User:GavinJGallagher

Gavin Gallagher is an Irish emerging markets entrepreneur focussed on venture capital and real estate opportunities across the African continent.

Early Life
Born in Dublin in 27 August1972 Dun Laoghaire Dublin, Ireland he was schooled at St Gerard's School in Bray, Co. Wicklow before graduating from the Dublin Institute of Technology with a degree in architecture in 1997. He enrolled in Trinity College Dublin for a postgraduate degree in Project management the following year and went on to complete a masters degree in planning & development. His father Seamus Gallagher died in 1993 following an extended business trip to Africa, where he visited Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Gavin took over the running of his father's business interests while finishing out his degree in Architecture.

Architecture
From 1994-98 he worked at Scott Tallon Walker Architects where he held a key role in the planning, design and construction of complex commercial and institutional projects across Ireland such as the European HQ for Citigroup, the Air Traffic Control Centre for the Irish Aviation Authority and the Sport Centre for University College Galway.

Real Estate in Ireland
His involvement in Irish real estate started with Trinity Street Car Park which had commenced during his, situated at the heart of Dublin's most popular shopping district it is one of Dublin's most successful car parks.

In 1998 he established a real estate consulting firm by the name Galdevar Limited. The firm began as an architectural firm and built a client list of international corporations such as Ericsson and Élan before turning its focus to commercial real estate investment and land development.

In 1999 he became a member of the Board of Directors in a number of private companies such as Earlsfort Centre (Developments) and East Point Management Limited. Earlsfort are best known for the development of the Conrad International Hotel and the office complex around it, from which the company gets its name. East Point Business Park is a technology campus near the centre of Dublin which has attracted top technology firms such as Oracle, Cisco Systems, Yahoo! and Google.

In 2007 he joined the Board of Directors of two public companies engaged in real estate investment activities - Cashel Fund plc and Prime Focus Developments plc.

Sotogrande
In 2008 he began to invest in Spain and spent much of his time based in Sotogrande during 2008-9 promoting a commercial real estate scheme by the name Blue Sotogrande. With its unique waterfront setting overlooking the largest marina in southern Spain and enjoying views across the Mediterranean towards Gibraltar and Morrocco, Africa, the scheme was destined to become a highly desirable premium retail & leisure destinations, had it not been for the Global financial crisis in September 2008.

Dubai
Towards the end of 2009 Gavin relocated to Dubai where he commenced work with Jim Osborne on the Standard Chartered Tower, a headquarter building for Standard Chartered Bank. The building was developed by GRDI which is registered in Abu Dhabi. The completed building achieved was awarded LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and has 250,000sqft of Grade-A office accommodation over 18 floors.

Ghana
During 2011 Gavin spent several months in Ghana preparing for the development of a new headquarter building for Standard Chartered Bank in Accra.

Qatar
In 2012 he relocated to Doha, Qatar working for the Al Missned family of Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned and a number of prominent Qatari families.

Other Interests
Gavin is a polymath with a diverse portfolio of hobbies and other interests.

He took up the sport of triathlon in 2001 and placed 4th at the annual Brittas Bay Triathlon in 2003. That same year he ran in the New York City Marathon and in 2004 completed a gruelling Ironman 70.3 triathlon in the south of Ireland known as the "Lost Sheep Triathlon".

In 2001 Gavin took up flying and set about earning his Private Pilot Licence. A quick learner he went "solo" with just 9 flying hours under his belt.

He holds a PADI scuba diving licence.