Invest Northern Ireland, the agency responsible for economic development in Northern Ireland - one of the four constituent countries within the United Kingdom, today announced the appointment of Vishal Rao as Vice President, Business Development, for its Indian office.
With experience in sales and market research, Vishal will take the responsibility of creating more awareness about Northern Ireland’s inherent strengths amongst Indian IT and ITeS businesses. Vishal will be based in Mumbai, but covering all of India, and will report to Mr. Barry Clarke, Senior Vice President, Invest Northern Ireland, India. The appointment of Vishal is part of Invest Northern Ireland’s ongoing strategy to strengthen its presence in India.
“We welcome Vishal to the global team of Invest Northern Ireland. He brings necessary understanding of the Indian IT and ITeS sector by the virtue of his work experience with local companies. We are confident that with Vishal on board we will be able to deliver more suitable solutions to Indian companies who have set their eyes on Europe - Northern Ireland’s quality/cost value proposition makes it a great fit for Indian companies seeking to expand or establish first-time development or delivery operations in UK to service UK and European markets,” said Barry Clarke.
Speaking on the occasion Vishal Rao said, “The current economic situation demands companies to be more prudent with their global expansion plans. World-class infrastructure, abundance of talent, competitive costs and more importantly, the support of the government has made Northern Ireland one of the most suitable near-shore destinations in Europe for Indian and US companies. I am really excited to join Invest Northern Ireland at this important juncture and their focus on providing ongoing support for the growth of projects, irrespective of size, shows a real commitment to international investors, 80% of which have re-invested since their first footprint in Northern Ireland.
Operating at arm’s length from government, Invest NI is a public body that provides a flexible, efficient and comprehensive service to the businesses. Through its support for innovation and entrepreneurship, Invest Northern Ireland is working to create a larger base of world-class companies in Northern Ireland – both locally and externally owned.
Within Invest Northern Ireland, the Inward Investment Division is responsible for attracting new foreign direct investment (FDI) from outside of Northern Ireland. Through its network of offices across North America, Europe and Asia, Invest NI works with companies to identify investment opportunities and to present the business case for Northern Ireland. Four major Indian companies from Indian IT and ITeS sector - HCL Technologies Ltd, Polaris Software Labs, Firstsource Solutions and Tech Mahindra – have already set up their operations in Northern Ireland to take advantage of its vibrant economy.
About Invest Northern Ireland
Invest Northern Ireland is the business development agency for this region of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for securing new investment from overseas in the internationally traded services and niche manufacturing sectors. Focusing in particular on the financial services and ICT sectors, Invest NI works in partnership with public and private sector organisations to establish Northern Ireland as a high performance, high skilled and high value location for international business. Invest NI also works with Northern Ireland companies to promote international trade, increase competitiveness, entrepreneurship and harness innovation, helping to facilitate the creation of more and better quality business start-ups. Invest NI is headquartered in Belfast and delivers its services through a network of local and international offices including one in Mumbai.
