Welcome to the big leagues: how the US market is supercharging Irish businesses

For Irish companies, doing business in the world’s most advanced economy will bring new opportunities and new challenges. We meet some of the firms that have gone stateside to get their advice on making it in the US

Steve Cutler, chief executive of clinical trials firm Icon, which is one of the largest companies with operations in the US. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Last year, Steve Cutler oversaw a deal which doubled the size of Icon, the Dublin-headquartered clinical trials company. Cutler, who joined the company over a decade ago and has been its chief executive since early 2017, presided over its $12 billion purchase of PRA Health Sciences.

The deal will transform Icon, which is headquartered in Leopardstown in Dublin, from a business with $5 billion in turnover and less than $1 billion in profits into the ...