Going Green: Irish America Honors Environmental Executives

Irish Americans on the cutting edge of eco-friendly development.

Winning the Race
Diarmuid O’Connell, Vice President of Business Development, Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors designs and sells high-performance, super-efficient electric cars. Their cars join style, acceleration, and handling with advanced technologies to make them the quickest and the most energy-efficient cars on the planet. The Tesla Roadster moves not only under its own power, but ultimately free of the existing and increasingly troublesome petroleum-based infrastructure. With a range of over 200 miles on a single charge and a supercar level 3.9 second 0-60 mph acceleration time, the Roadster is proof that the combination of passion and technology can deliver a truly groundbreaking automobile.

Diarmuid O’Connell joined Tesla in 2006, and currently serves as the vice president of business development. Before joining Tesla, Diarmuid served as chief of staff for political military affairs at the U.S. State Department, where he was involved in policy and operational support to the U.S military in various theaters of operation.

Prior to his tenure in Washington, Diarmuid worked in corporate strategy as a management consultant for Accenture, as a founder of educational software developer at Real Time Learning, and as a senior executive with both McCann Erickson Worldwide and Young and Rubicam.

Diarmuid has a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in foreign policy from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Kellogg. He lives with his wife and two children in the Bay Area and escapes to the mountains whenever possible. Diarmuid is a fourth-generation Irish American with roots in Cork, Kerry and Mayo. On his Irish heritage, he says, “Wherever I’ve traveled or worked in the world, my Irish heritage has given me entrée into networks of active, engaging and committed communities of interest.”

The Power of Knowledge
Dara O’Rourke, Founder, GoodGuide, Inc.

GoodGuide provides information about the environmental, social, and health performance of products and companies to consumers at the point of purchase (through web and mobile apps). They present this information through innovative visualization tools, facilitating learning, sharing, and contributing information to friends, families, and broader communities, and providing simple means for users to send signals to companies.

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Nster.com