2008-09-01 20:28:02 -

- Silicon Valley CEOs, venture capitalists and community leaders will travel to Ireland in November to work with Irish technology start-up companies interested in leveraging US opportunities for growth. Currently, Irish investment in the United States accounts for upwards of 80,000 jobs, with technology as the key growth driver.

Today's announcement is the second initiative by the California-based Irish

Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) designed to strengthen the developmental ties between Silicon Valley and Ireland. In March 2008, ITLG launched the "Irish Technology Leaders' Silicon Valley Awards" in Stanford University, which honored Intel's chairman, Dr. Craig Barrett, and Ireland's trade minister, Micheal Martin, and attracted a large attendance from Ireland's technology industry to California.

In the second initiative announced today, the Silicon Valley team will stage a reciprocal event at Trinity College Dublin, from November 18-19, 2008, with a series of workshops and networking opportunities for a selection of promising Irish technology start-ups.

To mark this inaugural event for ITLG in Ireland, the visiting group will also be hosted by the President of Ireland, Mrs. Mary McAleese, at a special reception at the official residence of the Head of State in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

The US team traveling to Ireland will include two of Silicon Valley's most prominent civic and industry leaders, Tom McEnery, former Mayor of San Jose, and Carl Guardino, President of Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

The ITLG, an independent group of Irish-American technology executives in Silicon Valley, is committed to helping expand new opportunities for innovative Irish companies as well as attract new technology investments into Ireland. The ITLG leadership team includes John Hartnett, Senior Vice President of Palm Inc., Conrad Burke, President and CEO of Innovalight, Inc., John Gilmore, Chief Operating Officer of Sling Media, Inc., Rory McInerney, Vice President at Intel Corporation and Barry O'Sullivan, Senior Vice President at Cisco.

ITLG chairman John Hartnett said: "The program has been designed to bring very promising Irish technology start-ups into close contact with some of Silicon Valley's most successful business leaders, entrepreneurs and financiers. We are particularly fortunate to have succeeded in attracting some of the Valley's leading investment banking and venture capital firms as well as industry leaders from some of the world's biggest technology companies."

FD-US
Niall O'Muilleoir, +1 646-322-2460