What keeps US companies coming to Ireland? It’s down to talent

A continuing ability to attract, recruit and retain talent is central to the continued success of US companies in Ireland, according to Mark Gantly, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland.

The six years he has been on the chamber’s board has been a period of remarkable change. “It spans the post-recession and recovery period, and more recent growth,” says Gantly, who in his day job is senior director of R&D at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Galway.

While the recession was a torrid time across many employment sectors, Ireland’s US foreign direct investment (FDI)remained reasonably resilient. FDI companies grew from 2009 to 2012, “bucking the trend”, he points out.

That growth came not just from new arrivals but from investment in existing plants. Even where an overall staff population remains reasonably static, plants need new investment to undergo the transformational projects they require to remain competitive.

US multinational corporations (MNCs) are harbingers of not only new technologies and skills, but also of new systems, processes and ways of doing things .

“US companies are bellwethers for work in general and were ahead of the curve in relation to issues such as diversity and inclusion, and flexible working,” he explains.

Growing need

Such moves were, at least in part, driven by a growing need to acquire and hold on to talent. “When I started with the chamber it was all about unemployment and trying to find jobs for people. A shift to talent has now taken place,” he says.

But if employers are to attract and retain talent in an increasingly mobile labour market, the overall environment must be attractive too, including Government-controlled elements such as personal taxation, housing, transport and broadband.

The term emigration is now antiquated. Our graduates find it natural to travel, from their Erasmus programmes on

“Today our members are more execution-constrained than opportunity-constrained. They see the opportunity – the question is, do they have the talent resources to execute it?” he says.

How attractive Ireland is as a country to stay in, or to move to, matters.

“The term emigration is now antiquated. Our graduates find it natural to travel, from their Erasmus programmes in college on. They increasingly consider moving country in the same way people in the US move states.”

Given the ease of mobility, having a top rate of income tax that kicks in at €40,000 becomes a significant factor. So too do issues such as the availability and affordability of housing, transportation infrastructure and childcare.

“There are issues the other end of a person’s career too, where we have very senior people sitting on stock options who worry if they cash out here they will get hammered, so would they get a better deal by relocating to the US?” says Gantly.

Critical importance

These senior roles are of critical importance in terms of the new investment they can leverage and the jobs such investment supports.

“When I came into the chamber, all the talk was about corporate tax and the corporate incentives. Today it’s as much about the personal ones,” he says.

Some of the issues that are very pressing in Dublin are pressing in Limerick, Cork and Galway as well

There have been a number of positive changes during his tenure, including a successful push for more “grand challenge” type funding from Government and the launch of the Government’s €500 million Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

When it comes to R&D, "as a small country you want to be above average and punch above your weight," he says. The US-Ireland Research Innovation Awards, a joint initiative of the Royal Irish Academy and the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, is now in its sixth year and supports this.

Increasing engagement with regional members has been a major theme of Gantly’s presidency. “Some of the issues that are very pressing in Dublin are pressing in Limerick, Cork and Galway as well,” he says.

Competitive edge

Right across the country, continued investment in education is vital if Ireland is to retain its competitive edge. “I go back to the early 1980s in my career, and at that time the MNCs could access phenomenal talent coming out of third level. Maintaining that pipeline is key, which means funding of third level.”

Having a strong talent pipeline is “what got us into the game”, says Gantly. “It’s what set us apart from the competition. After all, you can have all the grants, taxation policies and funding incentives you like, but in the end it’s down to people, talented people.”