'Sports inform my leadership style,' says business innovator

Deloitte partner Eileen Healy speaks to Paul Kelleher, Qualcomm vice-president of engineering and Southern Region chair with the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland

Paul Kelleher, Qualcomm vice-president of engineering, says: “Promoting STEM is high on our agenda, particularly in a time when the ‘war on talent’ has become more pronounced.”

DELOITTE LEADERSHIP SERIES: Paul Kelleher, vice-president of engineering with Qualcomm

"Having 42 different nationalities in our staff brings different approaches and solutions" 

“The culture in Qualcomm is unique, and is based on innovation, collaboration and sharing,” explains Paul Kelleher, Qualcomm’s vice-president of engineering, of the driving force behind one of the world’s most successful technology multinationals. 

The company name is an abbreviation of two words — quality and communications — which aptly underlines Qualcomm’s role in developing technologies which have enabled the advances in 3G, 4G and 5G connectivity.

A major multinational with a presence in 30 countries across Europe, Asia and North America, it employs 47,000 people and owns 140,000 patents. It is best known for modem technology, including its current flagship ‘Snapdragon’ chip, present in the majority of mobile phones today.

“We are very much an innovative, leading edge, mobile technology company, and are now diversifying into adjacent automotive, computer, wearables, and interactive technology response markets. We basically want to connect everything to your mobile, from your watch to the bike, fridge, TV, health monitor and the city itself. The technology we brought to the mobile will now connect you to the wider world.” 

 Qualcomm opened its Cork facility in 2013, beginning with just four staff. Paul joined the company in 2015.

“We are driven by the company culture from our headquarters in San Diego, and by the way we develop systems on chips — something we are very proud of, and which shows in the market,” said Paul. 

Eileen posed the question as to how the facility has grown, and why the company chose Cork in the first place. Qualcomm in Cork is now becoming a key centre contributing IP to every SOC (system on chip) going out of the company, Paul explains of the increasing importance of a facility that has now grown to 450+ R&D engineers. 

Cork key to Qualcomm's 1bn chips per year  

“Cork has now become a key part of the global design team where our IP’s and systems go into every single chip shipped out of Qualcomm — and we ship over 1 billion chips every year.” 

 The availability of suitable talent was a salient factor in the choice of Cork: “It is our ability to find talented young engineers across Irish universities, the phenomenal talent coming through UCC, MTU, UL, Trinity, UCD, NUI Galway and QUB. That talent enables us create quality products allied to our proven ability to deliver. When we say we will deliver, we do deliver,” said Paul.

Eileen’s fulsome support of greater emphasis being placed on STEM in the educational system is echoed wholeheartedly by Paul.

“Promoting STEM is high on our agenda, particularly in a time when the ‘war on talent’ has become more pronounced,” said Paul. “We put a phenomenal amount of time in promoting STEM, and we do see the results. But I would like to see more university students choosing STEM subjects, and I believe we need a champion here in Ireland to drive that.” 

 The notion amongst young people that ‘maths is nerdy or boring and not a cool thing for girls’ needs to be challenged, he believes. Paul references conversations with his 13-year-old daughter on the struggles of that demographic as being more eloquently informative than any conference could inform on the subject.

Deloitte and Qualcomm promoting STEM career opportunities for females 

Working closely with UCC, Qualcomm’s sponsorship has seen a significant increase the number of students choosing engineering, including more females. In addition, the company supports iWISH — Inspiring Women in STEM — an annual conference for female secondary school students between 14 and 16 years, encouraging STEM-related subjects that will offer technical career opportunities.

Deloitte partner Eileen Healy, who fully agreed with Paul Kelleher on Ireland’s need for a greater industry-academic collaboration on degrees and apprenticeships.

“You get back what you put in, and the effort we put in pays off when it comes to hiring.” 

Paul readily agreed with Eileen on the need for a greater collaboration between industry and both higher and further education to ensure the future pipeline of talent, either through degree or apprenticeship.

“There is so much talent out there that may just need some further education to avail of the opportunities in different sectors of the economy from finance to business to engineering. People may not need a degree, just upskilling. Companies need to be proactive, putting a lot more time and investment into higher education to encourage and help foster these skills.” 

 Qualcomm in Cork employs 42 different nationalities, a global mixture which brings different approaches and solutions.

“People think differently, which brings multiple solutions to the same question from diverse cultures.” 

Jobs at US firms up 7.5% in South-West 

 As chair of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland Southern Region, Paul points to multinational companies employing over 52,000 people across the South-West region in 2022, an increase of 7.5% on 2021 figures.

“In 2022, 52% of all multinational investment went to regional locations, which is a testament to the career opportunities, talent and quality of life available in the regions.”

 Joining the American Chamber offered him membership of a great team and an enthusiastic ‘can do’ ethos: “I’m learning all the time by meeting and looking at other leaders. The interaction of key leadership figures is at the heart of what is good in the American Chamber.” 

 He adds that the Chamber’s gender balance has benefited the organisation and is “a very good example of how gender diversity can impact in phenomenal ways”.

In the central role of ‘selling Ireland Inc’ to foreign direct investment, he lists talent, access to Europe, time zone benefits and secure political environment as “all playing into FDI, which is driving the economy at the moment”.

Chief concerns amongst American companies in 2023 are housing affordability and maintaining energy security.

“Things change rapidly. and you need to build in resilience. No matter how successful you are, you must be ready for the unknown factors that may occur at any given time,” said Paul.

Eileen highlights the increasing incidents of cybercrime as a growing problem and its potential impact on FDI: “It is a huge concern for us — today data is king. We need to adapt and come up with greater security — which creates a huge opportunity for Ireland .” 

 With the next wave of inward investment expected from the emerging technologies of artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality, putting in place the physical infrastructure and digital supports is vital to ensure Ireland is the destination of choice for these industries.

Sporting mindset informs leadership style 

Looking to the origins of his leadership style, Paul recalls his sporting youth as a major contributor to his operational mindset.

“Sport has been a very important part of my life since youth, greatly influencing my drive and expectations,” he said. “Having played hurling and football with my local clubs, as well as running with Bandon Athletics, sport taught me lessons which have carried on into my working life.

“Sport brought me into contact with many people who influenced my life — coaches who were key figures in setting my mentality and drive. I come from a farming background, and both my parents instilled in me the foundations of working hard and doing the right thing.”

 An alumnus of University of Limerick, whose electronics department helped to formulate his future career pathway, his yen to experience life beyond these shores took him to Australia, before eventually returning to his native Cork.

“Travel is important, meeting new people, experiencing other cultures, seeing different points of view. Everybody should travel, either pre or post university — it toughens you up as well as giving great insights about people.” 

 In terms of his legacy, Paul cites the growing facility that is Qualcomm in Cork: “To have done something unique for Cork, created employment and given career opportunities to generations of people. Qualcomm could not be as successful as it is without the leadership team. I believe that if you want to succeed, surround yourself with good people, which is what I have here in Cork. They trust me and I trust them.” 

Deloitte.ie