Andy McCue
(Non-Executive Director, ex CEO Paddy Power)
Biography
Andy McCue
Andy has spent his career in multi-channel, multi-site consumer businesses. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Paddy Power plc and The Restaurant Group plc. He has served on the Boards of Hostelworld plc and is currently a Non-Executive Director of Kindred Group plc, and is Chairman of three Irish private companies.
Bryan Bourke
(Chairperson of AirNav Ireland, former Managing Partner, William Fry)
Biography
Bryan Bourke
Bryan was Managing Partner of leading law firm William Fry from 2014 until the end of 2020. Prior to that, he was Head of the William Fry Corporate and M&A Group. He is now a Consultant with, and a senior advisor to, that practice group at William Fry.
Bryan was named ‘’European Managing Partner of the Year’’; at The Lawyer European Awards in London in 2018.
Bryan is also Chairperson and a non-executive director of AirNav Ireland, the Irish Air Navigation Service Provider. He served on the National Council of IBEC from 2017 until 2020. He is also a non- executive director of the Irish Youth Foundation.
Bryan is also a CEDR Accredited Mediator.
Over his career, Bryan has advised on some of the largest public and private M&A/takeover deals in Ireland for leading Irish and international clients across multiple sectors. He has advised on joint ventures, fundraisings, restructurings, and broader corporate governance issues.
Cathy Bryce
(Managing Director, AIB Capital Markets)
Biography
Cathy Bryce
Cathy Bryce started her career in Investment Banking with Morgan Stanley and subsequently ABN AMRO.
She joined AIB in 1996 holding a range of leadership positions in lending roles across both International and Irish portfolios.
In 2018 she joined the National Treasury Management Agency as Director of the National Development Finance Agency and NewERA.
In 2019 she returned to AIB joining the Executive Management team of the Bank as Managing Director of Capital Markets, her current position. In this role, she leads the corporate and business areas of the Bank with teams that account for about one third of AIB’s assets and banking activities, including Goodbody Stockbrokers.
She is a business graduate of Trinity College Dublin, holds an MBA from INSEAD Business School and completed the General Management Program in Harvard Business School. Cathy is a member of the Finance Committee of Trinity College and the Advisory Board of Trinity Business School. She is also a member of the Diversity Committee for Leinster Rugby.
Cathy was recently appointed (September 2023) as the first female President of the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI)
David Menton
(Founder & Managing Partner, Synova)
Biography
David Menton
Born & schooled in Dublin, David co-founded leading European growth investor, Synova, in 2007. He has over 20 years’ experience of investing in and advising high growth companies and was recognised in the prestigious Dow Jones ’40 under 40 Rising Stars in Private Equity’.
At Synova, David leads the Financial Services and FinTech sector working closely with owners and managers across the portfolio to support their growth ambitions. David currently serves as a Non-Executive Director of AllClear Insurance, JMG Insurance, DM Financial and 3173.
David Walsh
(Chairman, Halocare. Previous Co-Founder and Group CEO, Netwatch)
Biography
David Walsh
David Walsh is one of Ireland’s most renowned entrepreneurs. He co-founded Netwatch and as CEO grew it from a small start-up to a truly global organisation employing 560 staff and serving 250,000 customers across four continents. A graduate of UCD and Stanford University, David was voted Irish Times Business Person of the month in April 2018, the In-Business Magazine Businessman of Year 2019 and was awarded the inaugural National Enterprise Awards Outstanding Achievement Award 2021. At Netwatch, David assembled a world class team and developed a unique culture that led to 68 quarters of continuous growth and impacted the lives of customers across the World. He has since established another disruptive technology company called HaloCare with a vision to empower people to live independent and healthy lives at home for longer.
Dómhnal Slattery
(Chairman, Spinlaunch, Founder and former CEO, Avolon)
Biography
Dómhnal Slattery
Dómhnal Slattery is an Irish entrepreneur, innovator and philanthropist.
Throughout his career, Dómhnal has raised and deployed more than $75b of debt and equity capital to finance aircraft for airlines and investors around the world. He founded and scaled two of the world’s three largest aircraft leasing firms including Avolon. Dómhnal has worked to foster an enduring entrepreneurial culture through his Innovate for Ireland initiative. In founding this initiative, €300m is being committed to fund 1,400 PhD scholarships at universities within Ireland.
In October 2023, Dómhnal was appointed Chairman of SpinLaunch, a pioneering space company enabling rapid and sustainable low-cost access to space.
Edel Creely
(Non-executive Chair, Ex CEO Trilogy Technologies)
Biography
Edel Creely
Edel Creely is a business leader and entrepreneur with over 30 years experience in the Software & ICT Services Sector, skilled in Business Growth Strategy, M&A, People and Management, Services Operations and Sales & Marketing. As founder of Trilogy Technologies, Edel built the company into one of the leading IT Managed Services providers in the Irish market through strategic acquisitions and organic growth. She successfully led the acquisition of Trilogy Technologies by Arkphire in 2020.
She currently provides NED and Advisory services to scaling companies, is a Non-executive Director with IT Services company Auxilion and Trustee with Ibec.
Edel has been a prominent advocate for the indigenous business in Ireland. She has been Chair of the Irish Software Association (Technology Ireland) and Board member and President of Ibec. In 2017 Edel was Awarded Tech Excellence ‘IT Person of the Year’ and Technology Ireland ‘Person of the Year’ in 2020. An engineer by profession she is an accomplished violinist and regularly performs with the Hibernian Orchestra.
Elaine Coughlan
(Partner in Atlantic Bridge)
Biography
Elaine Coughlan
Elaine is a Founder and Managing Partner of Atlantic Bridge, a global fund headquartered in Ireland, €1.3 billion assets under management, with offices and
team in Europe and North America. Atlantic Bridge have a portfolio of over 115 companies across DeepTech sectors including semiconductors, cyber security,
industrial, consumer, climate, and healthtech. Elaine has 30 years of experience in industry as a founder, executive and investor scaling including Movidius (Acquired by Intel), and Decawave (Acquired by Qorvo). She successfully led as an executive three Nasdaq IPO’s creating €5bn in shareholder value for Parthus, Iona and Smartforce. She was a co-founder of Glonav a GPS semiconductor company (Acquired by NXP). Elaine was appointed by the Irish Government to the Board of Enterprise Ireland (2014-2022) and appointed by the British Government to British Patient Capital’s £395m Future Fund Breakthrough. She is also a Board member of Irish Life Health, one of Irelands largest health insurers which is part of Canadian Group Great West Life Co $1 trillion assets under management.
She has been named one of Forbes Europe 50, Europe’s Top 50 Inspiring Women in Technology, and awarded Outstanding Contribution to Industry by Chartered Accountants Ireland. Elaine is a director and member of Endeavor Ireland and volunteer with the Support Africa Foundation which provides training and micro funding to women in business in Ethiopia and a founding member of Level 20 to increase female participation in the investment industry. Elaine has a MSc in Corporate Governance, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a qualified Chartered Director.
Eleanor Blagbrough
(Co-Founding Partner, Blume Equity)
Biography
Eleanor Blagbrough
Eleanor is a co-founder of Blume Equity, the European climate tech growth firm. She has spent 20+ years supporting ambitious high-growth tech companies to scale, both as an investor and an advisor, and has been investing into Ireland for the last 15 years. Prior to Blume, Eleanor covered the Irish market for ECI Partners and also worked at McKinsey for many years supporting private equity businesses pre- and post-deal. Eleanor is a British and Irish citizen and has an MBA from Harvard.
Gary Mc Sharry
(Partner at McCann FitzGerald & Head of U.S. Office)
Biography
Gary McSharry
Gary advises on complex corporate transactions including Private Equity, public and private M&A, reorganisations, corporate governance and joint ventures. Gary has also spent several years in New York where he has developed particular expertise in advising US and international private equity clients on Irish investments including EQT, KKR, Apollo, TPG, Carlyle, TA Associates and Vista Equity Partners.
Hector Guinness
(Partner, HG Capital)
Biography
Hector Guinness
Hector is a partner for Hg, based in New York. Hector focuses on software investments, specifically within the legal, compliance and healthcare markets.
Hector joined Hg in 2012 and sits on the boards of Litera, Intelerad, HHAeXchange, and Bright. He has been involved with investments including Litera, HHAeXchange, Allocate, Intelerad, Evaluate, Trace One, Eucon, STP, Commify, Brightpay, and over 20 add on acquisitions including Ambra, Kira, Docscorp, Workshare, Relate.
Hector joined Hg from Bain & Company, where he spent three years in London and Mumbai. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class honours degree in Biological Science, and is a board member of the Lumind Foundation.
John-George Willis
(Senior Advisor to Melior Equity Partners, Former Head of Corporate, Tughans )
Biography
John-George Willis
John-George Willis is a former Head of Corporate and Senior Partner at Tughans in Belfast. He founded Tughans’ Corporate Department and in each of his last four years at the firm, the Corporate team topped the Experian league table for notifiable transactions among Northern Irish firms with, on average, 32% of NI transactions. He currently sits on the Senior Advisory Board of Melior Equity Partners and chairs the Boards of Pivotal, the Irish and UK cash transit and ATM replenishment business; McKinstry Group, the County Antrim-based waste management business and Vertical Structure, a cybersecurity penetration testing business based in Belfast.
John Purdy
(Founder, ERGO, Fenergo and FlowForma )
Biography
John Purdy
“Since co-founding Ergo over 30 years ago, John Purdy has steered the company through extraordinary growth, creating a €200m business with 750 employees, spinning off two companies (Fenergo and FlowForma) and acquiring five others (CDSoft, iSite, Micromail, Asystec and BoatyardX). First as CEO and now as Chairman, his leadership and vision have been invaluable to Ergo and the other businesses he advises. His skills were publicly recognised in 2014 when he was named EY Industry Entrepreneur of the Year.
A graduate of Cranford University, London, he has qualifications in strategic management and marketing and is a member of the Irish Management Institute. He participated in the Leadership for Growth program in Stanford University, organised by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Software Association.
A familiar voice in the media and at conferences, John is well known for his forthright views and a passionate commitment to making technology an enabler for doing better business and a force for positive change.”
Leo Hamill
(Founder of SISU Advisory, Hon. Secretary and Former Chairperson, IVCA)
Biography
Leo Hamill
Leo Hamill is the current Honorary Secretary and former Chairman of The Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA). He has been a director and council member of the IVCA since October 2019. He is also the former Managing Partner of Investec Ventures, a role he held until April 2023, where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the successful €75m Harcourt Venture Fund. He has 25 years’ SME experience in the ICT sector, 18 years of which has been in the venture capital industry and 7 as an associate director in corporate finance with (NCB and Merrion).
He has domain knowledge and expertise in SaaS, enterprise SW & HW, business intelligence, data analytics, Fin-Tech, Reg-Tech, Ad-Tech, eCommerce, Web (social & search), online health, airline software and IoT Previous non-executive directorships have included Betapond t/a StitcherAds (sale to Kargo Media), Blue Tree Systems (sold to Orbcomm), Fenergo (sold to Insight Partners), Rainmaker Business Technologies (sold to Skymetrix), SIlverCloud Health (sold to Amwell) and TerminalFour Solutions amongst others.
He is a business studies graduate of Trinity College Dublin and holds an MBA from the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School at University College Dublin.
Leo is the Founder and Managing Partner of SISU Advisory, a boutique advisory firm providing corporate finance expertise, business acumen and strategic direction to Founders and CEOs of indigenous SME’s seeking to scale and exit.
Marie Joyce
(CFO NTR)
Biography
Marie Joyce
Marie is COO & CFO of NTR plc. Marie is also an independent non-executive director on the boards of daa plc and Staycity Group. She is also on the Programme Board of the MSc. in International Accounting and Analytics Degree of the University of Galway and on the Sustainability Expert Working Group of Chartered Accountants Ireland. She is formerly the Chair of the board of Make-A-Wish Ireland. Prior to NTR, Marie was Senior Director of Strategic Planning for Élan Corporation plc and trained at Arthur Andersen. She holds a B.Comm from the University of Galway and a M.Acc from UCD.
Marta Suarez Estebanez
(Partner, TCV)
Biography
Marta Suarez Estebanez
Marta focuses on investments in the internet, fintech, and software sectors and supports TCV’s partnerships with Miro, Trade Republic, and TourRadar.
Prior to joining TCV, Marta worked at General Atlantic in London, where she focused on investments in the firm’s technology sector. Before that, she worked in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley.
Marta was born and raised in Gran Canaria, Spain, and moved to London ten years ago. Growing up, Marta was a competitive synchronized swimmer and won several national and European championship medals. Today, she enjoys yoga and travelling. Marta holds an M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.
Noreen Gallagher
(Board Advisor / Chair)
Biography
Noreen Gallagher
Noreen Gallagher is an accomplished CEO with 20+ years’ experience leading global brands across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Her diverse professional journey spans various countries and industries, encompassing both country-specific and regional management roles.
Noreen started her career in Unilever. She progressed through McCain Foods (Country Manager), Nike (various GM Roles EMEA), Triumph Intimate Apparel (Managing Director, UK & Ireland) and Glanbia Performance Nutrition (President, EMEA), before spearheading the start-up Plant It Food Co. as its CEO. Currently, she serves as advisor to private equity funds as NED/Chair in consumer-led businesses.
She is a business builder with a strong focus on building brands based on consumer insights. With the support of two key investors, Noreen used consumer insights and data to develop the strategy and product range for The Plant It Food Co. Since its inception in 2020, the company has successfully expanded its presence to six key markets globally, spanning both retail and food service channels. Noreen maintains an active role as a board member.
During her tenure at Glanbia Performance Nutrition, Noreen transformed the business from a specialty-focused business to a truly omnichannel business, reflecting changing consumer patterns. Noreen did this through innovation, digital capability and direct-to-consumer acquisition.
Noreen is married with two children. She is passionate about enabling education. She is an active supporter of www.educo.ie, a charity dedicated to gifting education – primarily by building schools in India for marginalised families.
Pat Flynn
(Ex Managing Partner and Founder FoD)
Biography
Patrick Flynn
Patrick Flynn founded Flynn O’Driscoll, Business Lawyers in 2002. In 1983 he graduated with an honors BCL law degree from University College Dublin. He was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland in 1987 and in England and Wales in 1996. In 2013 he completed an Advanced Leadership Management Programme with the Timoney Institute which is associated with IESE Business School.
Pat previously worked with A&L Goodbody, one of Ireland’s largest law firms. He is a former senior executive of Ulster Investment Bank (part of the RBS/NatWest Group) where he specialised in global structured finance transactions involving European and US companies. He has also worked in corporate finance in Ireland and in emerging markets, particularly the former CIS countries, for a UK business. Pat was head of the corporate law department in a top 10 Dublin law firm before leaving to establish Flynn O’Driscoll.
Pat has, in over 35 years of business life, acquired considerable transactional experience in acting on corporate mergers, investments, acquisitions and financings. He is practical, with excellent business skills and he brings these, together with a wide range of friendships and business relationships to day to day problem solving for clients. Over the years he has advised companies and shareholders on wide ranging issues including disputes and is recognised as an excellent solutions driven lawyer.
Pat is a member of the Law Society of Ireland, the Dublin Solicitor’s Bar Association and the Irish International Business Network (IIBN), both in Dublin and London and the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce. Pat’s current directorships include being chairman of Primary Health Properties PLC’s Irish interests in the primary care sector. He served on the Board of Directors of Enterprise Ireland for a four year term, 2014 – 2018. Enterprise Ireland is the Irish Government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets and is one of the biggest early stage venture capital businesses in the World. He served to June 2023 on the Executive Committees of the Law Exchange International, the International legal network of 34 global law firms comprising of 1,733 lawyers.
Pete Smyth
(CEO, Broadlake)
Biography
Pete Smyth
Pete Smyth is a successful entrepreneur, business leader and the founder and CEO of Broadlake.
Broadlake are long-term investors, deploying their own capital to build and grow positively impactful businesses. Employing over 4,000 people globally, in industries including Healthcare, Technology, International Talent Solutions and Workplace Wellbeing, they partner with ambitious founders and entrepreneurs to help them scale. Broadlake’s five-year vision and ambition is 3X10X – Three times the size and ten times the positive impact.
Sarah-Jane Larkin
(Director General of IVCA)
Biography
Sarah-Jane Larkin
Sarah-Jane has been Director General of the IVCA since Jan 2018. The IVCA is the representative body for venture capital and private equity firms on the island of Ireland, it’s full members are the venture capital and private equity firms that provide equity funding to growing unquoted companies.
Sarah-Jane was formerly commercial director of MSD and Johnson & Johnson Medical. She has worked at director level in the healthcare and medical device sectors for over a decade for organisations including J&J, Sisk Healthcare and the Irish Medical & Surgical Trade Association. A graduate of UCD, she holds an MBA from the Smurfit Business School.
Rory Guinan
(Managing Director, Endeavor Ireland)
Biography
Rory Guinan
Rory joined Endeavor Ireland as Managing Director after 11 years as investment director of Sencheer Holdings, a single-family investment office based in Dublin, where he was responsible for the allocation to venture capital, private equity and direct investments across multiple geographies and sectors.
Endeavor is the global network for highly ambitious founders, encouraging them to dream bigger, scale faster and providing a platform to pay it forward. Irish network members include Cubic Telecom, Strong Roots, LearnUpon, Wayflyer, Gym+Coffee, XOCEAN, Keelvar, Therapie & Sculpted by Aimee. Globally, Endeavor supports 1,600+ companies across 42 regions and launched in Ireland in 2019 supported by a high-calibre board of directors.
Stéphane Pithois
(Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Mazars)
Biography
Stéphane Pithois
Stéphane is a partner based in Paris (France) at Mazars, an internationally integrated partnership, specialising in audit, accountancy, advisory, tax and legal services, operating in over 95 countries and territories around the world.
He originates and leads domestic and cross-border transactions as exclusive M&A advisor in all sectors for c.30 years.
He has developed a strong expertise in assisting management teams, family-owned companies, entrepreneurs, large groups, and equity investors in their mergers, acquisitions, disposals, and fundraisings.
In addition, Stéphane is Global Head of Corporate Finance at Group level, coordinating the development of our international M&A practice.
Stephen Welton
(Non-Executive Director of ICG, Founder and ex CEO, BGF)
Biography
Stephen Welton
Non-Executive Chair of the British Business Bank, the UK’s economic development bank; and Non-Executive Director of ICG plc, the FTSE 100 alternative investment manager.
Extensive experience of global private capital markets including JP Morgan and Barclays Private Equity. Founder CEO and then Chair of the Business Growth Fund (BGF) from 2011-2023. BGF is the UK and Ireland’s most active growth investor.
Advisor to the UK Government on establishing the British Business Bank in 2012, HM Treasury Patient Capital Review 2017, Prime Minister’s Business Council 2021 and Innovate UK Board 2018-2021. Awarded a CBE in June 2023 for services to Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship.
Tom Wrenn
(Managing Partner, ECI Partners)
Biography
Tom Wrenn
Tom is a Managing Partner at growth focused private equity firm ECI Partners where over the last 17 years he has had the pleasure of working with some amazing management teams across the tech ecosystem from software to telecoms, digital marketplaces to adtech and everything in between. ECI has just raised its 12th fund reaching the hard cap of €1.2 billion and will be investing it in businesses valued up to €350m enterprise value
