Norbert Sagnard, one of Northern Ireland’s leading tech angels has been named as the 2016 Halo “Business Angel of the Year.”
Stuart Harvey of Datactics, who won the award in 2015, presented this year’s award to Norbert Sagnard at a Halo investor event that took place at Belfast City Hall on Tuesday.
Each year Halo, the Angel PLUS Network for Northern Ireland, awards an individual who has invested in and supported NI companies through their path to growth.
The judges recognised Norbert’s outstanding work across a broad range of NI startups. His ten investments include Komodo, Taggled, Kanisi, Gogamingo, Sensum, Go Report and Quiz Fortune. He has also invested in the film ‘Zoo’, shot in Belfast and Canada, which will have its national release in late 2017.
Norbert, who is also the Course Director at the Mobile Academy in Ulster University, said on winning the award:
“I consult, teach and invest: the three activities feed each other nicely; the best practise we put in place with my clients is shared with my students, creating in turn new ideas for my clients. The founders of start-ups I mentor and/or invest in benefit from business & marketing strategies and tactics that deliver results.”
Alan Watts, Director of the Halo Programme based at Catalyst Inc, said:
“Norbert perfectly illustrates the adage that angel investors add much more than just money. Many companies, especially those based on technology, lack skills and experience in marketing. Norbert, with his strong background in both international marketing and technology adds so much value and has significantly added to the growth of these exciting companies. He both speaks the language of the techies while knowing how to get their ideas onto the international stage.”
In addition to the presentation of the Halo Angel of the Year award, six high growth potential companies pitched to the audience of over 40 potential investors.
Halo has facilitated angel investment of over £12m and is a project run by Catalyst Inc on behalf of Invest Northern Ireland and Intertrade Ireland.
