons’ Den has so far seen entrepreneurs present more than 230 ideas, with 60 entrepreneurs successfully securing €2.3m in funding.
Dragons’ Den will be broadcast in 2013 and is produced by Screentime ShinAwiL for RTÉ.
Because of the new skills, expertise and global networks that Casey and O’Sullivan are bringing to Dragons’ Den, the closing date for entrepreneurs to apply for a chance to appear on the programme has been extended to Monday, 17 December 2012.
