Back then, we began with a vision of anytime, anywhere webbased learning that has since been expanded to meet our current goal of providing you with the most engaging, highestquality, standardsbased software running on a wide variety of platforms. He grew the small educational software company into the largest k12 publishing company in the american education system through a series of acquisitions that were funded by loans. Former riverdeep boss ocallaghan builds new empire. Ocallaghan has spent almost two decades driving the creation, development and distribution of some of the worlds most widelyused education products and cuttingedge technologies for the classroom and the broader k.
The learning company, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chairman and. Barry o callaghan is a visionary in the world of education. Houghton mifflin to be bought by hm rivergroup the journal. An internal riverdeep memo addressed by ceo barry ocallaghan to staff revealed that executive vice president of marketing joe roberts has decided to. On august 15, 2009, the financial times newspaper reported in an interview with houghton mifflin harcourts ceo, barry ocallaghan, that the refinancing had received approval of more than 90% of lenders. Deals in textbook business make irishman a leader in u.
Jan 14, 2010 barry ocallaghan took over the role of chief executive at riverdeep, now empg at the age of 30. Rise global, a world class company with a world class international board. Irish educational software publisher riverdeep to acquire. A textbook case of debt overload and very bad timing the. It would also mark a remarkable coup for barry ocallaghan, the 37yearold irish entrepreneur who controls about 65 per cent of riverdeep, alongside other executives of the company and private. The company was formerly known as houghton mifflin company and changed its name following the 2007 acquisition of harcourt publishing. In 1999, he was made ceo of riverdeep, an educational software. May 29, 2003 an internal riverdeep memo addressed by ceo barry ocallaghan to staff revealed that executive vice president of marketing joe roberts has decided to step down from the company. On august 15, 2009, the financial times newspaper reported in an interview with houghton mifflin harcourts ceo, barry o callaghan, that the refinancing had received approval of more than 90% of lenders. Prior to march 2010, it was a subsidiary of education media and publishing group limited, an irishowned holding company registered in the cayman islands and formerly known as riverdeep in 1832, william ticknor and john allen purchased. He guided the floatation of the company on nasdaq and personally acquired a majority shareholding, then sold the company. Ocallaghans leadership, riverdeep went public on nasdaq in 2000 and acquired seven companies including edmark, the learning company and broderbund.
Barry ocallaghan, chief executive of riverdeep, said his company specifically sought to purchase the learning co. Concurrent with the houghton acquisition, hmr will also purchase riverdeep holdings ltd. Houghton mifflin harcourt learning technology, originally started as riverdeep interactive learning, is a publishing house for educational online and cdrom products based in san francisco, united states and dublin, ireland. We are excited about the ability to capitalize on the convergence of print and digital platforms, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chief executive officer. Aug 27, 2002 the software can be used on pcs, macintosh and handheld devices. Irish educationalsoftware firm riverdeep buys edmark for. Barry ocallaghan was as unabashed as only a wily corkman can be. Riverdeep group plc, an irish educationalsoftware company, announced tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of edmark corp.
Mar 07, 2004 riverdeep founders barry o callaghan and pat mcdonagh are exercising an option to buy out alchemy and mr dells msd within 12 months of the transaction which took the elearning company off the. A new, and according to ocallaghan, highly profitable education business has been quietly assembled, most recently a venture he has dubbed a new. Ocallaghan, 38, is the chief executive of houghton mifflin riverdeep group and is its largest investor. Chairman and chief executive barry ocallaghan has just 4. Our records show it was established in 2004 and incorporated in california. Ibm and riverdeep announce strategic k12 education alliance. On august 15, 2009, the financial times reported in an interview with houghton mifflin harcourts ceo at the time, barry o callaghan, that the refinancing had received approval of more than 90% of lenders. Riverdeep in reverse takeover talks with houghton mifflin. Ocallaghan had worked as csfbs director of equity capital markets division in london for two years before joining riverdeep in 1999. Concurrent with the acquisition of houghton mifflin, hm rivergroup will acquire riverdeep holdings limited, a leading u. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover barrys connections and jobs at similar companies. Currently he is the chairman and ceo of rise global. Jan 19, 2010 barry ocallaghan looked like a pretty smart guy when money was cheap and credit was easy. The company was formed last year when riverdeep, based in dublin, combined with.
The terms included the holding company debt converting into 45% of the. A few years later, he bought out founder patrick mcdonagh and became the largest stakeholder. Founded in 1995, riverdeep was principally the creation of the irish exinvestment banker barry o callaghan. As o callaghan expanded riverdeep s network of distribution partners that sold the software to individual schools, ibm became a significant partner in referring business to riverdeep. Barry ocallaghan took over the role of chief executive at riverdeep, now empg at the age of 30. We view these brands as a tremendous fit within both our school and consumer businesses, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chairman and ceo. Oct 24, 2006 it would also mark a remarkable coup for barry ocallaghan, the 37yearold irish entrepreneur who controls about 65 per cent of riverdeep, alongside other executives of the company and private. Founded in 1995, riverdeep was principally the creation of the irish exinvestment banker barry ocallaghan.
View barry ocallaghans profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. Those companies were combined with ocallaghans irish educational software company, riverdeep. Its payback time for ocallaghan at riverdeep the irish times. We view these brands as a tremendous fit within both our school and consumer businesses, said barry o callaghan, riverdeep s chairman and ceo.
O callaghan has spent almost two decades driving the creation, development and distribution of some of the worlds most widelyused education products and cuttingedge technologies for the classroom and the broader k12 market. Barry o callaghan is a business executive and financier. Nov 29, 2006 riverdeep, an irish maker of online educational programs, has purchased the fourthlargest textbook publisher to take its software mainstream. Ocallaghan was riverdeeps ceo and controlling shareholder. In his new role, levy will report to riverdeep s ceo and chairman barry o callaghan and be responsible for overseeing all educational operations, including sales, marketing, product strategy and academic services. Riverdeep pursues houghton mifflin financial times. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover barry s connections and jobs at similar companies. As ocallaghan expanded riverdeeps network of distribution partners that sold the software to individual schools, ibm became a significant partner in referring. Riverdeep and then houghton mifflin harcourt into one of the worlds. According to barry ocallaghan, executive chairman of hm rivergroup and head of riverdeep, the new company plans to complete the acquisitions before the end of the year. Welcome to the riverdeep software manager, an integral part of riverdeep network versions. Riverdeep, an irish maker of online educational programs, has purchased the fourthlargest textbook publisher to take its software mainstream. The learning company, said barry o callaghan, riverdeep s chairman and chief executive officer in a. We have great admiration for barry ocallaghan and his leadership team.
Textbook publisher houghton mifflin will be bought out by newly formed irish firm hm rivergroup plc. Riverdeep, an educational software business, is principally the creation of 37yearold exinvestment banker barry ocallaghan. Sep 07, 2001 barry o callaghan, chief executive of riverdeep, said his company specifically sought to purchase the learning co. A new, and according to ocallaghan, highly profitable education business has been quietly assembled, most recently a venture he has dubbed a new riverdeep, referring to the 1. Barry ocallaghan is a business executive and financier. Riverdeep, profit high for alchemy the independent. Investment bank credit suisse, which had backed riverdeep in the past, is reported to be involved in.
As ocallaghan expanded riverdeeps network of distribution partners that sold the software to individual schools, ibm became a significant partner in referring business to riverdeep. Jesse ray software tester generac power systems linkedin. My name is barry o callaghan, and i have been with riverdeep since its inception in 1995. Former investment banker barry ocallaghan 48 opened irelands. Barry ocallaghan looked like a pretty smart guy when money was cheap and credit was easy. From riverdeep to a mountain of debt the irish times. In his new role, levy will report to riverdeeps ceo and chairman barry ocallaghan and be responsible for overseeing all educational operations, including sales, marketing, product strategy and academic services.
A new, and according to o callaghan, highly profitable education business has been quietly assembled, most recently a venture he has dubbed a new riverdeep, referring to the 1. Riverdeeps ceo, barry ocallaghan, was unavailable for comment. Ocallaghan took riverdeep through an initial public offering on nasdaq in 2000, during the height of the dotcom bubble. Callaghans profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. O callaghan was riverdeep s ceo and controlling shareholder. Houghton mifflin harcourt pennys poetry pages wiki fandom. My name is barry ocallaghan, and i have been with riverdeep since its inception in 1995. Callaghan s profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. Riverdeep founder pat mcdonagh and ceo barry ocallaghan may wish to remember the date of their companys ipo as triple thursday. Irish educational software maker riverdeep group says chief executive barry ocallaghan and private equity firm alchemy partners bid. Barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chairman and ceo, said the transaction seeks to capitalize on the convergence of print and digital education platforms and help riverdeep draw strength from. Nov 29, 2006 according to barry o callaghan, executive chairman of hm rivergroup and head of riverdeep, the new company plans to complete the acquisitions before the end of the year.
Nov 29, 2006 barry o callaghan, riverdeep s chairman and ceo, said the transaction seeks to capitalize on the convergence of print and digital education platforms and help riverdeep draw strength from. Before coming on board at the educational media company mr ocallaghan was an investment banker. Riverdeep founders barry ocallaghan and pat mcdonagh are exercising an option to buy out alchemy and mr dells msd within 12 months of the transaction which took the elearning company off the. Nov 29, 2006 riverdeeps barry ocallaghan will become executive chairman of hm rivergroup, while tony lucki, chairman, president and chief executive of houghton mifflin, will become vice chairman. The software can be used on pcs, macintosh and handheld devices. But the news comes as further embarrassment for the company. Sep 05, 2000 riverdeep group plc, an irish educational software company, announced tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of edmark corp. In 1999, he was made ceo of riverdeep, an educational software company. The riverdeep software manageris an easytouse management system that includes administrative tools to help import and manage student lists and class rosters. He grew the small educational software company into the largest k12. Riverdeeps ocallaghan bets big on education reuters. Ocallaghan has spent almost two decades driving the creation, development and distribution of some of the worlds most widelyused education products and cuttingedge technologies for the classroom and the broader k12 market. Since 2004 the company has been providing educational computer software.
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