How we can help Irish businesses tap into the European market Laura Dillon, Head of Ireland at Waterland Private Equity

Jul 2, 2021

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Waterland launched a year ago in Ireland. It’s an independent private equity investment group that was set up 21 years ago in Holland. They have also recently launched a €2.5bn pan-European fund with no set geographical allocations. Ireland is one of its key targets over the coming months. They’ve recently appointed Laura Dillion to lead the Irish operation and she hopes to support many businesses here in Ireland.

Ronan talks to Laura Dillon, Head of Ireland at Waterland Private Equity about this and more. Laura talks about her background, what Waterland does, what sectors Waterland invest in, the criteria they look for before they invest, the tech areas they are interested in, how she has coped with Covid, remote working. Laura also talks about the digital transformation taking place the Irish entrepreneurial spirit compared to to other countries, and her passion for sailing.

More about Laura Dillon:

Laura Dillon is a Principal at Waterland in Dublin, Ireland and is leading the Waterland Irish Team. Prior to joining Waterland, Laura was a Principal at Riverside Europe Partners in London, UK. Prior to this, Laura co-founded and was CEO at DSI Distribution Solutions Ireland Ltd, a leading healthcare distribution company in the Irish market.

Laura started her career as a Strategy Consultant with McKinsey & Company and she has also worked for Intelligent Finance (internet bank of HBOS Plc) as their Strategy Manager, for WorldRemit as their Chief of Staff and a Senior Associate at Apax Partners. Laura holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School, USA and a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland.

In 1992 Laura won silver at the Optimist world championships, the largest sailing class in the world. Four years later she took bronze at the youth world championships and became the only female sailor to win the Irish Helmsman's Championships in its 60-year history. Laura has also used what she has learnt in sailing in the business world.