Multi-talented Ollie has new vision for the West

Ollie Daniels mightn’t have followed his father into the tailoring trade but he still recalls – and often uses – his dad’s mantra of ‘make it quick, deliver it, cut an invoice and collect the cash’.

As the newly appointed CEO of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, a €75 million research centre for NUI Galway, he is hardly selling a commercial commodity but he still believes that everyone has something to sell.

A Salthill native, Ollie has worked in the commercial world almost 30 years and is bringing that knowledge and his people skills to head up what was formerly known as DERI.

The research centre is based in Dangan and now forms part of a nationwide group which also includes other university research centres in Dublin and Cork, under the new brand, Insight.

Ollie joined it from Avaya, where he served as leader of Research and Development for the past five years. That involved leading the software engineering teams as they developed innovative applications for both cloud and on-premise solutions. Before that he worked with Nortel in various capacities, but latterly in software R&D and as CEO of Accendo Technologies, an Irish start-up.

In fact, he has had a series of senior roles in technology and management, serving Nortel, ADC and Saville Systems, based in Ireland, the UK and France.

A ‘Jes’ boy, he holds a B Comm from NUI Galway, so returning to the college campus is completing the circle for him. He now heads up to 200 researchers to develop a new generation of data analytics technologies in a number of areas. This is the study of Big Data, a global challenge that aims to inform people and improve society, business and health.

The Insight Centre for Data Analytics works with about 30 industry partners, which help to create jobs.

Ollie doesn’t appear to be fazed by his new role or the responsibilities it entails and will, no doubt, bring his charm and ‘can-do’ attitude to it, just like he has done to both his work and to the community and sporting initiatives he is involved with.

He was one of the driving forces of the Salthill Devon soccer pitches and clubhouse development at Drom – he stresses that he chaired “a team of fantastic people” who helped build up a stronger Salthill Devon soccer club as well as a facility that is now being used by hundreds.

He has also been involved with Galway FC and believes supporters now have a great opportunity to support the club which is reverting to its Galway United name.

But Ollie’s interests are not confined to sport. He has also been a director of the Galway Arts Festival and Fáilte Ireland.

“If Dublin is the Silicon Valley of Ireland, Galway could be the San Francisco or Boulder, Colorado, of the country with its sport tourism potential, because we are surrounded by water – the sea, the lakes and rivers and the canals.

“And I would love to see the city centre developed more where young people could work and live, have a focus. We need an iconic, large concert- and theatre-space. We need bigger apartments to encourage people to live in the city centre, to make it more vibrant,” says Ollie who isn’t shy about sharing his opinions on any subject!

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.