Board Biographies

Denis O'Brien

Denis O'Brien is one of Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs with extensive international telecoms, radio, property, aircraft leasing, golf and other leisure sector interests.

Mr. O’Brien is Chairman of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Judging Panel, having previously been a recipient of the award and a Director on the US Board of Concern Worldwide.

Denis O’Brien founded the Esat Telecom Group plc and built it throughout the 1990’s until its sale to British Telecom plc for € 2.4 billion. In 2001, Denis O’Brien established Digicel and launched a GSM cellular phone service in the Caribbean. After six years of operations Digicel has extended its operations to twenty-two markets with over 4 million subscribers in the Caribbean, Central and South America region. The Digicel Group is one of the fastest growing cellular companies in the world. Digicel Pacific recently acquired a business in Samoa and has secured licenses in Fiji and a number of other markets in the region.

Denis is also the founder of Communicorp Group, which manages a portfolio of media and broadcasting-related companies both in Ireland and in seven European markets.

Outside of his extensive business interests, Denis chaired the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland. It was the first time the Summer Games were staged outside the US and with teams from 160 countries and over 30,000 volunteers the 2003 Summer Games the most successful ever.

In addition, he is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Frontline, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. Based in Dublin, Frontline is working to ensure that the standards set out in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted in 1998, are known, respected and adhered to worldwide. Frontline’s work consists of research, advocacy, communications/technical assistance and emergency evacuation of human rights activists.

In 2000 he established The O’Brien Foundation to identify and assist projects in Ireland and internationally which aim to alleviate disadvantaged communities.

Denis holds a BA degree from University College Dublin and an MBA from Boston College.

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