Wide Array of Speakers at AmCham's 2026 Global Business Conference
AmCham hosted its 2026 Global Business Conference in Croke Park with a host of stakeholder and industry expert speakers and panellists.
Feargal O’Rorke, Chairman of IDA Ireland gave a keynote address and highlighted that Ireland is “world class as a country” in terms of attracting foreign direct investment which makes Ireland “the envy of many many other countries”
However, Feargal also noted that while Ireland has had a “monumentally successful decade” now is “not the time to rest on our laurels”.
He continued: “We have an 18-month window to prepare for the 2030s now, if we get it right then we will succeed”
AmCham 2026 President Mark Cockerill spoke about the benefits for businesses investing in Ireland as part of a fire side chat on ‘AmCham’s priorities in 2026 and the Impact of the Transatlantic Relationship’.
He said: “What people get when they come to Ireland is very simply not only an educated workforce, not only the only English-speaking, common-law jurisdiction in the EU, but they get a group of people who have done it and seen it and experienced it.”
Attendees also heard from several panel discussions on a wide array of topics including RD&I, infrastructure, A.I. and digitalisation and the transatlantic relationship.
Speaking on the discussion panel ‘Powering Transatlantic Growth: Ireland’s Global Investment Future’ Michael Lohan, CEO, IDA Ireland highlighted the strong competency Ireland has in the areas of A.I. and digitisation, semiconductors, sustainability and healthcare, noting they are all “massive growth drivers” for business.
He continued, “it doesn’t matter whether you’re FinTech or a semiconductor, whether you’re a medical device company or technology company, these drivers are actually going to impact your business as you internationalise.”
Emma Redmond, Associate General Counsel and Head of OpenAI Ireland spoke about all the elements that position Ireland at the forefront of the digital and AI space as part of the panel discussion 'Ireland’s Path to Leadership: Competing in the Digital and AI Economy'.
She spoke about the longevity of the digital industry in Ireland with digital companies such as IBM having been located in Ireland for the last 70 years.
Emma also highlighted that Ireland offers digital companies based here a “fusion of tech and talent” and you “don’t get that everywhere”.
Looking to Ireland’s proximity to the US, Emma said “we are right bang in the middle in terms of the US and the rest of the world, and it’s a very obvious statement but it’s a huge muscle for us, and I don’t think we can ever forget that”.
Dr. Deirdre Lillis, President of Technological University Dublinspoke as part of the panel discussion ‘Connecting Research, Development and Innovation: Driving Ireland’s Industry and Technology Eco-system’.
She highlighted that Ireland has "one of the most highly educated workforces in the world”. However she noted that more can be done in the areas of upskilling and lifelong learning.
She aknowledged that as Ireland’s working population are “time challenged” it is important for university accredited upskilling programmes to be flexible.
Attendees also heard from panel discussion on ‘Powering Competitiveness: Delivering Ireland’s Energy and Infrastructure for the Next Generation’ as well as from a fireside chat on ‘Ireland’s EU Presidency: Shaping Europe’s Competitiveness for the Future’.
AmCham’s Global Business Conference is sponsored by Bank of America Business with The Irish Times as the official media partner and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as US conference partner.