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. Those companies were combined with ocallaghans irish educational software company, riverdeep. View barry ocallaghans profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. Riverdeep, an educational software business, is principally the creation of 37yearold exinvestment banker barry ocallaghan. The company was formerly known as houghton mifflin company and changed its name following the 2007 acquisition of harcourt publishing. Nov 29, 2006 riverdeep, an irish maker of online educational programs, has purchased the fourthlargest textbook publisher to take its software mainstream. 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.
Houghton mifflins sale to software maker reflects trend. 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. A few years later, he bought out founder patrick mcdonagh and became the largest stakeholder. Jesse ray software tester generac power systems linkedin. Ibm and riverdeep announce strategic k12 education alliance. Irish educational software maker riverdeep group says chief executive barry ocallaghan and private equity firm alchemy partners bid. 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.
Since 2004 the company has been providing educational computer software. Barry o callaghan is a business executive and financier. We view these brands as a tremendous fit within both our school and consumer businesses, said barry o callaghan, riverdeep s chairman and ceo. Riverdeeps ceo, barry ocallaghan, was unavailable for comment.
The software can be used on pcs, macintosh and handheld devices. 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. Textbook publisher houghton mifflin will be bought out by newly formed irish firm hm rivergroup plc. Deals in textbook business make irishman a leader in u. 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. My name is barry ocallaghan, and i have been with riverdeep since its inception in 1995. Barry ocallaghan, chief executive of riverdeep, said his company specifically sought to purchase the learning co. 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. Nevertheless, barry ocallaghan, the head of irish educational software publisher riverdeep, is apparently chewing over a bid for the business. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover barrys connections and jobs at similar companies. Before coming on board at the educational media company mr ocallaghan was an investment banker. We have great admiration for barry ocallaghan and his leadership team. A textbook case of debt overload and very bad timing the.
The learning company, said barry o callaghan, riverdeep s chairman and chief executive officer in a. The terms included the holding company debt converting into 45% of the. A new, and according to ocallaghan, highly profitable education business has been quietly assembled, most recently a venture he has dubbed a new. Irish educationalsoftware firm riverdeep buys edmark for. Concurrent with the acquisition of houghton mifflin, hm rivergroup will acquire riverdeep holdings limited, a leading u. My name is barry o callaghan, and i have been with riverdeep since its inception in 1995. Jan 14, 2010 barry ocallaghan took over the role of chief executive at riverdeep, now empg at the age of 30. See the complete profile on linkedin and discover barry s connections and jobs at similar companies. The company was formed last year when riverdeep, based in dublin, combined with. Ocallaghan, 38, is the chief executive of houghton mifflin riverdeep group and is its largest investor. 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. Riverdeep founder pat mcdonagh and ceo barry ocallaghan may wish to remember the date of their companys ipo as triple thursday. 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. Welcome to the riverdeep software manager, an integral part of riverdeep network versions.
Jan 19, 2010 barry ocallaghan looked like a pretty smart guy when money was cheap and credit was easy. Rise global, a world class company with a world class international board. Barry o callaghan is a visionary in the world of education. Houghton mifflin harcourt learning technology wikipedia. In 1999, he was made ceo of riverdeep, an educational software. 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. 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.
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. Concurrent with the houghton acquisition, hmr will also purchase riverdeep holdings ltd. 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. Barry ocallaghan born 1969 is a business executive and financier. Riverdeep, profit high for alchemy the independent. He grew the small educational software company into the largest k12. Chairman and chief executive barry ocallaghan has just 4. Houghton mifflin harcourt pennys poetry pages wiki fandom. Riverdeeps barry ocallaghan will become executive chairman of hm rivergroup, while tony lucki, chairman, president and chief executive of houghton mifflin, will. Riverdeep, an irish maker of online educational programs, has purchased the fourthlargest textbook publisher to take its software mainstream. We view these brands as a tremendous fit within both our school and consumer businesses, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chairman and ceo. The riverdeep software manageris an easytouse management system that includes administrative tools to help import and manage student lists and class rosters. 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. Its payback time for ocallaghan at riverdeep the irish times.
Founded in 1995, riverdeep was principally the creation of the irish exinvestment banker barry ocallaghan. The learning company, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chairman and. An internal riverdeep memo addressed by ceo barry ocallaghan to staff revealed that executive vice president of marketing joe roberts has decided to. The terms included the holding company debt converting into 45% of the fully diluted common equity, an effective 25 per cent relaxation of. 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. 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. Former investment banker barry ocallaghan 48 opened irelands. Irish educational software publisher riverdeep to acquire. Riverdeeps ocallaghan bets big on education reuters. Investment bank credit suisse, which had backed riverdeep in the past, is reported to be involved in.
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. We are excited about the ability to capitalize on the convergence of print and digital platforms, said barry ocallaghan, riverdeeps chief executive officer. Ocallaghan was riverdeeps ceo and controlling shareholder. Riverdeep pursues houghton mifflin financial times. 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. Ocallaghan took riverdeep through an initial public offering on nasdaq in 2000, during the height of the dotcom bubble. Callaghan s profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. 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. Riverdeep suspect in share allocation archive irish echo. Founded in 1995, riverdeep was principally the creation of the irish exinvestment banker barry o callaghan. 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. Riverdeep and then houghton mifflin harcourt into one of the worlds. Barry ocallaghan took over the role of chief executive at riverdeep, now empg at the age of 30.
Riverdeep group plc, an irish educationalsoftware company, announced tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of edmark corp. Callaghans profile on linkedin, the worlds largest professional community. Barry ocallaghan looked like a pretty smart guy when money was cheap and credit was easy. Barry ocallaghan was as unabashed as only a wily corkman can be. 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. 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. Our records show it was established in 2004 and incorporated in california. But the news comes as further embarrassment for the company. 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.
Riverdeep in reverse takeover talks with houghton mifflin. Ocallaghans leadership, riverdeep went public on nasdaq in 2000 and acquired seven companies including edmark, the learning company and broderbund. Barry ocallaghan is a business executive and financier. Currently he is the chairman and ceo of rise global. Former riverdeep boss ocallaghan builds new empire.
As ocallaghan expanded riverdeeps network of distribution partners that sold the software to individual schools, ibm became a significant partner in referring. From riverdeep to a mountain of debt the irish times. Aug 27, 2002 the software can be used on pcs, macintosh and handheld devices. He guided the floatation of the company on nasdaq and personally acquired a majority shareholding, then sold the company. Houghton mifflin to be bought by hm rivergroup the journal. Sep 05, 2000 riverdeep group plc, an irish educational software company, announced tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of edmark corp. 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. Sep 07, 2001 barry o callaghan, chief executive of riverdeep, said his company specifically sought to purchase the learning co. He formerly led riverdeep for a decade, later known as empg and hmh. 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.