Ann Kelleher To Be Honoured
26th November 2015
The first Irish woman to be named as Corporate Vice President at Intel and Apple’s Vice President of European Operations will be honoured at UCC’s Alumni Achievement Awards on Friday.
Ann Kelleher (pictured), corporate vice president in Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group and General Manager of the Semiconductor Manufacturing organisation at Intel Corporation and Cathy Kearney, Vice President of European Operations at Apple are both set to receive a Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Kelleher said she is “encouraged to see a new focus on more girls studying STEM subjects in Ireland as I firmly believe that diversity in the workplace leads to more creative solutions, as well as providing fulfilling careers for those who choose that path.”
In 1993, Macroom-born Kelleher became the first ever female to receive a PhD from the National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC), now part of the Tyndall National Institute at UCC.
“Having graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1987 and a PhD in 1993, little did I think that I would be back here at UCC in the year that celebrates both the bicentenary of George Boole and the 50th anniversary of Moore’s Law. Intel can trace the roots of our technology to both of these visionaries and I am proud to carry on the UCC connection in my role as General Manager of Intel’s global semiconductor manufacturing business,” Kelleher said.
“I have very fond memories of my time at UCC and am grateful to the College for providing me with the engineering fundamentals and the semiconductor knowledge which I still draw upon in my work today.”
Kelleher joined Intel in 1996 as a process engineer, going on to manage technology transfers and factory ramp-ups in a variety of positions spanning multiple technologies.
She is currently responsible for Intel’s worldwide silicon wafer fabrication facilities. Prior to assuming her current position Kelleher was the leader for Intel’s large Fab 11X fabrication facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. In that role, she was responsible for all aspects of the operation, including safety, people and operational metrics for high-volume manufacturing of leading edge process technology. Earlier in her Intel career, she led Intel’s Fab 12 facility in Chandler, Arizona, as well being the factory manager of Fab 24 in Leixlip.
Cathy Kearney, Vice President of European Operations at Apple, is a graduate of the BComm at UCC. She commented: “I enjoyed every minute of my time in UCC. It opened my eyes to a broader perspective. It gave me a strong foundation for my later career in accountancy and operations.”
For the past 10 years Kearney has overseen the expansion of Apple’s Cork site – Cork’s largest private employer employing almost 5000 people across many differing functions, including Applecare, Applestore, Manufacturing, Finance, Operations and R&D.
Kearney started in Apple on secondment from E&Y when training to be a Chartered Accountant 1988. She then joined Apple in May 1989 starting in Finance. At the time Apple was expanding its printed circuit board operation and Kearney joined as the Fixed Asset Accountant.
She moved through the levels in Finance, becoming Site Controller in 1994 and in 1996 become Operations Controller for Europe. In 1999 she had triplets. A few months after her return to work in 2000 she took over the running of the Applestore Operations team with her Finance role.
In 2004 Kearney was promoted to the position of Senior Director of European Operations, as well as the Cork Site Lead role. In 2012 she was promoted to Vice President of European Operations.
