Galway Bay FM Newsroom - Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha has been awarded the Ireland-US council Global Achievement Award to mark his role in overseeing his company's significant contribution to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The award was presented to Mr Martha by An Taoiseach Micheal Martin at Government Buildings on Friday last.
Speaking on Friday when making the presentation, the Taoiseach said he was extremely pleased to recognise the critical part played by Medtronic's Irish operations to support the global healthcare response to the pandemic, and specifically the significant role played by its CEO Geoff Martha when making the presentation to Mr Martha.
The Taoiseach referenced the vital work done by Medtronic's Galway operations and specifically it's production of ventilators which the Taoiseach said was increased so rapidly and effectively under the most extreme pandemic pressure due to the unrelenting work done by its staff essentially saving the lives of so many people in Ireland and across the world.
President of the Ireland-US Council Tom Higgins said that the Med Tech industry was placed front and centre of the global healthcare response to the pandemic and Mr Martha galvanized the company to move with speed and decisiveness in the face of the pandemic challenge, with Medtronic Galway delivering when it was needed most.
Mr Martha thanked the Ireland-US Council for the recognition and paid tribute to the efforts done by Medtronic staff around the world but particularly in Galway saying he was exceptionally proud of the efforts of their Galway employees for leading Medtronic's response to the global ventilator demand throughout 2020 and 2021.
He added that this successful operational effort would not have been possible without the support of neighbours, partners, families and the wider Galway community adding that they will be further recognising the contribution of Galway to the pandemic effort and will be funding a Giving Back to Galway initiative to support a pandemic preparedness research project at NUI Galway, the commissioning of a legacy artwork with GMIT, and the development of O'Sullivan Park with Galway County Council.
