Frank Madden, Founder & CEO, Crest Solution has been named Tech Person of the Year at the 2023 Tech Industry Alliance Awards. The prestigious awards ceremony recognises individuals and organisations which are striving to drive innovative leadership, excellence and overall positive impact in our business ecosystem in the South-West. The event attracted over 120 nominations and entrants this year.
Speaking about the Tech Industry Person of the Year Award, Gerry Murphy, Chairperson Tech Industry Alliance said: “For over 25 years, Frank Madden has been building an enormous success story with Crest Solutions, now known as Catalyx. His outstanding contributions to the field of manufacturing operations and technology innovation has transformed the landscape of the Life Sciences and high-end manufacturing industries. With an unwavering commitment to advancing technology in manufacturing, exceptional leadership, an ability to forge successful collaborations as well as being dedicated to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in our region, Frank is a most deserving recipient of the Tech Person of the Year award”
Other award winners at the black-tie gala Awards Ceremony Cloudera, CergenX, Everseen, Solarwinds and Skillbase. Cork ETB and Kerry ETB received the Chairperson’s award for their exceptional contribution to skills and talent development in the region. McEgan College which received the Excellence in Education Award were presented with a cheque for €5,000 to further promote STEM activities within their school.
Commenting at the event, Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD said: “The Tech Industry Awards are a tribute to exceptional organisations and individuals within the South-West’s business and tech ecosystem. The extraordinary quality of finalists reflects the enormous capabilities, innovation and talent flourishing Cork and Kerry . I want to congratulate tonight’s winners but also all the finalists and nominated organisations who are dedicated to excelling and driving positive impact in the diverse markets and communities they operate. I also commend the Tech Industry Alliance for its invaluable role in fostering connections and nurturing a supportive environment, empowering companies to thrive, prosper and succeed both here and on a global stage”
KerrySciTech Chairperson, Manjit Gill, also commented: “Since joining forces to become Tech Industry Alliance, our membership has gone from strength to strength and the businesses and organisations we serve are benefitting hugely from the knowledge sharing, connections and immense support that our combined network provides. The winners and finalists tonight are testament to this as they demonstrate the exceptionally high standard of excellence within the technology sector across Cork and Kerry which together are elevating the region’s status as a location of choice for companies, talent and investment”.
Full list of winners:
- Tech Person of the Year Award -: Frank Madden, Founder & CEO, Crest Solutions
- Tech Start Up of the Year Award – CergenX
- Scale Up of the Year Award – Everseen
- Multinational of the Year Award –Cloudera
- Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet Best Learning Workplace Winner – Solarwinds
- Smart Technology Innovation Award – Skillsbase
- Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact Award – Cloudera
- Chairperson’s Award – Kerry ETB & Cork ETB
- Excellence in Education Award – McEgan College
Sponsors for this year’s Leaders Awards include: Tech Industry Alliance Skillnet, Trend Micro, KPMG, Enterprise Ireland, Grant Thornton, Barden, Deloitte, Cork Smart Gateway, Cork County Council, Cork City Council, MTU, REEdI, Fuzion Communications and Kinsale Spirit Company.
For over 16 years, the Leaders Awards have recognised those who have excelled in the technology sector in the South-West region of Ireland, from notable multinationals and disruptive start-ups to ground-breaking individuals and emerging companies. Find out more on www.techindustryalliance.ie
Information on Winners
Winner Smart Technology Innovation Award: Skillsbase
Skillsbase is a solutions provider for companies with high-complexity problems, specialising in Mobile-first solutions using AI and AR. Skillsbase gave the judges a very compelling presentation about the company, the technologies they are using and have developed covering Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Cloud and mobile app, electronics, etc. And all done with a small team in Cork.
Winner of the Start Up of the Year Award: CergenX CergenX leverages recent advances in AI to help identify newborns at risk of brain injury. The judges agreed that Cergenx is a truly world class startup with all the ingredients to deliver on their mission. A UCC Spin out after years of research in the INFANT Center led by Dr Geraldine Boylan, CergenX aims to use artificial intelligence to identify newborn infants that are most at risk of brain injury, a purpose that the 14 strong team in Cergenx are very passionate about. The panel were impressed with the strength and depth of the executive team who have founded, scaled and exited from previous startups, and will bring that experience into Cergenx.
Winner of the Excellence in Education Award: McEgan College
McEgan College is a co-educational school providing a broad curriculum to both girls and boys. The judges were truly impressed by McEgan’s whole school approach to the design, development and rollout of their ICT and digital strategy. Their student centric focus pivots their ICT Strategy, adapting to student needs and maximising resources. Their ambitious yet practical longer term ICT vision is tightly connected into and across the curriculum fostering a school culture of learning, development and innovation.
Winner – Chairperson Award: Kerry ETB and Cork ETB
With the rapid pace at which skills needs for the tech sector evolves, the learning models that allow our tech companies to access skills and develop our people are essential for the sustainable growth of our industry. Our region’s Education and Training Boards, Kerry ETB and Cork ETB are not only committed to delivering innovative and high quality education and training programmes but they have also been hugely flexible and progressive in their engagement with our industry and our upskilling and reskilling needs. Their positive influence and impact on the region’s skills landscape is nothing short of remarkable. A warm congratulations to the entire ETB community across Cork and Kerry on being this year’s receipients of the Tech Industry Chairperson’s Award”
Winner of the Tech Scale Up Award: Everseen
Everseen is a computer vision AI technology company trusted by over half of the world’s top 15 retailers. Everseen has already demonstrated its ability to scale, with consistent year-on-year revenue growth, expansive international client-base, highly scalable platform and roadmap, strong proven leadership team and the vision and, with a recent €65M funding round, have the resources to build an Irish HQed multinational.
Winner of the Diversity, Inclusion & Social Impact Award: Cloudera
Cloudera delivers an enterprise data cloud for any data, from the Edge to AI and advance digital transformation. Cloudera provided the judges with an impressive all round presentation, touching on all areas of diversity, inclusion and social impact. The judges agreed that they live and breathe this category.
Winner of the Best Learning Work Place Award: Solarwinds Solarwinds is a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software. This accolade is a testament to Solarwinds’ dedication to fostering a positive and innovative learning environment, setting an inspiring example for others in the industry. Solarwinds’ holistic learning initiatives, tailored training programs, and cutting-edge resources such as their mentoring platform and competency role mapping empower employees at every level to expand their skills and knowledge. Through a strategic combination of learning technologies and a supportive environment, they have not only enhanced individual career trajectories but also cultivated a collaborative workforce that encourages continuous growth and development aligned with inclusion, belonging and wellbeing.
Winner of the Environmental Sustainability Award: Logitech
Logitech designs products that bring people together through gaming, video, digital content, work and learning. Logitech stood out for a few reasons but mainly for its consistent and mature approach to sustainability throughout the organisation and its supply chain. The efforts to reduce carbon and use of virgin materials in its production process is not new and have been underway for many years. The standards and accreditations they have pursued and achieved are remarkable, and the global impact of their efforts is also notable.
Winner of the Multinational of the Year Award: Cloudera
Cloudera – a company that empowers people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. Cloudera has demonstrated strong commitment to the South West, growing by 205% in just 3 years, with solid plans to expand even further in the future. They demonstrate incredible investment into their people through mentorship, internship, internal promotion programs and Unplug days. Cloudera are leading the way in diversity with a 48:52 Female:Male ratio and 20 countries represented. Finally, their contribution to the local community is very impressive. Cloudera ESAT scores are very strong, and it is clear to see why.
Winner Tech Person of the Year Award : Frank Madden
Frank Madden unquestionably deserves the Tech Person of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the field of Manufacturing Operations and technology innovation. With a rich background in electronic engineering, as well as a Post Graduate in Innovation and Design Thinking, he honed his skills and knowledge. Before founding Crest Solutions, Frank played a pivotal role in Apple Inc’s manufacturing operations in Ireland, showcasing his expertise on an international scale.
As the founder and CEO of Crest Solutions, Frank has consistently delivered multi-national and multi-site compliant projects that leverage cutting-edge technologies such as Machine Vision, Serialization, Industry 4.0, and Resourcing Solutions. His dedication to innovation has transformed the landscape of Life Sciences and high-end manufacturing. In 2020, Frank’s visionary leadership led to the formation of CXV Global Ltd, a groundbreaking collaboration with long-term partner companies, further expanding their global reach. Growing strongly through the years NOW Catalyx, merging Crest Solutions with Xyntek, Vistalink, and Panacea Technologies, is on the road to a global Irish HQed multinational tech company.
Frank’s remarkable achievements have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by numerous awards and accolades, including being a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2015 and Crest Solutions winning both the Cork Chamber Large Company of the Year award and the Deloitte Best Managed Company award in 2020. Frank Madden’s unwavering commitment to advancing technology in manufacturing, his exceptional leadership, and his ability to forge successful collaborations make him a deserving recipient of the Tech Person of the Year award, solidifying his place as a true tech industry visionary.