Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. Honored with Inaugural Ireland-USA Bridge-Builder Award

Babson College President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD has been named the recipient of the inaugural Ireland-USA Bridge-Builder Award for his longtime support of entrepreneurship education and economic development in Northern Ireland. 

The award is presented to individuals who have been outstanding allies of the Irish peace process and trailblazers in encouraging deepened entrepreneurial and business relationships between Ireland and the United States.   

Spinelli has been engaged with Northern Ireland long before his tenure as Babson’s president. In 1993, he visited the campus of Ulster University while working on his doctorate and would later become a visiting professor at the university. In 2016, he returned to Ulster’s campus to receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.  

In 2024, Babson hosted Ulster’s 25@25 leadership initiative on campus for a weeklong residential program. The program included professionals from varying industries who are committed to driving innovation and promoting entrepreneurship across Northern Ireland. The yearlong program was created to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.  

Outside of Belfast, Spinelli has made notable contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Ireland. He announced the expansion of Babson’s Accelerator for Growth, Innovation, and Entrepreneurial Leadership (B-AGILE) into Ireland at a networking event in Dublin in 2022. B-AGILE is designed to bring inclusive learning to mid-level managers in companies, government agencies, and nonprofits by developing tools to drive innovation and create entrepreneurial solutions. 

In addition to receiving the Bridge-Builder Award, Spinelli was invited to deliver a keynote presentation at AICON, the largest AI conference in Northern Ireland. His keynote explored the potential that AI and entrepreneurial leadership hold to solve the most pressing challenges in Northern Ireland and abroad.