Colm Lyon
CEO and Founder – fire.com
Background
Colm Lyon is the founder and CEO of fire.com – a provider of digital accounts and debit cards to businesses and personal customers in the UK and Ireland. fire.com is focused on providing businesses with a solution that’s “better than a bank account” – a digital account that is easy to access, transparent and safe.
Colm was also the founder and former CEO of Realex Payments. Colm led Realex Payments to a position as one of Europe’s largest and most successful online payments businesses, processing in excess of €28 Billion per annum for 12,500 online retailers. In March 2015 Realex Payments was acquired by Global Payments in a deal valued at €115m.
In recent years Colm has invested in several early stage start-up businesses in sectors such as IoT, travel, fintech, collaboration and sports media.
Industry Leadership
Colm has worked in financial services related businesses for thirty years, starting with fourteen years in the banking sector. He is a regular speaker at payments and internet industry events across Europe and frequently commentates for press as a payments expert and visionary about the future of money. He is passionate about business.
He has held many industry leadership positions, including being (at different times) chairman of the Irish Internet Association, founder of the Internet Growth Alliance, (iGAP), founder of Payments Ireland, member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce Council, member of the International Financial Services Industry Advisory Group, co-founder & chairman of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland.
Colm is a graduate of University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Management Science Degree. Throughout his career Colm has won numerous industry accolades including;
May 2016 – Irish Exporters Annual Gold Medal Award
April 2016 - Deal of the Year Award – Finance Dublin
February 2016 – Industry Achievement of the Year – Card & Payments Award, London
November 2015 – Outstanding Achievement Award from Dublin Docklands Business Forum
October 2015 – IIA – Net Visionary Of the Year Award
October 2015 – Tatler Men of the Year – Entrepreneur Award
June 2015 – Voted the 5th most Powerful Person in Payments
December 2014 – Winner Ulster Bank Business Achievers International Award
November 2014 – Winner Dublin Docklands Exporter of the Year
November 2014 – Irish Software Association – winner of Talent Development Award
November 2013 – Dublin Docklands Innovation Award for Realex Fire
April 2012 – Colm was awarded ‘Outstanding UCD Smurfit School Alumnus of the Year’ 2012
December 2011 – Software Industry Person of the Year - Irish Software Association
November 2011 - ‘Business Person of the month’ Business & Finance Magazine
September 2011 - Ruban d’Honneur in the European Business Awards
2009 – “Internet Hero” at the Eircom Golden Spiders Awards
2007 - Lifetime Membership to the Irish Internet Association
2005 - Finalist of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Contact Details
Paula Keating (Assistant to Colm Lyon) paula.keating@fire.com +353 1 7991107
Academic Liaison
Professor Dave Sammon, Department of Accounting, Finance and Information Systems
Mr JB McCarthy, Department of Accounting, Finance and Information Systems