Aaron McCormack
Encyclopedia
Aaron McCormack is a former leader of the Youth Wing of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
who more recently has been a business leader and CEO in the IT sector - most notably as CEO of BT Conferencing.
He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
in 2008 and is a regular contributor to World Economic Forum
Events in Davos, China and India.
, County Tyrone
, he attended the local boys' Christian Brothers Grammar School. He became involved in the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
from an early age as a campaign worker. He has one brother, Gareth McCormack, a photographer and travel writer for publications such as Lonely Planet
.
, McCormack grew the party's youth wing to one of the largest of any political party in Northern Ireland. On graduating from QUB in late 1993, he begin working for the UK-based telecoms firm BT Group
in London.
As the Alliance Party had no elected representatives in the Westminster parliament, McCormack was the figurehead for the party in London, as well as various European and global political fora such as the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
and its global equivalent Liberal International
. McCormack returned to Northern Ireland in 1996 and ran unsuccessfully as an Alliance Party candidate in the Foyle (Assembly constituency)
. Upon moving to Washington D.C. later that year he focused his efforts on Irish-American politicians, determined to tell a different side to the Northern Ireland story than that portrayed by pro-republican organizations such as NORAID
.
. He worked in customer service and sales in his early years, but moved into the nascent global networking and internet arena in 1994 when he worked in Seoul, Korea on a joint venture project with Samsung. He was based in Seattle,Washington throughout much of 1995 helping to manage BT's relationship with Microsoft, who were then rolling out a global network called MSN
. In late 1996 he moved to Washington D.C. to lead the Internet services product marketing for Concert Communications Services
, a global joint venture , originally launched June 1994 by BT Group
and MCI Communications
. McCormack remained in BT's international division, and for a time led the data services product management division at the revamped Concert, by 1998 a joint venture with at&t
that was ultimately unwound in October 2001. With the end of its at&t venture, BT formed its Global Services division, where McCormack was Vice President of the Global Products division until 2007.
held at the Royal Dublin Society
in Dublin, Ireland every January. As a contestant in 1982, in a team with Omagh CBS schoolmates Maurice Loughrey and Noel McElholm, McCormack was the recipient of the Callan Medal for the best project in electrical and electronic engineering as judged by the Institute of Electrical Engineers. The project on high-temperature superconductors also won the Irish Institute of Physics award.
in the class of 2009 and is a regular attendee at the Annual WEF meeting in Davos, as well as regional events in the USA, India and China. He has worked on the Young Global Leader's task force aimed at establishing a global business oath for corporate leaders and social entrepreneurs.
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....
who more recently has been a business leader and CEO in the IT sector - most notably as CEO of BT Conferencing.
He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in 2008 and is a regular contributor to World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
Events in Davos, China and India.
Early life
Born to Diana Margaret McCormack (née Donaghey) and Dermot Joseph McCormack in OmaghOmagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, he attended the local boys' Christian Brothers Grammar School. He became involved in the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....
from an early age as a campaign worker. He has one brother, Gareth McCormack, a photographer and travel writer for publications such as Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
.
Political career
Upon entering Queen's University Belfast in 1989, he was elected leader of the Queen's University branch of the party. In 1990 he was elected leader of Young Alliance - the party's youth wing - and took a seat on the Party's National Executive. Throughout the early 1990s, a critical period in the Northern Ireland peace processNorthern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
, McCormack grew the party's youth wing to one of the largest of any political party in Northern Ireland. On graduating from QUB in late 1993, he begin working for the UK-based telecoms firm BT Group
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
in London.
As the Alliance Party had no elected representatives in the Westminster parliament, McCormack was the figurehead for the party in London, as well as various European and global political fora such as the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
and its global equivalent Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
. McCormack returned to Northern Ireland in 1996 and ran unsuccessfully as an Alliance Party candidate in the Foyle (Assembly constituency)
Foyle (Assembly constituency)
Foyle is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....
. Upon moving to Washington D.C. later that year he focused his efforts on Irish-American politicians, determined to tell a different side to the Northern Ireland story than that portrayed by pro-republican organizations such as NORAID
NORAID
Noraid or the Irish Northern Aid Committee is an Irish American fund raising organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969...
.
Business career
McCormack spent 18 years working for different divisions and joint ventures within BT GroupBT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
. He worked in customer service and sales in his early years, but moved into the nascent global networking and internet arena in 1994 when he worked in Seoul, Korea on a joint venture project with Samsung. He was based in Seattle,Washington throughout much of 1995 helping to manage BT's relationship with Microsoft, who were then rolling out a global network called MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
. In late 1996 he moved to Washington D.C. to lead the Internet services product marketing for Concert Communications Services
Concert Communications Services
Concert Communications Services was a $1 billion joint venture, originally launched June 1994 by BT Group and MCI Communications. Portugal Telecom became a partner in 1997....
, a global joint venture , originally launched June 1994 by BT Group
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
and MCI Communications
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
. McCormack remained in BT's international division, and for a time led the data services product management division at the revamped Concert, by 1998 a joint venture with at&t
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
that was ultimately unwound in October 2001. With the end of its at&t venture, BT formed its Global Services division, where McCormack was Vice President of the Global Products division until 2007.
I.NET SpA
In 2006, McCormack was elected a non-executive director of I.Net SpA, an Italian IT company listed on the Milan Bourse. In 2007, BT made a public offer to purchase 100% of I.NET's capital, with a plan to merge the company into BT Italia and delist the resulting company. Although some investors pursued litigation, the merger was completed on 11 January 2008 and I.NET was delisted the same day.BT Conferencing
In 2007, McCormack was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of BT Conferencing - a separate company within BT responsible for managing BT's audio, video and web conferencing activities worldwide. By his departure in March 2011 BT Conferencing had emerged as one of the world's largest collaboration services businesses with revenues exceeding $500m per annum. BT Conferencing's leadership in the video conferencing market was cemented by their acquisition of Wire One Communications from private equity firm The Gores Group in 2008BT Young Scientists
Since 2009, McCormack has been a judge in the Technology Category in the BT Young Scientist and Technology ExhibitionYoung Scientist and Technology Exhibition
The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition , commonly called "the Young Scientist", is an annual competition that has been held in Dublin, Ireland every January since 1965 for encouraging interest in science in secondary and primary schools, currently sponsored by BT Ireland...
held at the Royal Dublin Society
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
in Dublin, Ireland every January. As a contestant in 1982, in a team with Omagh CBS schoolmates Maurice Loughrey and Noel McElholm, McCormack was the recipient of the Callan Medal for the best project in electrical and electronic engineering as judged by the Institute of Electrical Engineers. The project on high-temperature superconductors also won the Irish Institute of Physics award.
World Economic Forum
McCormack was elected to the Young Global Leaders community of the World Economic ForumWorld Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in the class of 2009 and is a regular attendee at the Annual WEF meeting in Davos, as well as regional events in the USA, India and China. He has worked on the Young Global Leader's task force aimed at establishing a global business oath for corporate leaders and social entrepreneurs.