10 November 2023: Frank Madden, Founder & CEO, Crest Solution has been named Tech Person of the Year at the 2023 Tech Industry Alliance Awards. The prestigious awards ceremony recognises individuals and organisations which are striving to drive innovative leadership, excellence and overall positive impact in our business ecosystem in the South-West. The event attracted over 120 nominations and entrants this year.

Speaking about the Tech Industry Person of the Year Award, Gerry Murphy, Chairperson Tech Industry Alliance said: “For over 25 years, Frank Madden has been building an enormous success story with Crest Solutions, now known as Catalyx. His outstanding contributions to the field of manufacturing operations and technology innovation has transformed the landscape of the Life Sciences and high-end manufacturing industries. With an unwavering commitment to advancing technology in manufacturing, exceptional leadership, an ability to forge successful collaborations as well as being dedicated to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in our region, Frank is a most deserving recipient of the Tech Person of the Year award”

Other award winners at the black-tie gala Awards Ceremony Cloudera, CergenX, Everseen, Solarwinds and Skillbase. Cork ETB and Kerry ETB received the Chairperson’s award for their exceptional contribution to skills and talent development in the region. McEgan College which received the Excellence in Education Award were presented with a cheque for €5,000 to further promote STEM activities within their school.

Commenting at the event, Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD said: “The Tech Industry Awards are a tribute to exceptional organisations and individuals within the South-West’s business and tech ecosystem. The extraordinary quality of finalists reflects the enormous capabilities, innovation and talent flourishing Cork and Kerry . I want to congratulate tonight’s winners but also all the finalists and nominated organisations who are dedicated to excelling and driving positive impact in the diverse markets and communities they operate. I also commend the Tech Industry Alliance for its invaluable role in fostering connections and nurturing a supportive environment, empowering companies to thrive, prosper and succeed both here and on a global stage”

KerrySciTech Chairperson, Manjit Gill, also commented: “Since joining forces to become Tech Industry Alliance, our membership has gone from strength to strength and the businesses and organisations we serve are benefitting hugely from the knowledge sharing, connections and immense support that our combined network provides. The winners and finalists tonight are testament to this as they demonstrate the exceptionally high standard of excellence within the technology sector across Cork and Kerry which together are elevating the region’s status as a location of choice for companies, talent and investment”.

Full list of winners:

Tech Person of the Year Award: Frank Madden, Founder & CEO, Crest Solutions
Tech Start Up of the Year Award: CergenX
Scale Up of the Year Award: Everseen
Multinational of the Year Award: Cloudera
Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet Best Learning Workplace Award: SolarWinds
Environmental Sustainability Award: Logitech
Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact Award: Cloudera
Chairperson’s Award: Kerry ETB & Cork ETB
Smart Technology Innovation Award: SkillsBase
Excellence in Education Award: McEgan College

Tech Start Up of the Year Award Winner: CergenX

Scale Up of the Year Award Winner: Everseen

Multinational of the Year Award Winner: Cloudera

Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet Best Learning Workplace Award Winner: SolarWinds

Chairperson’s Award Winners: Kerry ETB & Cork ETB

Environmental Sustainability Award Winner: Logitech

Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact Award Winner: Cloudera

Excellence in Education Award Winner: McEgan College

Sponsors for this year’s Leaders Awards include:

2023 Leaders Awards Finalists

Tech Start Up of the Year Award

CergenX | Clearword AI | Graphite Note | Mavarick | XAVATAR

CergenX was founded to leverage recent advances in AI to help identify newborns at risk of brain injury. The company is focused on leveraging newborn brain research to develop and commercialise solutions in this area. Cergenx is currently developing a newborn brain system, using an automated AI assessment, to test for brain injury in infants at birth.

Clearword AI was founded in 2021, Clearword completely changed the dynamics of meetings by streamlining preparation, execution, and follow-up phases. As the first AI meeting assistant for agencies, it automates meeting summaries and action items, making them readily accessible in a central, searchable library.

Graphite Note is the game-changer for growth-focused teams, transforming raw data into precise predictions and actionable strategies without the need for coding or a data science team. It’s where data meets simplicity, enabling businesses to effortlessly analyse patterns, forecast outcomes, and take decisive actions.

Mavarick is a technology company that helps manufacturers become more efficient and sustainable. Founded by second generation manufacturers, their software products enable companies to manage machine performance, machine energy usage and machine carbon emissions.

Xavatar is an immersive, experiential media company bridging the worlds of technology and entertainment and leading the way to connectivity in the new media era.

Tech Scale Up of the Year Award

Everseen | Granite Digital | Smarttech247 | valid8Me | Wrxflo

Everseen is a computer vision AI technology is trusted by over half of the world’s top 15 retailers to mitigate and reduce shrink, streamline operations, and help to deliver a better customer experience. The company tackles the $100 billion global annual retail shrink problem by processing and analyzing 275 years of video daily and in real-time.

Granite Digital is the fastest-growing digital transformation agency in Ireland. With over 120 employees they are a 360 full-service agency and are in constant expansion. Granite’s mission is to promote Ireland Inc. on a global scale.

Smarttech247 is a multi-award-winning cybersecurity company that helps organizations reduce their risk. Their platform provides threat intelligence with managed detection and response to provide actionable insights, 24/7 threat detection, investigation, and response.

Valid8Me is a comprehensive SaaS-based platform enabling AML & KYC compliance for businesses. Their due diligence platform addresses regulatory obligations from initial onboarding to client lifecycle management in a radically future-proof and cost-effective way, whilst offering clients & counterparties a more secure and convenient onboarding experience.

WrxFlo is a leading digital transformation company that deliver superior supply chain performance by providing software solutions and real-time insights from multiple disperse data sources. WrxFlo simplifies and contextualises supply chain data, ensuring that the most complex of businesses operate on maximum efficiency.

Smart Technology Innovation Award

BioAtlantis | CompuCal | McKesson | SkillsBase | Wanderly

BioAtlantis is a world leader in stress mitigation technologies and they carry out extensive research and collaboration with leading research institutes worldwide.

CompuCal is a software company that has built a SaaS/AI platform, enabling companies to digitise and manage their calibration and maintenance needs as part of their enterprise asset management objectives.

McKesson is a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for all.  They are a US company with an international subsidiary in Cork Ireland.

SkillsBase is a solutions provider for companies with high-complexity problems, specialising in Mobile-first solutions using AI, AR, App-based Engagement Technologies and Blended Learning tools.

Wanderly combines the concepts of orienteering and Pokemon Go to create digital recreational experiences to entice families to get outdoors, active and learning.

Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet Best Learning Workplace Award

Arlo Technologies | Aspen Grove | Cork County Council | Liebherr | Solarwinds

Arlo Technologies are the market leader in the smart home IoT category that is focused on bringing together deep expertise in product design, wireless connectivity and RF engineering, cloud infrastructure and leading-edge AI capabilities to create a seamless smart home experience.

Aspen Grove is a solution provider. Their enterprise platform automates, tracks, and manages any process while providing next generation customer engagement. They help clients to minimize risks, reduce costs, increase productivity and ensure better outcomes for all stakeholders. Aspen has been solving technology challenges since 1997.

Cork County Council is the local authority of County Cork. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment.

Liebherr have been manufacturing cranes in their Killarney facility since 1958 and today Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd designs, manufactures and installs a complete range of rail-mounted ship-to-shore cranes, container stacking cranes, rubber tyre gantry cranes and straddle carriers.

SolarWinds is a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software built to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Their solutions provide organizations worldwide—regardless of type, size, or complexity—with a comprehensive and unified view of today’s modern, distributed, and hybrid network environments.

Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact Award

Arlo Technologies | Cloudera | McKesson | NetApp | The Crann Centre

Cloudera empowers people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. They deliver an enterprise data cloud for any data, anywhere, from the Edge to AI and advance digital transformation for the world’s largest enterprises.

McKesson is a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for all.  A US company with an international subsidiary in Cork Ireland they partner with biopharma companies, care providers, pharmacies, manufacturers, government to help make quality care more accessible and affordable.

NetApp makes hybrid cloud run like a dream. The NetApp portfolio of leading data, application, and storage solutions helps organizations manage applications and data everywhere across hybrid multi-cloud environments.

The Crann Centre is a registered charity based in Ovens Cork which uses a unique 2 Generation Model of Care to provide services and supports for children, adults and families who are living with neuro-physical disabilities.

Environmental Sustainability Award

Astellas Ireland | Logitech | Ludgate | Quest | Wisetek

Astellas Ireland (Kerry Plant) is a finished goods pharmaceutical facility based in Killorglin, Co. Kerry, and headquartered in Japan. The Kerry plant manufactures and packages lifesaving products for the global market including lifesaving immunosuppressants and biologic treatment for cancer patients.

Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people’s lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. They bring people together through gaming, video, digital content, work and learning. Logitech has had a presence in Ireland since 1988, now a prominent site in Logitech’s global footprint with over 300 talented and passionate individuals.

The Ludgate Hub is a social enterprise based in Skibbereen in West Cork. Ludgate’s vision is to be a world leader in rural regeneration through digital transformation. The hub offers a range of services to remote workers and local businesses and are committed to leading their community in sustainability.

Quest Software is a privately held software company headquartered in California with a strong worldwide presence and has it’s EMEA headquarters in Cork. Quest creates true IT resilience with software that protects and powers identities, users, and data, streamlines IT operations and hardens cybersecurity from the inside out.

Wisetek is a global leader in IT asset disposition, secure data destruction, reuse, and technology manufacturing services worldwide with facilities across the globe in Ireland, the UK, the USA, the Middle East & and Africa, and Thailand.

Multinational Company of the Year Award

Cloudera | JRI America | Trend Micro | Qualcomm

JRI-America (JRI-A) provides IT services for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and its entities from offices in the Kerry Technology Park in Tralee, Ireland as part of a global IT team with technology centers also located in New York and London. Since the Tralee office was established in 2011, they have grown rapidly, attracting both talented experienced staff as well as taking graduates and training them to develop into high-quality professionals.

Trend Micro began 20 years ago as a modest back office with just 30 employees and has transformed into a thriving hub, led by a dedicated & tenured leadership team. Today, Trend Micro’s Cork site not only serves as a critical customer-facing and threat-focused centre, boasting a diverse and highly skilled workforce, but also plays a pivotal role in elevating the company’s global presence.

Qualcomm is an invention company that solves fundamental technology problems at the heart of everyday life. The vast majority of every cell phone on earth utilizes their technology. Their inventions have helped power the growth in smartphones, which have connected billions of people. They are a global leader in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry.

Excellence in Education Award

CBS The Green | Christ King Girls | McEgan College | Kinsale Community School

CBS The Green Tralee is a Catholic all boys secondary school catering for 770 boys. They have an ambitious educational culture, underscored by their school motto ‘striving for excellence’ and are Kerry’s first Microsoft Showcase School.

Christ King Girls Secondary School is a Voluntary Catholic Secondary School for girls, operating under the Trusteeship of CEIST. They believe in nurturing the holistic development of students and their commitment is to provide a challenging yet nurturing environment that fosters curiosity, innovation, leadership, and learning.

McEgan College is a co-educational school providing a broad curriculum to both girls and boys. A DEIS school they won the Webwise Best overall Campaign as a part of the safer internet day awards 2023.

Kinsale Community School is an outstanding non-selective school with 1478 students on roll. They are dedicated to providing outstanding education for the diverse needs of all students in the local community.