Move with the World: Building an International Executive Career

A graduate of the University of Cork, Eddie O'Brien began his professional life as a certified public accountant at Arthur Anderson, a move which would eventually kick-start a career that would take him beyond the shores of his native Ireland. His worldwide business journey continued, working with Coca Cola's division in Romania and later, Reckitt Benckiser in the Czech Republic.

He would later move on to software giant Microsoft, where he would spend 15 years of his career in many different executive positions in the company. His time with the software giant began in Dublin, Ireland, in 1999, where he served as general manager of Commercial Operations for EMEA.

Image source: facebook.com/microsoft

He would hold even more leadership posts upon to moving to Microsft’s headquarters in Redmond in 2003, where he handled functions as diverse as sales, marketing, operations, key account management, channel management, and customer experience. His stint with the firm culminated in his promotion to Vice President, World Wide Operator Channel, where he was responsible for the overall financial growth of the Windows ecosystem. He held this position until 2014.

O'Brien then moved to Arvato Bertelsmann, a longtime Microsoft partner, where he is currently in charge of the company's operations in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.

In his tenure as chief executive in the Americas, he has been at the forefront of multiple projects as well as consistently exceeding revenue and EBIT targets. His projects include a new LT, spearheaded the development of critical customer relationships, formulated a long-term growth strategy, and oversaw the opening of a new technologically advanced headquarters in Los Gatos in the Silicon Valley.

Image source: facebook.com/arvatoAG

 Today an American citizen, he resides with his wife, Nicole, and sons in Bellevue, Washington.

For more information on Eddie O'Brien and his career highlights, visit this LinkedIn page.