Ireland is a place where “ambition meets opportunity and where innovation is built into the fabric of our economy.” This was the message from Martin Cotter, senior vice president of vertical business units and president of Analog Devices EMEA, when he was presented with the 2025 American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (AmCham) global leadership award at the 2025 AmCham Annual Dinner.
Upon receiving the award, Cotter spoke about Ireland’s important role in accelerating technologies such as “AI, industrial sustainability, renewable energy and digitised healthcare” noting that our investment in these areas has allowed Ireland to become “a European leader of advanced manufacturing and innovation with a very global impact.”
This “environment of innovation” will continue “to benefit both Ireland and the US and of course Europe overall.” As we look to the future, the continued impact of the innovation here will be “powered by the quality and talent of our people.”
The US-Ireland Business Awards are sponsored by EY Ireland and IDA Ireland with The Irish Times as media partner and are presented at AmCham’s Annual Dinner to celebrate the organisations and individuals who have positively contributed to the US-Ireland business relationship across the categories of global leadership, global community and global impact.
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The 2025 global leadership award was presented to Martin Cotter for his pivotal role in enhancing US-Ireland relations through his strategic leadership and commitment to innovation-driven collaboration. Cotter’s work over the past three decades has not only positioned Ireland as a vital hub within Analog Device’s global operations but has been pivotal in establishing Ireland as a global technological hub and destination of choice for world leading multinational companies.
Ireland’s position at the forefront of innovation was echoed by Feargal de Freine, assurance partner and head of FDI at EY Ireland who announced the winner of AmCham’s 2025 global impact award. De Freine highlighted Ireland’s position as the “home of creativity and transformation” with an “innovation ecosystem” that is an “incredibly powerful magnet for new investors.”
This strength can be seen “in the power of the Irish workforce” with its ability to “solve problems, to work proactively and unlock real value.”
Alltech was this year’s winner of AmCham’s 2025 global impact award for their strategic vision, Working Together for a Planet of Plenty®. This call to action for global collaboration across industries, geographies, and sector was launched in 2019 by Alltech president and chief executive, Dr Mark Lyons.
Upon receipt of the award, Orla McAleer, chief culture officer at Alltech said, “The innovation that comes from Ireland, I think that is really seen within our organization.” McAleer also noted the great collaboration that can happen when “the American drive” meets “Irish innovation”.
Guest of honour at the event, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, spoke about the importance of Ireland and the EU focusing on the “factors that we can control” in an uncertain global economic environment, including “improving our competitiveness”.
This can be achieved through “building an innovation-driven domestic enterprise sector” so that that Ireland remains “an attractive location for both domestic and inward investment.”
The Minister also spoke of his department’s continued examination of options to enhance Ireland’s research and development (R&D) tax credit so as to reward innovation and digitalisation. He said this will remain a “key focus” for Government ahead of the Budget later this year.
Attendees at AmCham’s Annual Dinner also heard from AmCham 2025 president Liz Cunningham who said it is Ireland’s “robust and adaptable talent and skills pipeline” that is key to maintaining its success and “enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness.”
She noted that AmCham continues to advocate for “a renewed focus on the attraction and retention of world-class researchers and educators to support industry-academia collaboration and talent development” as well as “the on-going mapping of skills needs to match the pace of innovation and change within industry.”
The importance of collaboration between academia and industry was illustrated by the winners of AmCham’s 2025 global community award, Maynooth University in partnership with Microsoft Ireland for their All-Ireland STEM Passport for Inclusion programme. This programme addresses inequalities with access to STEM careers among secondary school students in socially disadvantaged communities.
While accepting this award, James O’Connor, Microsoft Ireland site leader and corporate vice president for Microsoft Global Operations Service Center said the “partnership between industry education and academia is so important.”
The winner of AmCham’s 2025 global community award was announced by chief executive of IDA Ireland, Michael Lohan, who acknowledged the positive economic and social impact that investment from US multinationals has on communities in Ireland, which is evident “across every region of the country”.
Lohan highlighted that this benefit can be seen not only “in terms of job creation and revenue and capital” but in the “skills and talent” being developed to create the “next generation of leadership”.
AmCham will open nominations for its 2026 US-Ireland Business Awards in Autumn 2025, and the 2026 Awards will be presented at the AmCham Annual Dinner, in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road on Thursday, May 28th, 2026.
