Gavin O'Reilly

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Gavin O'Reilly
Born (1966-12-17) 17 December 1966 (age 54)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationBusiness executive
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1994; div. 2006)​
Christina Grimm O’Reilly
​
​
(m. 2012)​
Children4

Gavin Karl O'Reilly (born 17 December 1966) is a Dublin-born businessman with Irish and Australian citizenship. A triplet, he is the second son and fourth child of former Irish media magnate and famed industrialist Sir Anthony O'Reilly (Sir Tony O'Reilly) and Australian Susan (nee Cameron) O'Reilly.[1]

He is executive chairman of The New European – a weekly Eurocentric publication, based in London. He is chairman of Red Flag Consulting – a specialist communications and consulting group and chairman of Axate – a digital payment solution for published content.

He is the former CEO of The Agency Group Limited, and prior to that he was group CEO of London Stock Exchange-listed Independent News and Media PLC, the then largest press group in Ireland and South Africa and one of the largest media groups (in press, radio and outdoor advertising) in Australia and New Zealand (through its then investment in APN News & Media) and leading media investments in India and Indonesia, with almost 200 titles and a readership of over 100 million. He is also the former president of the World Association of Newspapers (2005–2011),[2] and a director of the Ireland Funds.

Early life[]

O'Reilly was born, the eldest of triplets, and fourth of six children, in 1966, in Dublin, Ireland and brought up in London, then in Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, USA (1971 - 1980), when his father (Sir) Tony O'Reilly was Chairman and CEO of H.J. Heinz Inc,, and then in Dublin.[3] He attended Harrow School in London in 1981[3] and completed his high school studies at Clongowes Wood,[4] Ireland's oldest Catholic school, run by the Jesuits, in a historic house near one of the then main family homes, Castlemartin in Kildare, Ireland (which was bought by billionaire John Malone of Liberty Media in December 2014).

After taking his Irish Leaving Certificate exam in 1985, and graduating, he worked at London advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach[4] (now part of DDB Worldwide), for two years. He then attended Georgetown University School of Business in Washington DC, but interrupted his studies to work as a stockbroker in First Pacific Securities in Hong Kong and London, before finishing his degree at Georgetown with honours.[4]

Career[]

INM[]

In 1993, O'Reilly joined the London- and Dublin-listed multinational media company, Independent News and Media plc (INM), by then already the largest media group in Ireland, and led its "yellow page" division, the Independent Directory. In 1999, after working in several divisions, he was appointed CEO of the Irish operations of INM and oversaw the move of the company's production and logistic operations to Citywest Business Park in 2000.[5] He became Group COO of INM in December 2001[2] and was appointed to its board of directors in 2004. He served as Chairman of ASX-listed APN News & Media, a leading media and entertainment company with diverse assets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, from 2008 - 2012, a company in which INM held a controlling stake. In 2005, he led INM's strategic foray into India with the investment into Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), one of India's leading media conglomerates controlled by the Gupta family. O'Reilly served on the board of JPL from 2006-2014.[6]

Following his father's retirement in 2009, O'Reilly was promoted to Group CEO of INM. In April 2012, he stepped down as chief executive of Independent News & Media, ending 39 years of direct control by his family of Ireland's largest media group.[7]

The Agency Group[]

In 2013, O’Reilly was appointed Group CEO of the-then-London headquartered The Agency Group Limited (now renamed UTA Music). As the largest independent music agency TAG represented a global roster of over 2,500 artists, the roster includes Deep Purple, Guns N' Roses, Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr, Motörhead, Paramore, Jungle, Nickelback, Stromae, The Kills, Natalia Jiminez, Alice Cooper, Moby, Rush and others. In August 2015, O’Reilly spearheaded the sale of The Agency Group to United Talent Agency, LLC.

Bayard Capital LLC[]

O'Reilly later took up a role as director of Bayard Capital LLC, a privately-owned technology investment firm, with interests in Software as a Service (SaaS), biotechnology and other VC areas.

Red Flag Consulting, Wemersive[]

He has also served executive chairman of Red Flag Consulting, which specialises in strategic communications, government and public affairs, and crisis communications for Fortune-500 companies and other large corporations and associations in the US and across Europe. He has also been chairman of Wemersive which specialises in "mobile-first" 360º VR software solutions and services, as well as the broader development of end-to-end immersive technologies.

The New European[]

On February 1st 2021, he became chairman of The New European Limited, publisher of the eponymous weekly publication, which is published in London. This multi-award winning publication, The New European, was acquired from UK-regional publisher group, Archant, in a management buy-out and investment round led by Matt Kelly and Gavin O’Reilly and a group of investors that includes, amongst others, former BBC Director General and New York Times CEO Mark Thompson, co-founder of TransferWise Taavet Hinrikus, former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, Robin Klein founding partner at LocalGlobe and an early investor in LoveFilm, Zoopla and Farfetch, founder of Balderton Capital Barry Maloney and former Archant CEO Jeff Henry, who initially green-lighted the title’s launch in July 2016.[8]

Other roles[]

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers[]

In Seoul, South Korean in 2005, he was elected President of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).[9] O’Reilly orchestrated the merger of WAN with IFRA in 2009 to form the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers - the representation body for the global newspaper and news industry. He was elected as the first President of the merged association and held the office until 30 June 2011.[10] As the longest-serving President he now serves as an Honorary Member of the Executive Committee.[11]

United Europe[]

He is a founding member of United Europe, a non-profit association set up in 2013 by prominent European business people, politicians and analysis. It was initiated by Wolfgang Schüssel, the former Austrian chancellor who as president now heads the organisation, and , a German entrepreneur, who serves as treasurer.

Former Roles[]

He is also the former chairman of the National Newspapers of Ireland, BM Polyco (one of Europe's largest technical hand protection/ glove companies), and Dromoland Castle Holdings Limited, and a former director of Norkom Technologies PLC, a financial crime and compliance software integrator, investment holding company TVC PLC, PT Mahaka Media TBK (Indonesia) one of Indonesia's leading media companies, Ashford Castle Hotel and resort in Ireland, Cashcade Ltd., a bingo / online casino operator, iTouch PLC, and the Irish Heart Foundation, and a founding-director of Barretstown Gang Camp in Ireland.

Personal life[]

O'Reilly married Danish-national Christina Grimm in December 2012 in London, where they then lived, in Chelsea.[12] They have two children[13] and live in Los Angeles.[citation needed]

O'Reilly had previously married model and actress Alison Doody on 25 June 1994, at the then family residence, Castlemartin. They then made their home at Bartra House,[14] a 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) Dalkey, the marriage produced two daughters. They separated in 2004 and divorced in 2006.[4][15]

References[]

  • Cork, Ireland, 19 December 2001: Irish Examiner, "Gavin O'Reilly likely heir apparent to take over father's mantle" – Conor Keane.
  • Dublin, Ireland, February 2002: The Dubliner, "Independent Man" – Trevor White.
  • London, The Observer, 27 January 2008: "O'Reilly junior proves passion for print is in the genes / But Gavin insists Independent News & Media is not a family heirloom", James Robinson The Observer, retrieved online 27 March 2008 ([1])
  1. ^ "Death of Susan O'Reilly, former wife of Sir Anthony O'Reilly". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Profile, listing as Chairman of APN
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1994; Fallon, Ivan "The Player: The Life of Tony O'Reilly"; the authorised biography
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d The Observer, London: Sun 27 Jan 2008, James Robinson
  5. ^ Cork, Ireland, 19 December 2001: Irish Examiner, "Gavin O'Reilly likely heir apparent to take over father's mantle" – Conor Keane
  6. ^ "Jagran Prakashan Limited - Notice" (PDF). 31 March 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (19 April 2012). "Gavin O'Reilly steps down from INM". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 18 February 2021. Cite uses generic title (help)
  9. ^ "O'Reilly gets top WAN job - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  10. ^ "WAN-IFRA elects Gavin O'Reilly as president". www.bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  11. ^ "WAN-IFRA Executive Committee: Gavin O'Reilly (Honorary Member) - WAN-IFRA". www.wan-ifra.org. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  12. ^ Burke, Roisin (6 March 2014). "Love and cash make the world go round". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Los Angeles - The Beach Party 2017". The Ireland Funds. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2020. Gavin and Christina O'Reilly, Alanna O'Reilly, and children
  14. ^ Hughes, Emer (2 March 2003). "Rich chase streets of dreams". ThePost.ie. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  15. ^ Murtagh, Peter (10 August 2019). "Data relating to sensitive divorce matters among hacked INM emails". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020. ...Mr O’Reilly’s separation in 2004, and subsequent divorce two years later, from his then wife, Alison Doody. ...
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