Leo Varadkar

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Leo Varadkar was born and raised in Dublin. He is a qualified medical doctor and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

Elected Taoiseach in June 2017, Leo Varadkar presided over a period of strong economic growth during which employment levels reached a record high, the public finances moved back into surplus, real incomes rose and poverty and deprivation rates fell to a ten year low. As Taoiseach he led Ireland’s negotiations on Brexit which ensured that there would be no hard border between North and South and the common travel area and reciprocal citizens’ rights between Britain and Ireland would remain in place. The period has also been one of major social reform during which referendums were held and won to end Ireland’s constitutional prohibitions on abortion and blasphemy and to liberalise divorce laws. Ireland also ratified the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities and the Istanbul convention against domestic violence during his time as Taoiseach.

Following the 2020 General Election, Leo Varadkar led Ireland through the public health crisis caused by Covid-19. In his new role as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, he is now helping to lead Ireland through the economic crisis it triggered. This means getting businesses back open and people back to work.

As Ireland’s first openly gay cabinet minister and Taoiseach, he was involved in the successful campaign to secure marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples and has championed improvements to sexual health including extending the HPV vaccine to boys, made HIV testing more available and introduced a free public PrEP programme.

Anya Hindmarch

Founder, CEO & Creative Director, Anya Hindmarch

The globally-successful British fashion and accessories designer shares her tips for ongoing growth, success, reinvention and self-belief.

Anya Hindmarch is a mother of five, stepmother, entrepreneur and globally renowned businesswoman. In her new bestselling book ‘If In Doubt, Wash Your Hair’, she shares what she has learned during her busy and electic life, what she still worries about, and what advice she has received along the way. From practical tips and quick fixes, to profound observations about confidence and creativity, this inspiring handbook* will show you how to live a little better – and why sometimes, the answer can be as simple as washing your hair.

Dame Inga Beale

Businesswoman & Former CEO of Lloyd's of London

Dame Inga Beale is a British businesswoman with over three decades of experience. Prior to joining Lloyd’s as the first female CEO, Inga held a variety of international leadership positions for GE Insurance Solutions, before becoming Group CEO of Swiss reinsurer Converium. Inga discusses what it means to lead cultural change and steer a company through a technological transition without losing its core character. Moreover, she tackles breaking glass ceilings, and building inclusive environments within the workplace.

Melanie Morris

Contributing Editor, IMAGE

With backgrounds in PR, event management, publishing and journalism, Melanie joined as the editor of IMAGE Magazine in 2005, and since then her role has taken many shapes and forms. Promoted to editor-in-chief in 2013, she founded the company’s now thriving events division and has since been the catalyst for many of IMAGE’s broad-spectrum offerings.

Creativity has always been at the heart of everything Melanie does, she enjoys the thrill of building and connecting long-lasting relationships. Now an IMAGE contributing editor and experienced presenter,  Melanie’s close personal and professional relationship with Clodagh Edwards sees the two constantly hatching plans, usually over Diet Cokes and coffee.

Áine Kerr

Co-Founder & COO, Kinzen

Áine Kerr is a serial risk taker and trailblazer with years of experience in the specialist cross-over space between journalism and technology. Co-founder and COO of technology start-up Kinzen, she is a former Global Head of Journalism Partners at Facebook in New York, former Managing Editor at social media news agency Storyful, and former political correspondent.  Presenter of the RTÉ radio series Reignite, she is a member of the European Council’s committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age and an advisor to the Institute for the Future of Journalism and Media (FuJO) in DCU.

Richard Curran

Presenter, RTÉ Radio One

Richard Curran is presenter of The Business radio show on RTE Radio One. He was presenter of Dragons Den on RTE television for eight seasons. He has co-authored two books and made several big TV documentaries for RTE.  He has been deputy editor of The Sunday Business Post, assistant editor of The Sunday Tribune and business editor of the Irish Independent in his 27-year career. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience across a wide variety of business, economic and social issues.

Pamela Quinn

MD, Kuehne + Nagel

Pamela Quinn joined global logistics company, Kuehne + Nagel, in 2001, at a time when its Irish operation had a small dedicated team of just 30 employees. With a natural aptitude for numbers, Pamela started her career in accounts and later human resources, recognising how important an organisation’s staff is to achieving and maintaining a successful business.

In 2013 Pamela took the lead of the Irish operation as Managing Director and currently leads a team of 400 across 3 branches in Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Throughout her tenure, Pamela has driven and overseen a clear strategy for the business resulting in a bottom-line growth of 150%, firmly placing Kuehne + Nagel as the largest freight and logistics company in Ireland. Pamela has a clear and consistent vision of where she wants the company to go, which she credits with always starting with the end in mind.

Pamela has been consistently recognised as an inspirational leader. She won IMAGE Business Woman of the Year 2016, was one of the top 25 most influential women in Ireland in 2018 and in 2019, Pamela was awarded the accolade of Ireland’s Most Trusted Leader by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Claire Haidar

Co-Founder, WNDYR & Pattyrn

Stha Banks

Board Director, IAPI

Stha Banks has 12 years of experience working in digital media marketing – from strategy right through to implementation, insights and reporting. Stha is the Board Director of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) – the leading representative and advocacy organisation for the Irish marketing and communications sector. IAPI recently published the first-ever global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) census in the marketing and advertising world, designed to assess the scale of the diversity challenge facing the profession. As a passionate advocate of Diversity and Inclusion, Stha also sits on the Core Diversity & Inclusion Council.

As an advertising professional Stha has delivered award-winning campaigns with local and international brands helping them connect with their customers using digital platforms. As Head of Paid Social at Core, Ireland’s largest marketing communications company, Stha has doubled her team; developed processes; best practice frameworks; driven strong revenue growth through reviewed financial structures and targets, and developed key relationships in social – all of which are now used to train new starters/ clients and internal teams too.

Pat McCann

CEO, Dalata Hotel Group

Pat has over fifty years’ experience in the Hotel business. He started in 1969 in Ryan Hotel Group plc before joining Jurys Hotel Group plc in 1989. He joined the Board of Jurys Hotel Group plc in 1994. In 1998 he was appointed Chief Executive Designate of Jurys and assumed the role of Chief Executive in 2000. He retired from Jurys Doyle in 2006 and founded Dalata Hotel Group in 2007. Dalata listed on the Dublin and London stock exchange in 2014. Dalata Hotel Group plc is now the largest Hotel Group ever to exist in Ireland, with the two largest Hotel brands ever to exist in Ireland. Dalata currently has 44 Hotels in operation with 9200 bedrooms and 13 Hotels under construction with 3300 bedrooms. Pre Covid-19 Dalata employed 4,500 people. 

Pat served as President of Ibec from September 2019 to September 2020 and currently sits on the board of Ibec. He has served as Non-Executive Director on the Board of Greencore Group plc from 2003 to 2013 and the Board of EBS from 2007 to 2011. Pat was Chairman of Whitfield Hospital in Waterford from 2011 to 2018. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Glenveagh properties plc and a number of private companies.

On March 2nd 2021, Pat announced his retirement from Dalata Hotel Group plc. His executive role will cease in November 2021.

Jamie Helly

Founder, Dynamo

Jamie is the Founder and Chairman of Dynamo, now in its 29th year. He is beyond passionate about branding and idea generation, and strongly believes that great creativity has the power to deliver latent commercial success.  Dynamo has evolved into a new breed of creative agency incorporating multiple skillsets – taking their client’s brands from inception and visual identity creation through to bold, insight-led communications campaigns.

The agency works with a wide range of brands across multiple sectors with clients such as Fáilte Ireland, daa, Mark Anthony Brands International and AIB.

They believe that their three decades of success is attributed to forging client relationships based on mutual respect and accountability. They feel their client’s pains and know that their agency shouldn’t be one of them.

Gillian Horan

Founder, The Pudding

Gillian Horan is an author, educator and founder of The Pudding – Ireland’s leading people and purpose branding firm.
With over 16 years’ experience, Gillian has been responsible for a number of significant brand projects including Norbrook Pharmaceuticals, WP Engine, Lynoslife, Colgate, Sheraton, Smyths Toys, Kemp Technologies, and her portfolio spans private equity groups, large-scale multinationals and SMEs. Leading the debate on conversations surrounding how to build communities and positive company culture, how best to commercially leverage companies with brand strategy, and how to retain key talent, ultimately leading to increased brand equity, is Gillian’s passion.
Gillian is a regular contributor to national and international media on the topics of branding and has been featured in The Irish Times, Irish Examiner, and The Sunday Business Post, amongst others. She is a frequent lecturer in the business arena and specialises in the synergy of people and purpose in relation to brand growth. In addition to this, Gillian was a Non Executive Board member at Colourtrend and served as a Director and Board Member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisors (IMCA).

Dee Forbes

Director-General, RTÉ

Prior to taking up her role as Director-General of RTÉ in July 2016, Dee was based in London for more than 27 years, working for broadcasters and advertising agency Young and Rubicam.

Most recently she was President and Managing Director of Discovery Networks Northern Europe. Before joining Discovery, Dee led Turner Broadcasting’s business in the UK and Ireland. She spent several years working at Turner in a variety of commercial roles, including General Manager for the Nordic/Central and Eastern Europe and EMEA regions, and Head of Advertising Sales for Europe.

Dee is a former non-executive director of the board of The Irish Times, she currently sits on the board of Munster Rugby and was a founding director of Ireland’s first rural digital hub, the Ludgate Hub. A native of Drimoleague in West Cork, Dee is a graduate of UCD where she studied history and politics.

Dr Tara Shine

Co-Founder & Director, Change by Degrees

Dr Shine is co-founder and Director of Change by Degree, an award-winning business that advises organisations on sustainability strategy and reporting, employee engagement and sustainability communications.  Before setting up Change by Degrees in 2018, she spent 20 years as an international climate change negotiator and adviser to governments and world leaders on environment and development policy.  She was Special Adviser to the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice and Climate Adviser to The Elders.

Tara is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Environment and Development (IIED) and a member of faculty and lead facilitator for the visibility stream of Homeward Bound, a global leadership programme for women in science.  In 2020 Tara was appointed as co-facilitator of the Structured Expert Dialogue of the Second Periodic Review under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Dr Shine is author of ‘How to Save Your Planet One Objective At A Time’ published in April 2020 by Simon and Schuster. She is a science communicator and TV presenter and presented the 2020 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Most recently she won Network Ireland Cork Businesswoman of the Year Award 2021.

Sheelagh Daly

Entrepreneurship Manager, Enterprise Ireland

Sheelagh worked in hotel management in London and Ireland for over a decade after graduating from Shannon College of Hotel Management, including running her family business. Her career changed direction in 1998, entering the field of community development and from there moving into the public sector focused on economic development, entrepreneurship and enterprise through her role at both national and local level with the Local Enterprise Offices.

Sheelagh also holds a degree in Training & Education and a Masters in Project Management, and has been a Director on a number of boards including Microfinance Ireland. In her current role as Entrepreneurship Manager in Enterprise Ireland, Sheelagh is particularly focused on increasing participation by women in entrepreneurship and business leadership.

Louise Ryan

Managing Director, The Gin Hub, Pernod Ricard

Entering the world of FMCG straight from university, Louise gained a wealth of sales and marketing experience at Mars Ireland over a 14-year period holding positions including Marketing Director and Commercial Director. Following a career break, after the birth of her third daughter, Louise joined Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard as Head of Business Development for Jameson in 2011 and has remained with the Pernod Ricard Group ever since – as Strategy & Insights Director for Irish Distillers and Managing Director for the Pernod Ricard market company in Ireland.

Making the move to become Managing Director of Pernod Ricard’s Gin Hub in 2018, Louise now splits her time between her hometown of Dublin, Ireland, and Pernod Ricard’s London HQ. Since taking the reins at The Gin Hub, the portfolio has transformed through both acquisition and innovation and boasts a strong line-up of Premium+ International Gin brands: Beefeater, Plymouth, Malfy, KI NO BI and Monkey 47.

John Paul Scally

CEO, Lidl

John Paul (J.P.) comes from a farming background in Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath, and his agricultural ties are what drew him to the food industry. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from NUI Galway and joined Lidl Ireland as Project Manager in the Construction, Facilities & Logistics Department in 2003.

Over the next nine years, he worked his way up the ladder, opening and managing his own warehouse, becoming a Regional Director, and in 2012, he was appointed Director of Operations for Lidl France. He has helped grow the company to the international brand it is and is eager to share his personal experience and learnings he gained along the way.

Anne-Marie Tomchak

Founder & CEO, DesignTracker

Anne-Marie Tomchak is the founder and CEO of the sustainability focused tech company DesignTracker which researches and ranks design-led solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis. She’s also a co-founder of ShareJoy, a fashion non-profit which sells pre-loved and ethical fashion to raise funds for mental health charities.

An experienced journalist and broadcaster, Anne-Marie has worked at the very top of news, tech and fashion media. She has led editorial teams at Mashable and Vogue, she launched the social media investigative unit BBC Trending and her RTE documentary ‘Cloud Control: Who Owns Your Data?’ has been added to the Irish curriculum as a learning resource for teachers and students in the Junior Cycle.

Oli Cavanagh

Co-Founder & CEO, Strike

Oli Cavanagh is co-founder and CEO of Irish FinTech company Strike – a breakthrough revolution in cashless tipping for the cashless world we now live in, and of Flender – one of Ireland’ leading peer to peer finance marketplaces which has provided over €30million in expansion funds to Irish SMEs while creating over 1,000 new jobs in ireland, and AllDataSystems (an automotive SaaS company acquired by Autofinder), and CI Solutions (an encryption software company acquired by ETC plc). Oli previously held senior roles in successful Irish technology companies Brite:Bill (personalized billing technology company acquired for €80m) and ChangingWorlds (mobile personalization technology company acquired for €60M).

Diana Geraghty

Head of Sustainability, Brown Thomas & Arnotts

As Head of Sustainability for Brown Thomas Arnotts, Diana leads the sustainability agenda for the iconic Irish retailers, part of the Selfridges Group. In her role, Diana is responsible for the delivery of Brown Thomas Arnotts’ ambitious sustainability programme focused on everything from circular fashion, carbon reduction strategies, responsible sourcing, charity and volunteering projects and other initiatives to support customers to lead more sustainable lifestyles.

Diana holds a MSc in Business Sustainability from UCD’s Smurfit Graduate Business School and has spent the last decade in key sustainability roles in the FMCG, food service, packaging and retail sectors in Ireland as well as the UK and the US. She is a former Bord Bia Origin Green Ambassador and has worked with blue chip companies like The Coca-Cola Company and Mars Chocolate. She also led the sustainability agenda for the award-winning Google Food programme across the EMEA region for a number of years.

Fiona Gaskin

PwC Partner, Trust and Transparency Solutions

Fiona leads the Trust and Transparency team for PwC Ireland, dealing with a range of assurance reports across a variety of industries and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, and is a Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified Internal Auditor. She also holds a Master in Sustainable Finance from DCU.

Over the last few years Fiona has specialised in sustainability assurance and assisting clients with their sustainability reporting. She has worked with clients to benchmark their existing reporting, devise a reporting strategy, consider the overall structure and governance of their sustainability reporting as well as address specific reporting requirements based on either regulation or a defined framework.

This has included TCFC, GRI, EU Taxmony, UN SDGs and UN Principles of Responsible Banking. All of this work has been supported by Fiona’s extensive risk experience over an eighteen year period.

Cilian Fennell

Storytelling Consultant & Strategic Advisor, Stillwater

Cilian is a Storytelling Consultant & Strategic Advisor at Stillwater and is one of Ireland’s leading communication and messaging development consultants. He is known for his authenticity, passion and understanding of storytelling, and works with leaders across all sectors in Ireland and internationally. Cilian has successfully adapted the story model to a business model and now helps companies, teams and individuals to discover, develop and deliver their story effectively.

A multi-award-winning TV Producer, Cilian has produced some of Ireland’s biggest TV shows including The Late Late Show with Gay Byrne. He has produced shows for PBS in the US and was the Creator and Executive Producer of RTÉ’s “Centenary”, a 90-minute live spectacular celebrating 100 years of Irish independence.

Working with narrative inquiry he guides organisations to find the true story that drives them and helps them articulate it to their various audiences. He has adopted this model for tech incubators and start up boot camps in Ireland, London, San Francisco and China. He is the resident pitch coach on Highway 1, a hardware incubator programme in Silicon Valley. So far, he has coached 90 teams which between them have raised over $200m. His clients include Airbnb, PCH International, Diageo, Pfizer, Accenture, The Ireland Funds, Molekule, Boehringer Ingelheim, Jameson, AIB, & RTÉ.

Eddie Shanahan

Consultant to Fashion, Retail & Craft Sectors

Eddie Shanahan specialises in business and product development for the fashion, craft and retail industries. His clients include designers, retailers, state agencies, blue chip corporations and emerging talent in both the Irish and international marketplaces.

He is Chair of the Council of Irish Fashion Designers and is a regular commentator on business and lifestyle issues in print and broadcast media. Eddie founded the CREATE Project with Brown Thomas to identify and support Irish talent.

Rosanne Longmore

CEO, Coroflo

Rosanne is the CEO of Coroflo, a company which has developed and patented the world’s first accurate breastfeeding monitor. Rosanne has raised €4m investment including prestigious Horizon Europe funding with the company winning numerous innovation and technology awards.

Prior to Coroflo, Rosanne worked in financial services for 15 years, working across different business units including wealth management and client service operations. Having qualified from the University of Limerick, Rosanne completed further industry qualifications with the Institute of Project Management and the Institute of Bankers.

Tom Lyons

CEO, The Currency

Tom Lyons is a decorated business journalist and chief executive of The Currency, an online publisher offering insightful, dynamic and brave stories, commentary and investigations with a focus on business, finance, economics and public policy. Named Business Journalist of the Year on three occasions, Tom won plaudits and respect for his unflinching coverage of Ireland’s boom, bust and recovery.

Prior to The Currency, he worked with The Sunday Business Post for four years, serving as deputy editor and then as executive editor. In these roles, he was crucial to the revival of the newspaper, both commercially and editorially.

He is the co-author of two bestselling books, The Fitzpatrick Tapes and Fingers, and a presenter of Inside Irish Nationwide, a full-length television documentary.

Jackie Noakes

Group Chief Operating Officer, Bank of Ireland

Jackie joined Bank of Ireland as Chief Operating Officer in August 2018. In her role as Chief Operating Officer she will oversee a range of services across technology, infrastructure and operations.

A Tipperary native, Jackie’s career has been largely in the UK where she has held a number of senior positions in the financial services sector, most recently at Legal & General (UK) as CEO of Mature Savings. Jackie also held the roles of Managing Director of Legal & General’s Savings business, as well as Group IT & Shared Services Director and Chief Operating Officer for the firm’s largest operating entity, Legal & General Assurance Society.

As a member of the UK’s Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) industry expert panel, Jackie led the FAMR working group response covering Employer Best Practice. Prior to her time at Legal & General, she spent 13 years with American Express where she held the role of IT Vice President of American Express Bank Business Solution Delivery services.

Jackie has also held roles with IBM (Australia), Blue Cross & Blue Shield (USA), Sun Alliance (UK) and Fireman’s Fund Insurance (UK & USA), Bank of Ireland (Dublin) and Ericsson (Sweden & Ireland). She studied IT and Data Processing at University of Limerick and holds MIT Certificates in Fintech Future Commerce and AI in Business Strategy.

Nikki Lannen

Founder & CEO, Warducks Game Studio

Nikki founded WarDucks in 2013 and along with a highly qualified team, they began creating top-class games. Of their 6 hit titles, the title RollerCoaster Legends was the #2 top-selling game on PlayStation VR in December 2017. RollerCoaster Legends II reached #7 on the PlayStation VR store in June 2018. WarDucks has since been busy developing a superior mapping solution to create beautiful, performance-optimized virtual worlds for mobile devices using real-world geographical locations. They are currently building out a mobile game using this technology and will launch in 2022. Prior to WarDucks, Nikki previously worked on the Global Games team at Facebook. Her true foundations arose from her time at IMAGE Publications where she worked as part of the sales team!