Further, the Dublin Business Innovation Centre, committed to empowering Irish founders and scaling high-growth businesses, recently announced the appointment of Deirdre Smith as non-executive chair of the board. A pioneering technology entrepreneur and innovation leader, Smith brings deep experience in scaling global ventures and empowering founders to turn breakthrough ideas into world-class businesses.
Smith succeeds Michael Moriarty, whose dedicated contribution to Furthr’s mission over more than a decade, including two years as chair, was warmly acknowledged.
As co-founder and chief executive of Zandar Technologies plc – a broadcast video system innovator that secured global clients including the BBC, Sky and CNN before its acquisition in 2007 by NYSE-listed Harris Corporation, Smith brings a founder’s perspective to the role, and that of an engineer. She’s a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, an IoD-chartered director and currently serves on the boards of Anthropic Ireland, BRE Global Ireland, Kinaxis Ireland, and previously the National Standard Authority of Ireland (NSAI) and Globalization-Partners (G-P). Smith remains a passionate advocate for innovation-led growth, sustainability, and female entrepreneurship.
“I am really delighted to take on the role as Chair of Furthr,” said Deirdre Smith. “There has never been a more crucial time for indigenous innovation and the evolution of Ireland’s start-up culture. Together with our partners in Enterprise Ireland, the Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC), and the Irish and European Business Innovation Centre (BIC) Network, we have an extraordinary platform to accelerate new ventures into the national and global enterprise ecosystem. Ireland’s competitiveness as an entrepreneurial hothouse is critical now as we face profound geopolitical and technological shifts”.
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Furthr positions itself at the forefront of Ireland’s innovation agenda, aligning closely with Enterprise Ireland’s 2025 – 2029 strategy aim to accelerate sustainable Irish business and its commitment to start, compete, scale and connect Irish enterprise on the global stage.
A strategic inflection point
Smith’s appointment comes as Ireland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem faces both unprecedented opportunity and complexity. Geopolitical shifts have underscored the imperative for indigenous innovation with global reach, while challenges in pre-seed and seed-funding, climate imperatives, and the AI revolution demand bolder thinking and more ambitious execution.
Smith is actively engaging with stakeholders and has already outlined some strategic priorities for Furthr. These include:
- Backing sustainability-first and AI-enabled ventures Positioning Furthr as the partner for founders solving tomorrow’s problems with resilient business models that succeed across diverse markets and integrate sustainability as competitive advantage from day one.
- Building Ireland’s most valuable alumni network Creating a multiplier effect where successful founders become investors, mentors, and market intelligence sources for the next generation, while opening doors globally for portfolio companies.
- Strengthening founding teams through talent connections Actively connecting founders with advisers and potential co-founders to address critical technical and commercial capability gaps and accelerate international growth and scale.
“Across the country, we’re seeing an incredible energy among entrepreneurs supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish BIC’s Network backed by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment,” said Martin Murray, chief executive of Furthr. “In the past year alone, dozens of companies have been selected for the Innovative High Potential Startup Programme (iHPSU). Access to pre-seed funding is on the rise and the GEC has become a vibrant community of over 160 resident companies. Under Deirdre’s leadership and with strategic partnerships, Furthr will continue to accelerate that momentum – building Ireland’s innovation capacity and global reputation.”
Driving Ireland’s global innovation identity
Ireland’s start-up ecosystem has matured significantly but faces a critical juncture. Success requires not just incremental improvement but a step-change in ambition, capability, and strategic focus. Furthr’s positioning under Smith’s leadership reflects a shared commitment across the ecosystem to ensure Irish entrepreneurs have the support, capital connections, and global network to build companies that compete and win on the world stage.
