Anne O'Leary (technologist)

O'Leary is from Cork. She studied marketing at Munster Technological University, and earned a postgraduate degree in strategy and leadership at the London Business School.^[1]

O'Leary started her career at Nixdorf Computer.^[2] She worked at BT Group and Esat Telecom.^[1]

O'Leary worked as chief executive officer of Vodafone from 2013 to 2022.^[3] Here she was responsible for the roll out of the 4G and 5G networks.^[4] She was only the second woman to hold such a position, and used it to advocate for the recruitment and retention of more women in technology.^{[citation needed]} Under her leadership, more than half of the Vodafone leadership team were women.^[5][6] She introduced programmes to support employees undergoing fertility treatment, and for people who had experienced pregnancy loss or intimate partner violence.^[4] In 2019 she was named KPMG Business Person of the Year.^[7]

In 2023 O'Leary was appointed Head of Meta Ireland.^[8] She works with people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, looking to expand the use of Meta's applications.^[3]

In 2024 she was elected President of Ibec.^[3][9] She was awarded an honorary doctorate from University College Cork in 2024, where she serves as a board member.^[5]