Philip Berber, Co-founder, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation

Philip Berber graduated from University College Dublin with a BComm.

Philip held positions in the marketing departments of Ford, Avon Cosmetics and Bausch & Lomb in the UK before joining his first start-up company, Expert Information Systems, in 1984. In 1988 he formed Financia which was sold to and merged with Frontier Financial in Houston, Texas.

In 1993, Philip joined GK Capital and in 1995 left to form his own company, CyBerCorp, an online trading firm in Austin, Texas which grew to employ over 120 people.

In 2000, CyBerCorp was acquired for $488 million by the Charles Schwab organisation. This sale allowed Philip to develop his plans for a new model of philanthropy and international aid. Along with his wife Donna, they currently operate the A Glimmer of Hope foundation.

A Glimmer of Hope have constructed more than 4,000 water projects, 335 school buildings and 170 health facilities, and distributed more than 17,000 micro-finance loans to help those living in rural Ethiopia and positively impacted the lives of more than 2.5 million people.

Philip is also a very generous supporter of UCD and as he was a major donor to the UCD Quinn School of Business where the Berber Atrium is named in his honour.

He also funds the Berber Family Chair of Entrepreneurship at UCD School of Business.