2012 Winners

We are delighted to announce that the award winners for 2012 are:

Colm Lyon BComm '84, MMangtSc '85
Founder & CEO, Realex Payments,
UCD Smurfit School ‘Alumnus of the Year’

Niall FitzGerald KBE, BComm ‘69
UCD Quinn School ‘Alumnus of the Year’

Michael Carey, Winner of UCD Smurfit School Alumnus of the Year

Outstanding UCD Smurfit School ‘Alumnus of the Year’ 2012

Colm Lyon BComm '84, MMangtSc '85
Founder & CEO, Realex Payments

Colm Lyon is the founder and CEO of Realex Payments (www.realexpayments.com). Since starting Realex Payments in 2000, Colm has led the business to its current position as a one of Europe’s largest and most successful online payments business. Realex Payments processes payments for businesses selling online – among its 5,000 clients are some of the world’s leading international brands – Virgin Atlantic, AA, Vodafone, Motor Tax, Aer Lingus, notonthehighstreet.com, Paddy Power. Its clients are located across 30 countries. The business has over 100 staff in three offices (Dublin, London and Paris), turns over €9m euro per annum and processes in excess of €12bn in payments annually.

In 2009, Colm started a new payments business – carapay (www.carapay.com), with an ambition to be a new and major payment businesses in the clearing systems. The company is one of the first to be awarded a licence under the Payment Service Directive (PSD) and it plans is to make consumer and business payment accounts accessible, mobile, more secure and less expensive.

Colm has worked in financial services related businesses for over twenty five years, starting with fourteen years in the banking sector. He is a regular speaker at payments and internet industry events across Europe and frequently commentates for press as a payments and internet industry expert and visionary about the future of money.

Colm is passionate about business, start-ups and in particular internet businesses. In 2009 he founded the “Internet Growth Alliance”, a business led initiative to support the international growth ambitions of Irish Internet businesses. This led to the creation of the highly acclaimed Enterprise Ireland iGAP development.

Over the past decade, Colm has received numerous accolades acknowledging his contribution to the internet industry including;

  • December 2011 – awarded the Software Industry Person of the Year award at a gala ceremony and dinner, hosted by the Irish Software Association;
  • In November 2011 - awarded the ‘Business Person of the month’ accolade from Business & Finance Magazine for his work with Realex Payments and a recent announcement to create an additional 50 jobs;
  • In September 2011 - received the prestigious Ruban d’Honneur in round two of the European Business Awards which promote excellence, best practice and innovation in the European business community. Represented Ireland at the finals in Barcelona.
  • In 2009 – acclaimed as the “Internet Hero” at the Eircom Golden Spiders Awards for his contribution to the Irish Internet Industry.
  • In 2007 - Colm was awarded lifetime membership to the Irish Internet Association in recognition of his contribution as Chairman of the association for four years;
  • In 2005 Colm was acclaimed and awarded for his leadership and entrepreneurial spirit when he was finalist of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Award.

Colm is a graduate of University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Management Science Degree. Over the past few years he has spent further time in Harvard and Stanford Business School with the Leadership 4 Growth programme.

Aidan Heavey, Winner of UCD Quinn School Alumnus of the Year

Outstanding UCD Quinn School ‘Alumnus of the Year’ 2012

Niall FitzGerald KBE, BComm ‘69

Niall FitzGerald was, until the end of May 2011, the Deputy Chairman of Thomson Reuters, following the creation of the new company in April 2008. Prior to this he was the Chairman of Reuters from October 2004, having spent over thirty years with Unilever in a variety of commercial and financial jobs in several countries.

Niall joined the Boards of Unilever PLC and Unilever NV in 1987 and served respectively as Finance Director, Foods Director and Detergents Director until his appointment as Chairman and CEO in 1996, in which he continued until retiring in September 2004. During his Unilever career, he worked and lived in Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, the USA and the UK.

Niall joined the Board of Reuters as a non-executive director in 2003 and became Chairman in 2004. In April 2008 he became Deputy co-Chairman of the newly formed Thomson Reuters. In November 2008 he was appointed Chairman of Hakluyt & Co. Ltd and was appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum in 2006. He is also a Trustee of the Leverhulme Trust. He is a Senior Advisor to Allen & Co.

Previous roles include Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum (1999-2011); Chairman of: The Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) (2005-2010), The Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust (UK) (2004-2008); The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum (2006-08); The Conference Board (2003-2005). Co-Chairman of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) (2004-2005). Non-executive director of: Merck (2000-2003); Ericsson (2000-2002); Bank of Ireland (1990-1999); Prudential Corporation (1992-1999). President of the Advertising Association (2000-2005). Member of: the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University; President of South Africa’s International Investment Advisory Council; International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations; Kok Commission on the Lisbon Agenda; Accounting Standards Review Committee; International Policy Council for Agriculture and Trade. Chairman of the CBI Europe Committee

Niall was awarded an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire in 2002, and holds a number of Honorary Doctorates from American, British and Irish universities.

Niall is a graduate of University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce.