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Irishman Joe Kelly, who spent the past eight years leading communications for the controversial telecommunications company Huawei, has died at the age of 55.
Kelly, who lived in Shenzhen, China, where Huawei is based, joined the company in late 2012 and served as its vice president of corporate communications.
Prior to this, he held similar positions for several other companies, including BT, Marconi, and Xerox. He also previously worked as a journalist covering business and technology for various publications.
From Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Kelly found himself in the media firing line in recent years after helping lead Huawei to fight claims by the US government that its technology could be used for espionage purposes. .
“My specialty is crisis management. When things happen, stay calm, don’t get excited, ”he said in an interview with The Irish Times last year.
While others may have been desperate to get caught up in such an important story, Kelly seemed to enjoy it.
“Nobody wants to be in the middle of a non-story. I don’t remember a moment when I was happier, “he said of Huawei’s battles in the United States.
A Huawei colleague said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm that our dear colleague and friend, Joe Kelly, passed away this weekend in Shenzhen, China. Joe, vice president of international media affairs at Huawei, was a seasoned team member and highly respected throughout the company. We will miss him very much and send our deepest condolences to Joe’s family, whom we will do all we can to help through this difficult time. “
Founded in 1987, Huawei employs more than 180,000 employees in 170 countries and regions. Although initially focused on the manufacturing of telephone switches, the company has significantly expanded its business over the years to include building infrastructure equipment used in broadband and mobile Internet networks, including for 5G. It is also now the world’s largest smartphone maker after recently surpassing Samsung.
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