DAVID O’MEARA, managing director of the Intel-owned Irish software company Havok, is to leave the company in June to “pursue other business interests”.
Mr O’Meara joined Havok in 2003 and was credited with turning around the business, which provides special effects software to games developers and movie studios.
Renee James, the Intel senior vice-president who is chairwoman of Havok, said the board would be appointing a new managing director “shortly”.
Havok, which grew out of research at Trinity College Dublin’s computer science department, was founded in 1998.
While the company had well-regarded technology, Mr O’Meara was brought in by the company’s investors, which included Delta Partners, TVC Holdings and Bank of Scotland (Ireland), to put it on a firm commercial footing.
Films which have used Havok’s software include Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Matrix.
Danish toy-maker Lego also uses Havok’s software so customers can design customised toy sets.
Intel acquired Havok in 2007 for $110 million (€80.9 million), but the Dublin firm continued to operate as an independent entity. It won an Emmy Award for its software in 2008.
Mr O’Meara has been a vocal critic of Ireland’s third-level institutes, saying they do not produce enough graduates of the standard that Havok wants to employ.
Ms James said Havok had “surpassed every target” set for it since Intel’s acquisition.
