Avanade, the leading Microsoft solutions provider, today announced the appointment of technology industry veteran Paul Gilbride to the role of Data & AI Lead for Ireland. He will be responsible for driving innovation, sales, and delivery for clients in multiple industries including manufacturing, retail, banking, and healthcare.

Paul joined Avanade from Ireland’s leading telecommunications and managed services provider, eir evo where he spent over ten years in various leadership positions, most recently as Head of Emerging Technologies. He also played a pivotal role in the success of Inspired Software and Evros Technology, as well as tenures as a Microsoft Technical Specialist for Calligo and Ergo.

Commenting on his appointment, Paul said, “It’s a great privilege to be leading the Data and AI team for Avanade Ireland. Data is at the heart of all strategic business decisions and its value is increasingly becoming a source of revenue for many organizations. Similarly, AI in business has provided major competitive advantage across all industries. The buzz and excitement around Generative AI, amplified by Chat GPT, has for the first time put AI front and centre for more business leaders, and made it more widely accessible.

“This new generation of AI is poised to help businesses reinvent productivity, business process, human experiences and more. It brings new meaning to telling a story through data. Over the next decade, the transformative power of Generative AI will touch all of our lives. There has never been a more exciting time to be alive in the world of data and AI, and I look forward to helping businesses in Ireland shape the future for our people, our clients, and our society.”

Avanade Ireland’s Country Manager, Adam Kelly added, “We are delighted to welcome Paul to the team. As Ireland’s top employer, we strive to appoint the highest calibre of talent in the Irish technol- ogy market to work with our clients. Paul brings with him a wealth of experience in harnessing the power of data to drive actionable insights. We look forward to working with Paul to support Irish busi- nesses to digitally transform in the AI-first era.”

Since 2019, Paul has received seven Microsoft Awards in Ireland, across areas including Sustainability, Employee Experience and IOT. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Compute and Software Engineering from the Technology University of the Shannon, County Clare, Ireland.

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Avanade appoints industry veteran Paul Gilbride as Data & AI Lead for Ireland