b"Here, Connect Magazine sits down with David to learn more about his interesting road to the position and his vision for The Ireland Funds.Living in Ireland, I have seen on a daily basis Lew Glucksman, a longtime supporter of The Ireland Funds. On meeting the the impact that The Ireland Funds investment makes on our island. Trav- Board, I relished the opportunity to work with inspirational philanthropic eling internationally in philanthropic circles, I have met so many wonderfulleaders across industry, culture and education. In 2014, when Loretta Brennan people committed to supporting the The Ireland Funds' mission. When theGlucksman stepped down as Chair of The Ireland Funds, I was privileged that opportunity arose to bring my experience across governance, philanthropyshe agreed to become Chair of UL Foundation to lead us through the Founda-and international business, to the role of President & Chief Executive of Thetions most successful fundraising chapter. I spent a decade with UL Founda-Ireland Funds America, I knew this was a special role where I could make ation raising and investing philanthropic funding in projects with enormous real difference. and tangible impacts. I grew up in Cork and Kerry spending my formative years living withinI consider it a privilege to facilitate philanthropic giving. It is an honor walking distance of Muckross House and Killarney National Park. From anto work with leading figures in business, industry, arts, culture, sport and early age I would have been aware of the phenomenal impact of the Vincentpolitics. With this comes a responsibility to ensure that The Ireland Funds familys generosity to the state and the impact of philanthropy on our country. stays as relevant in the years ahead as it was in 1976. As a recipient of the St. Brendans Irish-American scholarship (spon-sored by a longtime supporter of The Ireland Funds, Denis Kelleher) to NewMy vision for The Ireland Funds York early in my career, I was personally a beneficiary of philanthropy and had the opportunity to work on Wall Street for a number of years. is that it will be sustainable, impactful Returning to Ireland with some excellent experience gained in NY was a springboard for my career in the private sector, where I spent much of the nextand compelling in the years ahead. decade commuting between Cork, Europe and the US building an Irish tech start-up specializing in governance, risk and compliance management solu- Our Donor base has very high expectations of us. We need to surpass their tions for highly regulated industries. The company was ultimately acquired byexpectations. We can only do this by our focus on return-on-investment and a NASDAQ listed organization. tangible impact. The key to our success is a completely transparent approach. When the University of Limerick Foundation offered me the role of ChiefWhen you build credibility and respect over time, you attract those who Executive in 2008, the prospect of leading one of Irelands leading Univer- want to see their monies deployed to maximum effect in an impactful way. sity Foundations was compelling. The Foundation had been founded andPeople want to see their philanthropic investment provide a return that can be chaired by Chuck Feeney of The Atlantic Philanthropies and then led bymeasured, sustained and a catalyst for future success over a period of time. The Ireland Funds visit PeacePlayers NI in Belfast David Cronin, John Fitzpatrick (Photo: James Higgins)The Ireland Funds June Conference in BelfastGiving whilst you are alive is much more fun. Chuck FeeneyCompellingCoSustainableSu aiS Impactfulconnect 201911"