Diarmuid Gill: Criteo is continuously investing to further strengthen its presence in Cyprus

According to Diarmuid Gill, Chief Technology Officer at Criteo, recently receiving an Invest Cyprus International Investment Award is only the beginning of the company’s journey in Cyprus, as it aims to enhance its presence on the island and contribute to the development of the local tech sector.

Founded in 2005 in Paris, France, it is a global technology company, active in the digital advertising sector. It helps marketers and media owners achieve their commercial goals with AI-driven, targeted advertising through its industry-leading Commerce Media Platform. A multi-product global leader in commerce media and a pioneer in AI – all its solutions run advanced AI models for optimisation and automation – Criteo runs a large engineering hub

In Cyprus, where three quarters of its local employees are engineers. The country’s continuous investment in the creation of a thriving environment for tech businesses is one of the reasons why Criteo established its office here in 2022.

Criteo has already added an office in Nicosia. What influenced your decision to expand the company’s operations in Cyprus?

Multiple factors influenced our decision, but the two main reasons were (1), we believe that Cyprus offers a transparent and reliable legal, judicial and tax system. The legal system is based on English Common Law principles and is widely considered business-friendly, effective and fair; (2), the Cyprus Government’s heavy investment in creating a thriving environment for tech companies like Criteo. The 2021 action plan to attract businesses was pivotal in our decision to open an engineering hub here in 2022.

How does having a base in Cyprus enable you to serve clients worldwide and contribute to the overall success and growth of the company?

Criteo is a global leader in commerce media; we provide digital advertising and ptimization solutions to more than 18,000 clients and 1,200 publishers, enabling them to generate meaningful business outcomes. What’s important to know is that we are pioneers in AI and proud that all our solutions run advanced AI models for ptimization and automation. Our R&D teams are thus the backbone of all our services and the fact that Cyprus is our second-biggest engineering hub after our Paris headquarters plays a tremendous role in our own and our clients’ success.

How would you describe Criteo’s impact on the local economy?

Cyprus has a great tech talent pool, which is vital for a company like Criteo to drive innovation for our clients and partners. In return, it’s important for these talents to work and learn in a truly international environment and in a company that is a global leader in its sector. I believe that the experiences they gain with us will help them tremendously in building their careers and acquiring knowledge to further shape Cyprus as a tech hub for companies from all over the world.

Looking ahead, what are Criteo’s strategic priorities and growth plans for its operations in Cyprus?

We are further enhancing our comprehensive Commerce Media Platform with new products and solutions to help our clients and partners succeed now and in the future. R&D will continue to play a key role in our company’s success. We value the open dialogue with the Government of Cyprus and believe that our investment in Cyprus was well justified. We look forward to experiencing future growth together.

Congratulations on recently winning an Invest Cyprus International Investment Award. What does this recognition mean for you?

Thank you very much! We only established our office in Limassol in 2022 and we have been continuously investing ever since to further strengthen our presence in Cyprus, which serves as an important engineering hub for Criteo globally. We feel very honoured to receive this award as it acknowledges the efforts we’ve made so far. It also proves that we took the right strategic decision in choosing Cyprus and motivates us to further enhance our presence in the future.

This interview first appeared in the July edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.