A Fireside Chat with Kent Walker: Perspectives on Ireland’s Digital Future

In this event, Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs for Google, discusses the importance of Ireland as a digital economy hub in Europe and the role of the digital economy in ensuring Ireland’s future prosperity. Mr Walker also discusses how Ireland can harness its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU, starting in July 2026, to push for the measures that are needed to unleash Europe’s digital competitiveness and to secure Europe’s digital resilience. In his remarks, Mr Walker examines the debate about Europe’s regulatory framework, the growing role of AI, and how to ensure Europe’s resilience against digital threats. This event is organised as a collaboration between the IIEA and Google. Kent Walker is President of Global Affairs at Google and Alphabet, overseeing content policy, government and regulatory affairs, and legal, risk, and compliance matters. With a 30+ year career at the intersection of technology, law, and policy, he has led Google's advocacy on key issues and served as the first chair of the Global Internet Forum to Combat Terrorism. A Harvard and Stanford Law graduate, Kent was previously an Assistant U.S. Attorney and held executive positions at Netscape, AOL, and eBay. He serves on TechNet's executive committee and the Council on Foreign Relations.