Vital for employers to embrace AI, says Ibec

Ibec's Telecommunications Industry Ireland group names Nicola Cooke as director, with Elaine Carey, chief executive of Three Ireland, as its new chair

Elaine Carey, left, and Nicola Cooke have been named as the new chair and director at Ibec's Telecommunications Industry Ireland. 

Embracing AI’s benefits and efficiencies will be critical for all industry sectors, say two new appointees with Telecommunications Industry Ireland (TII), part of the employer representative group Ibec.

Nicola Cooke has been appointed as a director and will lead TII. Elaine Carey, chief executive of Three Ireland, has been named as the new chair of TII’s council.

Ms Cooke said: “It is the Government’s stated ambition for Ireland to be at the forefront of European and global digital developments; we want them to work more closely with TII to achieve this. Resilient and secure networks and upgraded infrastructure are key to this — some planning laws for masts and towers date back 30 years and need updating.” 

Ms Cooke is a former journalist and PR consultant. She previously headed up corporate communications with National Broadband Ireland and Bus Éireann.

Prior to her role as chief executive of Three Ireland, Elaine Carey was formerly chief commercial officer for Three Ireland and Three UK.

Ms Carey said: "I look forward to working with Nicola, the other members of TII, political stakeholders, and others so that we can continue to enhance the capacity and capability of Ireland’s communications networks."

Members of TII include Three, Vodafone, Sky, Eir, and Virgin Media. Firms in the telco sector have collectively invested about €5bn in Irish communications infrastructure over the past eight years.

The sector provides high-quality employment to 24,000 people in Ireland, and supports thousands more jobs through the €2.7bn it pays annually to suppliers in Ireland for various goods and services.