User:Terry Clune/sandbox

Terry Clune grew up on a farm in Avoca, Co. Wicklow. He was educated at St. Peter’s College, Wexford, and at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a degree in Business & Economics in 1996. While at university, Terry founded Taxback.com to help fellow students reclaim overpaid income tax from summer employment abroad. Taxback Group now employs 740 staff, with offices in 22 countries. Key sectors include helping companies (e.g. SME’s, Kellogg’s, Bloomberg) to reclaim vat charged on overseas invoices; and helping investment banks (e.g. Bank of America, Credit Suisse, UBS) to reclaim foreign dividend withholding tax for investors.

His other companies include: Interpay - With bank accounts in 94 countries and payment licences in all key global markets, Interpay provides international payment services to corporate clients, including a global partnership with Sage to operate Sage International Payments. VisaFirst - helps consumers and companies (e.g. Google, Intel, Kentz) obtain overseas travel and employment visas. Sales-Promotions.com - administers global cash rebate programs for electronics clients (e.g. Canon, Cisco, Epson).

During the 2011 Global Irish Economic Forum, Terry proposed incentivising everyone to use their contacts to help find expanding companies that might locate and create jobs in Ireland. Following negotiation with the Irish Government and IDA Ireland, he founded ConnectIreland to implement this proposal under the Succeed in Ireland Initiative. The first success came in May 2012 when Carlow man Eddie Horkan introduced a US company that he knew was considering expanding to Europe. ConnectIreland explained the benefits of locating to Ireland, and 30 new Irish jobs were announced by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Thanks to his introduction, Eddie helped create Irish jobs and earned a reward of €45,000.

Terry was awarded the Irish 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the 2010 HSBC European Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Taxback Group has received several awards including the Deloitte Best Managed, and the Business & Finance Irish Enterprise of the Year Award. Terry lives in Kilkenny. He is married to Kate, and they have four children.