Chris Clark, chief executive, BT Ireland
3rd February 2010
We need a strong plan for the digital future.
If you believe as I do that the next battleground between Western economies will be the digital world, then the basic plumbing is essential.
Whether that means fibre to every home or 100Mbps, the answer is no one knows.
It comes back to having an overall plan. What is Ireland going to be famous for, what are we going to export, what digital plumbing do we need and how do we finance it?
In my mind the importance of digital in the years to come should not be underestimated and we need a plan that involves government and industry and other stakeholders at fourth level.
An overall framework needs to be created.
To bring Ireland to the next level in the 21st century means putting aside vested interests and putting together a long-term plan.
One has to ultimately look at outputs.
If we all believe genuinely that Digital Ireland is the way forward for long–term sustainable wealth generation – and I’m talking about a 20-year horizon here – then one has to ask are we creating the right skills, do we have the right education infrastructure to allow that to happen, from primary-level right through?
There are areas that require our attention, particularly around deep R&D, scientific, engineering and technology skills.
Chris Clark's biography
Since joining BT in 1991, Chris Clark has held a variety of roles in the company, both in the UK and internationally.
Prior to taking up his current role, Clark was director of business transformation for BT Retail, where he managed a radical two-year transformation programme.
Clark was previously CEO of Converged Mobility Operations, leading the commercial and operational performance across BT’s mobility division, and he was part of the Wireless Broadband Association (WBA), where he was involved in driving European membership and helping turn the WBA into a leading global Wi-Fi alliance.
From October 1999 to April 2004, Clark was president of BT Global Services’ Wholesale Business, a global business unit responsible for delivering in excess of €1.5 billion in revenues, with more than 350 people in 16 countries.
This business was created by the bringing together of BT’s former European joint ventures and Concert, BT’s international joint venture with AT&T. Clark led this business from its formation in April 2002 and prior to this he was CEO of Farland BV, BT’s pan European network company.
Clark was based in the US for a number of years, where several key business development roles culminated in his position as adviser to BT Worldwide’s president and CEO.
Clark sits on the board of Business in the Community in Northern Ireland.
