Sean O'Sullivan (engineer)

Sean O'Sullivan at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the early 1980s
Sean O'Sullivan in his dorm at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the early 1980s

Sean O'Sullivan is an entrepreneur, inventor and investor, born in New York City and currently living in County Cork, Ireland. He is best known for co-founding MapInfo Corporation,[1][2] which popularized street maps on computers, and for coining the term "Cloud Computing".[3][4][5] He is managing director at Carma, a global software company, and at SOSventures, a $180m venture capital operation. O'Sullivan has had an unusually diverse career, being described as a "renaissance man".[6] He has also been described as an engineer, musician, computer programmer, a humanitarian, a war photographer, a cinematographer, stock analyst, freelance photojournalist, a venture capitalist and writer.

Humanitarian

A major advocate of economic and social development, he founded JumpStart International[7] in 2003. JumpStart was a leading humanitarian engineering organization based in Baghdad and operating throughout Iraq during the post-war period of 2003-2006. He spent a few years running JumpStart, which for a time had a staff of over 3000, running up to 80 projects at a time in Fallujah, Najaf and the Baghdad region.

Social Entrepreneurship

As benefactor of the O’Sullivan Foundation,[8][9] he has also been a primary funder of organizations such as the Khan Academy[10] and CoderDojo.[11] Also, as Chairman of the Irish Entrepreneurship Forum[12] and founder of Open Ireland, he is a leader and influencer of Irish government policy in fueling economic growth and recovery in the Technology sector.

SOSventures

In 1993, O' Sullivan founded SOSventures, a venture capital and investment management firm that seeks to invest in start-up companies primarily in the technology sector.[1] As Managing Director[13] he has invested in over 100 companies, six of which became public companies or divisions of public companies listed on the Nasdaq or NYSE. With headquarters in Cork, Ireland and offices in the United States and China, SOSventures actively collaborates with and supports its international portfolio companies. Since 2009, SOSventures has run multiple Accelerator programs in the United States, Asia and Europe, providing early stage companies immediate access to market knowledge, funding and mentorship in a concentrated amount of time. Most recently, he co-founded Carma, a 50-person operation in Cork, Ireland that provides real-time carpooling solutions globally.

Filmmaker

While at University of Southern California, he wrote and directed 16 short films and worked on over 100 student film and television projects in roles ranging from director of photography to editor to sound designer. O’Sullivan’s graduate thesis is a full-length documentary about dementia in the elderly. Called String Worms at Budd Terrace, the film won the 2005 “Silver Images” award for best documentary film about elderly issues. His short film Squirrel Nuts won “Best of Show-Narrative” at the UCLA Short-takes film competition and played on national television through the Independent Film Channel. During the war in Iraq, Mr. O’Sullivan worked as a freelance photographer and cameraman for many publications and broadcast media.[9]

Education

O' Sullivan holds a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production from the University of Southern California. [14]

Notable Achievements

Entrepreneur of the Year Rensselaer,[15] 2011

Chairman, Ireland Entrepreneurship Forum[4][12]

Trustee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [16]

Winner, “Silver Images” award 2005 for best documentary film about elderly issues[9]

Winner, “Best of Show-Narrative” for a short film entitled "Squirrel Nuts" UCLA Short-takes film competition[9]

FAA-licensed helicopter pilot[9]

A member of the National Academy of Popular Music[9]

Named “the father of POPware” by Internet Week[9]

Named “Boston’s Top 40 Internet Players” by the Improper Bostonian[9]

References

  1. ↑ Kennedy, John. "Tech entrepreneur is RTÉ’s newest ‘Dragon’". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Rogers, Elaine. "Bloggertone TV talks With Sean O Sullivan, Ireland’s Newest Dragon". Tweak your biz. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Regalado, Antonio. "Who Coined 'Cloud Computing'?". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kennedy, John. "Cloud visionary and RTÉ ‘dragon’ to chair Govt Entrepreneurship Forum". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Sean O'Sullivan". Bloomsberg business week. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Schwartz, Philip. "MapInfo co-founder O’Sullivan to entrepreneurs: ‘Invent the market’". The Business Review. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Flynn, Sheila (27 November 2011). "Dragon who'll fight fire with fire: Why has Seán O'Sullivan become the latest member of the Irish Dragons' Den team?". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Khan eLearning website receives $5m". Science.ie. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Otitigbe, Jessica. "Co-founder and Managing Director of Avego Corporation Named 2011 William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year". RPI News. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Rao, Leena. "The O’Sullivan Foundation Grants $5M To Online Learning Platform Khan Academy". Techcrunch. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  11. ↑ English, Eoin. "Whizz kid Harry unveils latest app". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Public Affairs Ireland. "Membership of newly established entrepreneurship forum announced". Public Affairs Ireland. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Sean O'Sullivan". Techstars. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Chernow, Robert A. "New Horizons Speaker Series". Rensselaer. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  15. ↑ -, -. "Sean O’Sullivan ’85 Named Entrepreneur of the Year". Inside Rensselaer. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "Sean O ’Sullivan ’85". Rensselaer. Retrieved 14 August 2013.

External links