Paul is an international businessman and philanthropist.
His earlier career was spent in the fast-moving consumer goods at Mars and Coca-Cola before entering the technology sector where he worked for Apple and BT Cable and Wireless in senior commercial roles in the UK and Australia.
He joined Vodafone in 1999, and was a member of Vodafone’s Executive Committee from 2004-2009, leading the Group's emerging markets business.
Since then he has been a private equity sponsored turnaround specialist, first as CEO of Eircom, Ireland’s leading telecommunications company and then as CEO of ODEON UCI Cinemas, the leading European cinema operator, where he led the transformation and sale of the business.
He is currently CEO of critical national infrastructure provider Arqiva Group and Chairman of Action AI, a world leader in conversational interface technology. He is a founder investor and memeber of the Investment Committee at the Oxford Innovation Fund - an early-stage investor in life sciences and technology companies.
Paul holds a bachelor of arts in Scandinavian Studies from University College London and a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Bradford. He was appointed an honorary Doctor of the University in 2016.
Philanthropy is fundamental to Paul’s philosophy. He served as senior philanthropy advisor to Sir Christopher Hohn and the Childrens Investment Fund foundation and is a founder of two private charitable funds; Our Common Good UK, a social impact accelerator, and the Daymark Fund, an educational charity focussed on the developing world.
A keen Arsenal fan, Paul lives in Oxfordshire with his wife Anne.
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Paul Donovan