Qualcomm's Paul Kelleher named Tech Person of the Year

2025 Tech Industry Alliance Leaders Awards took place in Little Island

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 - 22:10

Martin Claffey

Qualcomm Ireland's Paul Kelleher was named Tech Person of the Year at the 2025 Tech Industry Alliance Leaders Awards at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Little Island in Cork.

The Tech Industry Alliance (TIA) is a cluster of over 250 ambitious tech-producing and tech-enabled organisations and stakeholders across the region. The awards event honours exceptional achievements across the tech sector in the South West, highlighting innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders in the industry.

Mr Kelleher is vice president of engineering at QT Technologies Ireland Ltd (Qualcomm Ireland), and has over 30 years’ experience in the electronics industry. He joined Qualcomm in 2015 as the first Global SoC Engineer at its Cork site. He now leads an engineering team that has grown to over 750 specialists.

Mr Kelleher will take on the role of AmCham Ireland vice president in January.

Tech Industry Alliance chair Matthew Camilleri said Friday night's event recognised "the vision, ambition, and excellence that continue to propel the tech sector in the South West. With the introduction of the AI Award and the Best Small Indigenous Irish Company Award, we are spotlighting two areas that will shape the future of our economy and our communities.”

The full list of 2025 Tech Industry Alliance Leaders Awards Winners were:

Tech Person of the Year Award: Paul Kelleher

Chairperson Award: Enterprise Ireland

Chairperson Award: IDA Ireland

Multinational of the Year Award: Carbery Group

AI Award: Cloudera

Best Learning Workplace Award: Dairymaster

Tech Scale-Up of the Year Award: ViClarity

Smart Technology Innovation Award: Wiz

Digital Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award: STEM Passport for Inclusion

Tech Start-Up of the Year Award: Roamr

Excellence in Education Award: Firies National School