About
About David Smith.
Dublin-based. I've spent twenty-five years with companies trying to do something difficult: enter a foreign market, raise the next round, sell well or appoint the right board. Eleven of those years were in Silicon Valley, the other fourteen in Dublin. The work has run through IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, US Market Access Center, Tirna Partners, FirstCapital and Huawei's Service Provider Operations Lab. MarketLink International is my firm; the senior advisory work runs through it.
Career arc
Early career, Dublin (1990s).
Financial services roles in Scottish Provident and Prudential Europe (PEMS), establishing pan-European market research and communications functions. Adjunct lecturer in international marketing at TU Dublin (then DIT).
IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
Five years at IDA Ireland (1995–2000) on inward investment from Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 companies, representing IDA on the Taoiseach's IFSC Working Group and developing national policy. Ten years at Enterprise Ireland (2002–2012), four in Dublin advising High Potential Start-Ups in telecoms and cloud, then six as Senior Vice President in the Silicon Valley office, supporting 130 Irish companies on US expansion with over €90m in resulting sales and over €30m in funding. A 100% Investment Committee approval record across 130-plus equity cases.
US Market Access Center, Tirna Partners and FirstCapital.
Co-founder of Tirna Partners (2012–2014), Silicon Valley advisory practice for North American market entry. SVP International and Corporate Development Lead, and founder of TechMatch, at US Market Access Center (2012–2015). Then Managing Director, Head of US (2015–2017), and Managing Director, Head of Origination (2017–2019), at FirstCapital, the London-headquartered boutique investment bank advising European technology companies on fundraising and exits. Established the Silicon Valley and Dublin offices. Alongside these, consulting roles with TMF Group and A&L Goodbody on the West Coast.
Return to Dublin and Huawei SPO Lab.
CEO EMEA of a US medical technology company, establishing European legal entities from Dublin and appointing country leads in Germany and Italy. Currently Senior Consulting Partner, Client Engagement, Partnerships and Ecosystems Development at Huawei's Service Provider Operations Lab in Ireland: $47m+ in sales across European, African and Asian markets. Recipient of the Huawei President's Consulting Award 2026. Keynotes: the Petronas Oil and Gas Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the Holomedicine Summit in Singapore, GSMA forums.