# Liam Casey

> Liam Casey is the Irish founder and CEO of PCH International, the supply chain orchestration company he named after California's Pacific Coast Highway. Built from a Cork dairy farm upbringing and a decade in European fashion, PCH became a billion-dollar operation linking Silicon Valley's most ambitious hardware companies to a network of over 1,200 Chinese factories. Known as 'Mr China' in tech circles, Casey is renowned for carrying three phones, living out of hotels across two continents per week, and never once learning Mandarin — a deliberate vulnerability he credits for building deeper factory relationships than any fluent speaker could.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at PCH International
- **Organizations:** PCH International, Highway1, PCH Access
- **From:** Cork, Ireland
- **Nationality:** Irish
- **Education:** Secondary School, Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Business/Commerce, Cork College of Commerce
- **Known for:** Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Ireland (2007), Cork Person of the Year award, Irish Times Business Person of the Year (2023)

## Career timeline

- **Pre-1996** — Grew up on a dairy farm in County Cork, Ireland. Left school at 18.
- **1986-1996** — Spent a decade working in European fashion trade, including attending Première Vision fabric fair in Paris and working with Club Tricot.
- **1996** — Visited California and identified the opportunity to connect Western companies with Asian manufacturing. Founded PCH International, naming it after the Pacific Coast Highway.
- **1996-1998** — Initially sourced computer components from Taiwan for US manufacturers operating in Ireland.
- **Late 1990s** — Followed his Taiwanese supplier to Shenzhen, China. Built a trusted network of approximately 200 factories.
- **1999** — Secured first deal with Apple, establishing PCH as a key supplier in the Apple ecosystem.
- **2007** — Awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Ireland.
- **2011** — Raised $30 million in venture capital from Northbrooks Investments and J. Christopher Burch. Admitted as Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors. Acquired TNS Distribution (European electronics distributor). Total VC raised reached $84.5 million.
- **2012** — Acquired Lime Lab Inc., a Silicon Valley product development consultancy.
- **2013** — Co-founded Highway1, a four-month hardware startup accelerator in San Francisco. PCH raised additional Series A funding.
- **2014** — PCH International hit $1.1 billion in annual revenue with 2,600 employees across nine offices worldwide. Apple listed PCH as one of its top 200 suppliers.
- **2015** — Acquired Fab.com for $15 million to develop as a design-focused marketplace. PCH laid off 1,500 workers in China as it pivoted toward niche markets.
- **2020** — During COVID-19 pandemic, partnered with U2 frontman Bono to source and ship €10 million worth of PPE to Ireland and globally.
- **2023** — Named The Irish Times Business Person of the Year. Revenue commissioner filed winding-up petition with Irish High Court due to additional capital requirements.
- **2025** — Winding-up petition case scheduled for hearing in High Court; PCH International navigating post-COVID restructuring.

## Achievements

- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Ireland (2007)
- Cork Person of the Year award
- Irish Times Business Person of the Year (2023)
- Fellow, Hong Kong Institute of Directors (2011)
- Named International Start-up Ambassador to China by Enterprise Ireland
- Built PCH International to $1.1 billion in annual revenue (2014)
- Apple listed PCH International as one of its top 200 suppliers
- Co-founded Highway1 hardware accelerator in San Francisco
- Partnered with Bono to ship €10M of PPE during COVID-19 crisis
- Built factory network of 1,200+ Chinese manufacturers moving up to 10 million products per day
- Shipped Kickstarter backer products alphabetically to 80+ countries in under 3 days
- Raised $84.5 million in venture capital from Silicon Valley and Chinese investors

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Revenue's Collector General filed winding-up petition against PCH International with the Irish High Court, with hearing scheduled for November 2025.
- **2023-12** — Named The Irish Times Business Person of the Year for 2023.
- **2023-11** — PCH International leadership page updated; EY auditors flagged the company would need $12.4M in additional working capital financing through December 2024.
- **2023-05** — Liam Casey interviewed at Endeavor Ireland's Gathering of Ireland's Founders event.

## Links

- Website: https://pchintl.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/caseyliam
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/liamcasey
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liamcasey
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caseyliam

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/liam-casey
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25