The company was founded in 1969. As a leader in retirement and investment strategies, it offers the full spectrum of actuarial, administration, investment solutions and consulting services to employers, trustees and individuals in relation to their employee benefits, including communication programmes and one-to-one financial advice.

The company employs 584 in its Dublin and Cork offices with 82 based in Cork.

Today, the firm has €26bn of pension fund assets under management in Ireland. It also provides a multi-employer pension solution, the Mercer Master Trust. It is one of the largest and longest-established master trusts in Ireland with over €2bn in assets under management with 200 participating employers.

Mercer Master Trust was awarded ‘Irish Pension Scheme of the Year’ at the 2021 Irish Pension Awards due to its track record of service excellence and high governance standards.

Now part of the Marsh McLennan group, it can bring global expertise, research capabilities and scale which allows Cork-based employers access to highly-rated global investment managers for their pension arrangements. Mercer maintains close links with local universities and continues to create opportunities for graduates in the industry.

Mercer also provides consulting support in the area of health and benefits incorporating employee benefits, workplace health and benefits benchmarking. It also provides a fully approved profit share scheme that supports employers and their employees. Mercer also supports employers in areas such as HR transformation, workforce management, compensation, benchmarking and gender pay reporting.

The firm provides the flexibility of location between Dublin and Cork with many colleagues relocating to Cork in recent years. More than half of employees have been in employment with Mercer in Cork for over 10 years.

Mercer is also one of Cork’s largest local employers of professionals in the industry including actuaries, investment professionals, financial advisers and administrators.

This allows Cork-based employers and employees easy access to industry leaders as well as provides a local employment option for graduates from Cork universities like UCC.

Recently the company developed Mercer Moments, a pension-focused member app. It is an app focusing on individual behaviour where each member has a tailored engagement experience through the use of behavioural research and technology.

On being shortlisted for the Chamber award, Aoife Singleton, the head of Mercer’s Cork office said: “We are honoured to be selected as a finalist for this prestigious award.

“This is fantastic recognition for all our colleagues, who have been key to delivering trusted advice and solutions to our many local and multinational clients in Cork and growing our business here over the last 40 years.”

Stryker’s presence in Cork impacts positively on patients worldwide

A world leader in medical technology, Stryker has a major presence in Cork which has expanded over the past two decades into the company’s most strategically significant location outside the US.

In 1998 Stryker, the company selected Carrigtwohill as home to its Irish operations. Within a year of establishment, Stryker had two sites in Carrigtwohill, and in 2011 acquired a site at Model Farm Road, which was developed into a bespoke facility, creating lifesaving products for the treatment of brain aneurysms and stroke.

In the last eight years alone, Stryker has invested hundreds of millions into capital investment in Cork.

Today, Cork is home to research & development, manufacturing and one of the largest 3D printing Medtech facilities in the world.

Stryker employs 4,100 across six Cork sites, developing and manufacturing life-saving medical devices including surgical instrumentation, orthopaedic implants and the majority of Stryker’s 3D products.

The company continues to invest in Cork, meeting ambitious sustainability targets and supporting local community initiatives. It recently invested €276m in its Carrigtwohill facility, creating capacity for 600 new jobs.

In recent years, Stryker has delivered breakthrough treatments in the development of 3D implants for patients with bone conditions. This technology has been developed and driven in Cork from design to delivery. It results in better patient outcomes and has revolutionised treatment for debilitating bone conditions through breakthrough therapies including the use of implants.

To date, the site has produced greater than 1m implants, many of which are personalised implants, meaning that patients would have no alternative without Stryker’s innovation.

The new technologies brought about by Stryker have reduced operating times and led to improved patient outcomes for 100m plus patients served worldwide, making Cork the global leader in 3D medical technology.

Embedded in Cork, a large portion of Stryker’s spending each year is spent with local suppliers, providing goods and services that have a direct impact on the local economy supporting businesses and employment.

The company also has a robust global sustainability strategy that supports its goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. Cork is on target to achieve this goal.

The infrastructure, support and talent pool available in Cork have allowed Stryker to become a world leader and a centre of excellence, developing breakthrough products, from concept to delivery, that change lives.

Dr Bernard O’Connor, Vice President Global Advanced Operations and Additive Technologies, says, “we are honoured to be chosen as a finalist for this award. In Stryker, we are proud members of the Cork community and equally proud of our impact on its economy and its people. We have an amazing team in Cork that strives every day to make healthcare better. We are delighted to be recognised for our efforts and are thankful to Cork Chamber for choosing us.”

Qualcomm has rapidly embedded itself in Cork’s tech community

Arriving in Cork ten years ago, technology firm Qualcomm has rapidly established a significant presence on Leeside.

Designing and marketing wireless telecommunications products and services the company has a prominent site in Cork along with offices and facilities in more than 30 countries making them truly international.

Qualcomm was founded over 30 years ago and today is merging the physical and digital worlds.

Their main aim is to take ascertain what is needed for quality communication, research the idea and then invent ways, means and systems to bring this to suppliers and customers. Some of their more important current work is 5Gwhich they are working to bring to the world. Qualcomm has a firm focus on customer satisfaction, asking customers to complete specific surveys which they evaluate to identify areas of improvement.

Their facility at Penrose Dock in Cork is the Irish headquarters for the multinational tech company and the company here is supported by a multinational workforce based primarily in Cork and Munster. The tech firm pulls from the local talent pools of UCC and MTU for the best and brightest to join them.

In recent years, Qualcomm has doubled the number of engineers in Cork. Working closely with UCC, their sponsorship has allowed the university to increase the number of students for engineering, with successful results in more females choosing engineering.

They have also furthered their relationship with MTU, allowing greater opportunities to expand on research and collaboration. It allows increased opportunities for internships and graduateships for these students. Several of their engineers have guest lectured at UCC and MTU which helps to build on and maintain the relationships have with the universities.

Each year, Qualcomm Ireland supports I WISH (Inspiring Women in STEM), a conference for female secondary school students between 14 and 16 years, encouraging them to consider STEM-related subjects that will offer technical career opportunities.

Studies have shown that organisations are challenged to recruit female students, and when there is a commitment to achieving greater diversity of thought, a stronger outcome is realised. At I WISH, Qualcomm was well represented by female engineers delivering a keynote on how electronic engineering has shaped and will continue to shape the world.

Qualcomm is also actively aiming to provide female engineers within the company a space to network, share technical knowledge and practise presentation skills. QWEST (Qualcomm Women in Engineering Science and Technology)gives the opportunity for the engineers to share knowledge from across the wide range of teams on site.

Speaking on making the Chamber’s shortlist Paul Kelleher, Site Lead and Vice President of Engineering said: “We are both honoured and humbled to be shortlisted for such a prestigious and competitive award.”