Business

Chance remark from Armagh man in New York leads Chicago company to create 160 jobs in Belfast

PEAK6 uses technology to find a better way of doing things. 
PEAK6 uses technology to find a better way of doing things.  PEAK6 uses technology to find a better way of doing things. 

A THROWAWAY remark in a New York boardroom last October by an Armagh-born former employee of First Derivatives in Newry prompted the boss of a Chicago technology and investment firm to jump on a plane to Belfast within just 24 hours.

And Judi Hart admits to being “so hugely impressed” with what she found that she immediately convinced her company to establish a centre of excellence in the city, which is creating 160 jobs paying an average salary around the £50,000 mark.

PEAK6 uses technology to find a better way of doing things, notably seeking transformational opportunities to provide capital and strategic support to entrepreneurs and forward-thinking businesses.

IT company heads often converse in an almost foreign language, infected with initialisms and acronyms, but Ms Hart is more plain-talking.

“We're in the business of 'what ought to be' and we make exciting and super-interesting products,” she says.

“We’re traders and investors. We’re dreamers and transformers. We are ambitious and disciplined, making things better for our customers, our employees and ourselves.”

Based in Los Angeles and with a background in human resources (her CV includes a spell at Apple), Ms Hart is the company's chief operating officer.

Explaining the rationale for coming to Belfast, she told the Irish News: “As a forward-thinking and visionary business, we often have more ideas than we have people to make them happen.

“PEAK6 needed to grow and we wanted to expand beyond the US, and admittedly Northern Ireland was never on our radar.

“But one day last October, when I was explaining my people dilemma at a meeting, a guy called Gavan Corr happened to mention Belfast. He talked up the collaborations between academia and business, and notably its people, and it resonated with me.

“I was on a plane the next day, spent 24 hours in the city and was inspired. I'd never experienced anything like it. I was blown away by what I found and it was a done deal there and then."

Gavan Corr, it turns out, grew up in Ballyhegan in Co Armagh and spent the early part of his career at First Derivatives and later became a director of NYSE Technologies based in New York. He's currently managing partner at Qarik Group.

Once the 160 PEAK6 jobs are in place (13 people have already been hired including Northern Ireland native Lisa Stevenson as site lead), it will contribute £8.5 million a year in salaries to the region's economy.

Recruitment has already begun for a variety of roles, and in the current Covid circumstances all the training and onboarding will be via video, though Ms Hart insists PEAK6 is committed to opening a city centre office.

Invest NI helped to secure the investment by facilitating visits to meet with a range of stakeholders and has offered more than £1 million to support the job creation.

Economy minister Diane Dodds said: “As a leading location for international technology investment, Northern Ireland's strength in financial technology, cloud solutions and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, continues to attract businesses like PEAK6

“A core part of our framework to rebuild a stronger economy is to develop highly-skilled workforces with higher paying jobs, and the quality of talent our tech sector is reflected in the company’s competitive salaries. I'm also delighted that a number of the roles on offer are open to graduates.”