Write a comment
For the second year in a row Newry software and consulting company First Derivatives are sponsoring the Asian Gaelic Games and the Asia Irish Business Forum.
The GAA Asian Gaelic Games Tournament has witnessed rapid growth since the inaugural event was held in Manila in 1995 with six men’s Gaelic football teams competing. Since this time annual events have been held in cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok.
Now in its eighteenth year, the event is expected to attract some 30 clubs and almost 1000 players, of which around 40% are women. As well as incorporating women’s Gaelic football, the event has further expanded to include hurling and Camogie.
From its regional operational hub in Singapore, First Derivatives has major growth plans for the region. With existing clients in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, UAE and Malaysia supported by young Irish FD consultants working in the region, the decision to sponsor the Asian Gaelic Games and the Asia Irish Business Forum again this year was an obvious one. First Derivatives is a Gold Sponsor for this year’s event, held in Kuala Lumpur from October 10th, making the Company one of the highest profile sponsors at the tournament.
With an average employee age of 26 among its 800 staff globally, First Derivatives links with sport and with the GAA in particular have been well documented. Brian Conlon founder and CEO of First Derivatives was himself a senior county footballer for his native county Down. Past and present there are other county players within the company’s ranks and the social connection afforded by sports bodies such as the GAA allow the Company’s young consultants to feel home from home when seconded overseas. Across the globe the Company boasts male and female players with the likes of the Manhattan Gaels, Hoboken Hurlers and Armagh NY in the US, Thomas McCurtain Mens and Ladies teams in the UK, Stockholm Gaels in Sweden, St Pats Toronto in Canada and the Tokyo Gaels in Japan.
The Asian Games and the pre-cursor Asian Irish Business Forum affords First Derivatives a unique networking and recruitment opportunity to tap into the Irish diaspora in Asia, many of whom work within the capital markets industry.
Chief Operating Officer Adrian Toner said: “A proxy measure for the levels of emigration in Ireland is the strength of the GAA abroad. Our sponsorship of the games highlights our love for sport and this sponsorship we hope will raise our business profile among the Irish diaspora living and working in Asia. The Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum is a key business conference for us. Markets in the Far East are still experiencing strong growth. Our aim is to expand our operations in Asia in response to the growing demand for our software and services”.
The Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum is a unique construction focussed on building connections between & with the GAA Clubs & business groups based in the Asia-Pacific and Gulf Regions. Introduced formally in 2007, the APIBF events bring together Irish business people, people doing business with Ireland & Friends of Ireland in the dynamic Asia-Pacific & Gulf Regions. The 7th annual Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum will be hosted by the Malaysia Ireland Business Network in Kuala Lumpur on 10th and 11th of October.
