UCD Moore Centre for Business
Speech - UCD Moore Centre for Business
2 September, 2019
I am delighted to be here this morning to celebrate the launch of one of the most exciting university projects in Ireland—the UCD Moore Centre for Business.
As Ireland's largest University, with our great strength and diversity of disciplines, we recognise that the environment in which UCD functions is evolving at pace. If we are to ensure that our graduates are prepared to take their place in the world; that they are equipped to meet global challenges; and that our great institution is deserving of its reputation as Ireland’s Global University, we must evolve and advance priorities that are of strategic importance.
A key aspect of our strategy is to provide an educational experience that defines international best practice and to further develop UCD’s world-class facilities. I was delighted on Friday to hear that the Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD announced a total investment of €100 million by the Government for higher education infrastructure. The commitment of €25 million towards our Future Campus project is a significant endorsement of our strategy to grow the University in size and quality over the next ten years. We are extremely proud today to formally open the newest addition to our expanding campus, the UCD Moore Centre for Business, the most innovative and forward-thinking undergraduate business education space in Ireland.
This new centre is named in honour of one of UCD’s most successful, distinguished and generous alumni. His impact on business, his generosity of spirit, and passionate advocacy for education brought him many honours, including the Outstanding Alumnus Award from UCD in 1991, an honorary doctorate in Sciences from the University of Ulster in 2006, and a CBE from Queen Elizabeth in recognition of his contribution to Northern Ireland’s economy.
George completed his BComm and MBS at UCD, developing a keen interest in marketing and business operations from Professors Tony Cunningham and John Teeling, before continuing to George Washington University where he completed an MBA and DBA Doctorate.
Next was Silicon Valley, where George moved into the tech sector and advanced quickly, becoming an innovator and serial entrepreneur with a commitment to excellence.
In 1993, he co-founded TARGUSinfo in anticipation of the explosion of information that would follow the internet and cloud computing. His genius was to recognise the commercial value of harnessing this information and to create the underlying algorithm, while keeping privacy to the fore.
George’s business expertise was very much in demand and he always shared his time and knowledge generously. He was a member of the Economic Advisory Board to An Taoiseach and to the Northern Ireland Trade & Investment Council, among others.
Together with his wife Angela, a fellow MBA graduate, they championed regional development and encouraged entrepreneurs by investing in early-stage IT companies in the US and Ireland, reminding them that ‘No-one ever started a large company’.
They also started the Virginia Distillery Company, where Angela is now Chair of the Board. She is also an angel investor and mentor for small, growth-orientated businesses in Ireland, with a special focus on women-led initiatives.
With a passion for education, the George and Angela Moore Trust supports student scholarships and educational initiatives at all levels. UCD Science has already greatly benefited from this generosity, and George had extended his commitment to education and to UCD with an undertaking in the future of learning with the business school, which evolved to become the UCD Moore Centre for Business.
This commitment facilitates an extensive flow of ideas that have a larger, positive impact in the world of business and beyond. From researchers who are developing powerful algorithms to prevent fraud in bank accounts of the elderly, to advising on global healthcare taxation policy, to advances in block chain, our faculty are setting examples as thought leaders and idea generators. Our students are learning the importance of thinking for themselves, understanding global challenges, and creating opportunities.
It was a tremendous loss for business, for Irish and US relationships, and above all for his family, when George passed away suddenly in 2013, while still in his business prime.
I am delighted that George and Angela’s children Kerla, Gareth and Ashlyn and their partners, their 5 grandchildren, and brothers and sisters on both sides of the family, could join us here today to celebrate this occasion.
Today, through the generosity of the George and Angela Moore Trust, as well as that of our corporate partners, alumni and donors, we have been able to execute a shared vision, creating a space that will allow for new ways of side-by-side learning for students, faculty and colleagues, and a social space for ideas to flourish.
Our hope is that George’s story and the UCD Moore Centre for Business will inspire and encourage our students to believe in themselves and their ideas – a fitting tribute to one of the most successful business people of his generation.
At this time, it is my great honour to introduce the founding donor of the UCD Moore Centre for Business. Please join me in a round of applause to welcome business leader and philanthropist, Angela Moore.