Anne O'Leary is leading businesses to a digital transformation

"In her time with Vodafone, she oversaw the rollout of 4G and 5G services across the country and saw the commencement of fibre broadband services which have proved transformative for the country."

Anne O'Leary pictured at the GOAL Charity 2022 Ball at the Mansion House, Dublin. Picture: Brian McEvoy

CORK woman Anne O’Leary already held one of the most prestigious business roles in the country when she made the decision last year to join Facebook owner Meta to take up the role of vice president of one of its business divisions for the European, Middle East, and Asian markets.

For 14 years she worked for Vodafone Ireland, spending the final decade there as its CEO. She joined the company as enterprise director in 2008 and was responsible for spearheading the expansion of the company’s product offerings to businesses before she took over the role of CEO in 2009.

In her time with the telecoms giant, she oversaw the rollout of 4G and 5G services across the country and saw the commencement of fibre broadband services which have proved transformative for the country.

Throughout her period with Vodafone Anne O’Leary remained a strong advocate for women in business regularly speaking publicly on the topic.

Vodafone was one of Ireland’s first companies to implement fertility and pregnancy policies which include extended leave for those dealing with fertility treatment and pregnancy loss as well as their partners. The policy included extended paid leave of 10 days for those impacted by pregnancy loss. Vodafone also offers 10 paid working days’ leave for those directly undergoing fertility treatment.

Another lasting legacy of her time with Vodafone was the telecom firm’s sponsorship of the Irish rugby team. It began in 2016 with a four-year deal that was renewed for another four years in 2020 valued at €16m.

In that period Irish rugby has grown in stature to be amongst the top teams in the world. Ireland is on course for a Six Nations Grand Slam this year and enters the autumn Rugby World Cup as one of the favourites. A positive role means Vodafone’s deal with the IRFU may go down as one of the most successful in the history of Irish sponsorship deals.

Last year, O’Leary took the decision to move to a tech giant, Meta. A company, once again, undergoing significant change. At Meta, O’Leary is leading a team helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation efforts.