Anne O'Leary (technologist)

Anne O'Leary is an Irish technologist. She is the head of Meta, Ireland, having previously served as chief executive officer of Vodafone and BT Group. In 2019 she was named the KPMG Business Person of the Year, and in 2024 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from University College Cork.

Anne O'Leary
Alma materLondon Business School
Munster Technological University
Harvard University
Employer(s)Meta Platforms
BT Group

Early life and education

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O'Leary is from Cork. She studied marketing at Munster Technological University, and earned a postgraduate degree in strategy and leadership at the London Business School.[1]

Career

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O'Leary started her career at Nixdorf Computer.[2] She worked at BT Group and Esat Telecom.[1]

O'Leary worked as chief executive officer of Vodafone from 2013 to 2022.[3] Here she was responsible for the roll out of the 4G and 5G networks.[4] She was only the second woman to hold such a position, and used it to advocate for the recruitment and retention of more women in technology.[5] Under her leadership, more than half of the Vodafone leadership team were women.[6][7] She introduced programmes to support employees undergoing fertility treatment, and for people who had experienced pregnancy loss or intimate partner violence.[4] In 2019 she was named KPMG Business Person of the Year.[8]

In 2023 O'Leary was appointed Head of Meta Ireland.[9] She works with people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, looking to expand the use of Meta's applications.[3]

In 2024 she was elected President of Ibec.[3][10] She was awarded an honorary doctorate from University College Cork in 2024, where she serves as a board member.[6]

Personal life

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O'Leary enjoys swimming in the sea around Ireland.[3][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b admin (2012-07-03). "Anne O'Leary". MacGill Summer School. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  2. ^ O'Shea, Joe (2023-04-26). "Cork woman Anne O'Leary is new boss at Facebook-Meta Ireland". Cork Beo. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  3. ^ a b c d "President Anne O'Leary - IBEC". sitecore-prd-ne-cd01.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  4. ^ a b "Anne O'Leary named as new head of Meta Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  5. ^ Birch, Kate (2022-07-14). "Meet the leader: Vodafone's Anne O'Leary moves to Meta". businesschief.eu. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  6. ^ a b "Head of Meta Ireland and IBEC President Anne O'Leary honoured with UCC honorary doctorate". University College Cork. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  7. ^ a b Bolger, Jillian. "Anne O'Leary, CEO of Vodafone : 'Be bold, take risks, speak up, be confident' | IMAGE.ie". www.image.ie. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  8. ^ Finance, Business & (2020-02-10). "Business & Finance Awards 2019: Anne O'Leary, CEO of Vodafone, reflects on winning Business Person of the Year". Business & Finance. Retrieved 2024-11-11. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "Anne O' Leary - Global Economic Summit". Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  10. ^ "Head of Meta Ireland Anne O'Leary appointed Ibec president". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-11-10.