New head for PorterShed

The Galway City Innovation District – the non-profit company aiming to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation here – has appointed Mary Rodgers as Innovation Community Manager at the PorterShed innovation hub which will open in the coming weeks.

Mary brings years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive manager and advisor to this new role. A graduate of GMIT and NUIG, she is the Founder of Stateside Solutions, an entity that helps Irish companies to enter the US market and former Vice President at Credit Suisse in New York.

Regularly cited as one of the most influential women in business in Ireland, most recently by Irish Tatler and the Irish Voice, Mary is also a business mentor for Líonra and LEO Galway, a member of Going for Growth, the International Irish Business Network, New York Digital Irish, and global professional women’s network Ellevate.

“I am thrilled to join Galway Innovation District as Innovation Community Manager at the PorterShed. Galway has evolved into a major technology hub and now with the framework of the Galway Innovation District in place, we can attract dynamic businesses to Galway,” she said.

“My role will be to ensure that all members of our community are supported and to connect and accelerate their growth potential on both a national and international stage,” she added.

Chairman of the Galway City Innovation District, Maurice O’Gorman, expressed his delight at ‘having someone of Mary’s calibre joining us in this key role at the PorterShed, leveraging her passion for entrepreneurship and advising entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses’.

“In her role as Innovation Community Manager, Mary will support the board of the Galway City Innovation District, to create a culture focused on supporting members of the community and helping them to make the connections they need to grow their businesses,” he said.

Situated just off Eyre Square in the heart of Galway City, the PorterShed innovation hub, backed by AIB, brings together entrepreneurs, startups, growth companies, educational institutions, the Galway Chamber, state agencies and local government. Its goal is to create an innovation ecosystem that creates a synergistic relationship between people, companies and place; to facilitate idea generation, open learning and collaboration; and to accelerate commercialisation.

The PorterShed allows entrepreneurs to use collaborative spaces, mingle with other entrepreneurs and have efficient access to everything from insights into the latest technology to legal and financial advice.