Key supporters gathered at KPMG offices, thanks to our host Shaun Kelly, for a Leadership Forum addressed by Lord Mayor of Belfast, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir.
The Mayor is also the Managing Director of the Belfast Media Group and the Publisher of the Irish Echo in New York. He serves as a Sinn Féin City Councillor for South Belfast, building on a previous term in City Hall (1987-1997). He wrote a memoir of his time in City Hall, ‘Belfast’s Dome of Delight’, which includes a spirited account of his decade-long tenure in City Hall. He has written several books in Irish and, in 2011, penned Tears in Rain, an account of the healing power of art, for an exhibition he curated as part of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s.
The Mayor spoke about the progress that Belfast and Northern Ireland have made in terms of economic development and the peace process. Working with Invest Northern Ireland, many multinationals have set up offices in the North such as; the New York Stock Exchange which opened a Centre of Excellence in Belfast to assist trading operations. HBO television network, has established a production team in Belfast filming the critically acclaimed, Game of Thrones TV Show. The Mayor emphasized the talent and educated workforce that are on offer for companies investing in Northern Ireland and the thousands of students studying in Queen’s University developing their business and legal education. He encouraged everyone to attend the Investment Conference he will be hosting in February 2014 which has been endorsed by the Fund.