Since February 2020 Kathy is Head of Responsible Investment at Irish Life Investment Management (ILIM) and Vice Chair of CDP Ireland (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). She leads on the Responsible Investment strategy, chairs the Responsible Investment Governance Committee and is a member of the Great West Life Sustainable Investment Council. Prior to ILIM, Kathy worked at Aviva Investors as Senior ESG strategist.
In 2013 Kathy founded Global Green Investments (GGI), an ESG investment research and analytics firm working with clients such as the World Bank and Carbon Tracker. Kathy began her career in capital markets and held a range of senior management roles at Pioneer Investments, Credit Agricole and JP Morgan.
Jerry Moriarty, CEO, IAPF
The IAPF represents pension savers in Ireland. Its members are responsible for some €135.5bn in retirement savings and aims to ensure people in Ireland can have pensions that are secure, fair and simple.
Jerry is on the board of Pensions Europe and chairs its Future of Pensions working group. Since 2018 he has been a member of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group.
Jerry previously worked for the Irish regulator, the Pensions Authority, Sun Life Financial of Canada in the UK and Irish Life in Dublin.
In 2014 he was voted Irish Pensions Personality of the Year and in 2016 was named by Pensions Insight as one of the Top 50 People in Pensions.
Eamonn Hughes, Chief Sustainability and Investor Relations Officer, Bank of Ireland
Eamonn’s responsibility is to guide and implement Bank of Ireland’s sustainability strategy, while also playing a critical role in managing its capital markets reputation through leadership of BOI’s investor relations activity. His sustainability role requires him to integrate sustainability into BOI’s wider strategy, governance and business model. Eamonn’s investor relations role allows him to engage directly with stakeholders on BOI’s sustainability plans. In his prior role as a sell-side analyst in Goodbody, he wrote extensively on ESG-related issues and attained the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing. He was a sell-side analyst, covering the Irish financial sector, for over 25 years.
Michelle Ang, Director Corporate Development and Sustainability, IRES REIT PLC
IRES REIT PLC is a residential REIT with c. €1.5bn of real estate assets under management. Michelle is a multi-disciplined professional and currently oversees IRES’ sustainability strategy, planning, developing and defining strategic business growth and restructuring initiatives. Additionally, she also oversees the Investor Relations strategy and function. Prior to that, she worked at Green REIT plc where she was responsible for a variety of functions over 8 years including portfolio management, investor relations, digital strategy, marketing and data & insights. At Savills Ireland, Michelle helped set up the Hotels & Leisure business unit and was part of the investment team. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin with an Executive MBA and also holds a Masters in Real Estate and BSc in Business Studies. Michelle is also a qualified Chartered Surveyor.
Dave Fitzgerald, Sustainability Director, Ornua
Dave leads global sustainability at Ornua, Ireland’s largest dairy export business and owner of the Kerrygold brand. He is responsible for ESG strategy development and delivery across the business. Over the last 20 years he has worked across all aspects of sustainability in the food and beverage value chain. This includes leading regional manufacturing sustainability for a global beverage business and European responsible sourcing and sustainable agriculture for a major multinational.
Áine Higgins, ESG and Risk Manager, NTR plc
Áine is responsible for Environment, Social and Governance topics with a focus on delivering sustainable business practices at both an enterprise level and through NTR’s investment funds. She is also responsible for all aspects of risk management, risk appetite and associated controls within NTR.
Prior to joining NTR, Áine was Head of Environment, Quality, Health and Safety for Siemens Limited, and led the Zero Harm culture programme focusing on employee wellbeing, safety culture, impact on environment and contribution to society. She has extensive experience in safety, environmental compliance and governance system development, and has designed and implemented certified environment, energy, safety and quality systems. Áine was responsible for implementing the Siemens compliance system covering anti-bribery and anti-corruption measures which was recognised as best in class by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Áine holds a BSc, MSc, MBA, diploma in Corporate Governance and a diploma in Organisational Change and Transformation. She also holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. Áine is a non-executive board director at Producer Register Limited and the Irish Electrical Benevolent Association.
Liz Roche, Head of Foundation and Sustainable Business, Vodafone Ireland
Liz joined Vodafone Ireland in February 2020 as the Head of Foundation and Sustainable Business, where she has responsibility for leading the strategy and activities of the Vodafone Foundation in Ireland, as well as developing local ESG strategy and plans, building a governance framework for ESG and leading on initiatives, all aligned with the Vodafone Group framework.
Previous to joining Vodafone, Liz worked as a consultant in the Irish not-for-profit sector, working with CEO’s, heads of fundraising and boards of Directors on strategy, campaign development and capacity building. She has worked with over 30 not-for-profits across a number of sectors including health, homelessness, education, the arts and international NGO sector. She was head of fundraising at the Society of St Vincent de Paul for 5 years, as well as head of fundraising at the Irish Red Cross.
Liz holds a B.A. (Mod) in Natural Sciences from Trinity College and a Masters in Science Communications from DCU. She is a Director of Boardmatch Ireland and Friends of the Elderly Ireland.
Faye Walsh Drouillard, Founder & General Partner, WakeUp Capital
As a former social entrepreneur unwilling to accept the status quo, Faye set up an impact venture fund investing in sustainable and inclusive early-stage companies based in Europe. She backs visionary founders tackling complex social and environmental challenges in areas such as sustainable food and agriculture systems, health equity and an inclusive economy.
Following work in a law firm and in politics in California, she served as Executive Director of Freedom Writers Foundation, an education enterprise through its feature film release “Freedom Writers” by Paramount Pictures starring Hilary Swank. Consultant and investor in numerous start-ups, funds, social enterprises, and foundations in the US and Europe, Faye is an ecosystem builder and promoter of the practice of impact investing and increased diversity in finance.
Faye serves as Chair of the Impact Syndicate of HBAN (Ireland’s largest network of business angels and syndicates), Member of Angel Academe (UK), TONIIC and GSGII Taskforce Ireland, and Founder of The Giving Circles of Amsterdam and Ireland. Her Board roles include Magrowtec, The Community Foundation for Ireland IC, Philanthropy Ireland, and ChangeX. B.A.: University of Washington; MBA: UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Aedín O’Leary, Independent Director, Investment & ESG Consultant
Aedín has over 25 years’ experience in the asset management and financial services industry. She consults on manager selection, formulation and application of ethical investment policies and on strategies in relation to the launch and distribution of funds. Aedín is a B.Comm graduate, former tax consultant and a qualified financial advisor.
She is co-f ounder of the Green Team Network https://www.greenteamnetwork.ie/, an initiative which devises collaborative solutions for the Irish funds industry to play its part in tackling climate change. She advises, speaks and writes on a range of ESG and sustainability topics and has launched the ESG Digest through her website https://tripleline.ie/esg-digest/
Aedín is a member of the ESG Working Group at the Irish Fund Directors Association. She also serves as non-executive director on the boards of the Irish Youth Foundation and Charities Institute Ireland.
Marion Kelly, CEO, Irish Backing Culture Board (IBCB)
Marion was appointed to her current role in March 2020. She previously worked in Bank of Ireland for over 13 years where she held a range of senior leadership roles across Risk Strategy, Regulatory Compliance, Operational Risk, Internal Audit and Recovery & Resolution planning.
Prior to joining BoI, Marion worked with PwC Dublin for 7 years within the FS Regulatory advisory practice, and prior to that spent 4 years working in Brussels with both the European Savings Banks Group and the European Commission.
Marion is a Certified Bank Director (Institute of Banking), a LCOI from the Compliance Institute and holds a Masters in European Economic and Public Affairs and a BA in Economics and German both from UCD. She completed a Professional Diploma in Leading Cultural Change and Ethical Behaviour in Financial Services (IoB) in February 2020 and Diplomas in Leading Sustainable Corporations and in Fintech in 2021, both with the Oxford Said Business School.
Graham Fox, Head of Distribution, Amundi Ireland
Graham is responsible for managing and developing Amundi Ireland’s relationships with both its institutional and intermediary client base. Before joining Amundi, Graham was Head of Broker Investment Sales with Irish Life for over thirteen years and Head of Distribution for State Street Global Advisors where he was responsible for developing both companies Irish retail business’s. Graham holds a Commerce degree from University College Dublin and a Master in Business Studies from the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. He is also the current chair of the Distribution Committee for the Irish Association of Investment Managers and previous chair of the associations Responsible Investing Committee.
Chris McCann, Senior Consultant, ESG & Sustainable Procurement, Turner & Townsend
Chris has over 20 years in senior sustainability roles with Fortune 500’s including Wal-Mart, Philip Morris, Burberry, and BSI. His areas of expertise includes responsible sourcing, circular economy and risk across Latin America, EMEA and Asia, in industries that include Retail, Finance, Agriculture, and Construction. Chris is past Commissioner for Ethics and Sustainable Development at the Royal Institute of British Architects, founder member of the UK Construction Industry Coalition on Responsible Sourcing, and formally recognised as one of the UK’s Top 100 Influencers addressing modern slavery.
Chris has been instrumental in shaping the development of global sustainability initiatives including the Paris-based Global Social Compliance Programme and the United Nations FAO World Banana Forum. His UK governmental appointments have included Board member of DEFRA’s Gangmasters Licencing Authority, Ministry of Justice Human Rights Committee, and the Equality & Human Rights Commission on Business & Human Rights. Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Nuffield Scholar.
Michael O’Shea, Founder & CEO
Experienced serial FinTech entrepreneur with a proven track record in helping SMEs (especially Financial Firms) organise, manage, and communicate successfully with their suppliers for greater returns across financial and non-financial targets. With a focus on finding strategic digital sales, purchasing and management solutions and product tools that deliver clear results across business teams and balance sheets.
A technology expert with over 30 years’ experience in building, managing, and running high-achieving Tech businesses across Ireland, UK, and USA. With a passion for building cutting-edge user-friendly platforms and tools, that support business and their shareholders achieve their vision of success. Alongside financial and technical achievements, building long term sustainable relationships that last a lifetime not a project plan.
John Curran is Managing Director at Blue Planet Consulting
John has spent more than 20 years as a senior leader and non-executive director in the Sustainability & ESG space. John brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the development and implementation of large strategic sustainability projects across numerous sectors and was previously Head of Sustainability at Musgrave Group. John supports clients with the development of sustainability & ESG policy and strategy as well as with the implementation of plans and targets to deliver business excellence by embedding best practice into management processes. John provides guidance on the measurement and reporting of performance as well as across a broad range of sustainability, commercial risk and technical matters.
Brian O’Kennedy, CEO, Clearstream Solutions
Clearstream is a leading independent carbon management and corporate sustainability consultancy which he founded in 2009. Brian has over 20 years’ leadership experience in global supply chain management and procurement, particularly in the areas of IT, Media, Print and Packaging. Brian has served as Chair of the CDP Ireland Network, the global carbon reporting program, and is also a member of Steering Committee of the global Responsible Sourcing standard, Verego SRS. He has a degree in Economics from Trinity College, a Certificate in Sustainable Management from BSI Group and is currently studying the Circular Economy at TU Delft.
Paul Murphy, Director, Climeaction
In 2021 Paul joined Leading Edge Group to establish their company Climeaction, a whole operations decarbonisation solution for business. An energy and process engineer by education, Paul has previously held senior positions in global consulting organisations and is a non executive Director of Renewable Gas Forum Ireland (RGFI). Paul has extensive global experience in industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation of manufacturing organisations, being a key advisor to some of the worlds largest companies across 5 continents in the Food & Dairy, Beverages, Manufacturing and Life Science sectors. Paul has a passion for supporting SME business decarbonisation. When they say “Climate Action Solutions for All” they mean it. Paul and his team work with companies of all scales, providing the same level of service and expertise regardless of size and have worked with over 250 companies in the past 12 months on climate action. Their mission is to enable true decarbonisation of business and this requires solutions at all levels of the supply chain and across all business functions.
Deirdre Timmons, Sustainable Finance Director, PwC Ireland
Deirdre is a Sustainable Finance Director at PwC Ireland, helping clients drive their sustainability agenda. In particular, she helps clients understand how their sustainability strategy and reporting impacts their ability to access capital and financial services. And in her work with capital providers, she helps organisations deploy capital in a sustainable way. She has extensive experience in financial services, coupled with a strong focus on ESG and sustainability. Prior to joining PwC, Deirdre worked in a variety of senior roles in Bank of Ireland, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) and AXA Insurance. She holds a Masters in Sustainable Energy Finance and a Masters in Investment and Treasury.
Tom Shipsey, C.Dir., CEO, Stonehouse Marketing Ltd and Chairman, Repak
Tom holds a B.Ag. Sci (UCD 1883) and an M. Sc in Executive Leadership (University of Ulster 2006). Tom is CEO of Stonehouse Marketing Ltd., a wholly Irish independent retail food and catering cash & carry group with a turnover of over €500m and a network of 27 depots nationwide.
Tom has been a member of several Boards including Aontas (an alliance between Stonehouse and Superquinn), IADT and Concern Worldwide where he served as both Company Secretary and Chair. Currently he chairs the Board of Repak, an environmental not-for-profit organisation, with a social mission of leading the recycling and sustainability of Ireland’s packaging waste, being an advocate for a new circular economy and educating businesses and consumers on reducing and recycling packaging waste.
Tom also sits on the Board of Kelsius, a small Irish company that provides wireless temperature monitoring and digital HACCP management systems for the retail, food service and healthcare industries.
Tom has a huge interest in governance and sustainability looking at how boards incorporate good (or great) governance into the activities of the board and company while protecting the planet. He became Ireland’s first Chartered Director in 2001 and has done a number of further studies on sustainability and business.
Aisling Curtis, Director of Strategy and Sustainability, Microsoft
As Director of Strategy and Sustainability, Aisling works our Cross Site teams, with the Microsoft Technology Centre (MTC) and our partner ecosystem to shape the strategy and bring to life the solutions to help our customers on their sustainability journey.
Aisling joined Microsoft in January 2016 as Commercial Director, having worked for 15 years in telecommunications. She has held several senior in-market and global commercial and technical roles leading business and consumer teams in start-up and turnaround environments. Aisling’s passion is to create value for customers and develop an engaging results-driven environment for her team.
She also held Non-Executive Director roles in the UK, South Africa and the Netherlands. She sits on the National Maternity Hospital Board and on the IMI Council, the 30% Club Women in Technology Steering, the CWIT Steering Group and is a Member of the Institute of Directors
Aisling holds a Master’s in Business Economics from University College Cork. She’s currently, studying sustainability leadership with Cambridge University and in her personal time, she loves spending time with her husband and daughter, travelling and horse riding.
Caoimhe Donnelly, Chief Sustainability Officer, CIÉ Group
Caoimhe joined CIÉ Group in 2020 and is responsible for the development and delivery of the group sustainability strategy. With a focus on driving innovation to meet net zero, she is a member of Hydrogen Mobility Ireland, delivering a trial of the first hydrogen bus in service in Ireland. She represents CIÉ Group in the Galway Hydrogen Hub consortium, working to develop Ireland’s first hydrogen valley. Caoimhe oversees the group’s sustainability reporting and accountability requirements. She has over 20 years’ experience in competition, regulation and strategy development. Prior to joining CIÉ, Caoimhe had a range of roles in regulatory strategy in the communications markets and in sustainable development. She is the Chairperson of Global Action Plan Ireland, a not-for-profit organisation driving sustainability behavioural change.
Aidan O’Mahony, Head of ESG Advisory, Goodbody
Aidan has recently taken up a new role in Goodbody Stockbrokers as Head of ESG Advisory, where he is responsible for advising the corporate client base on all aspects of ESG strategy, planning and reporting. He has a particular focus on helping clients to access sustainable finance, given his extensive experience in ESG Debt Capital Markets and Sustainability Linked Lending. In his previous role as Head of ESG Markets in AIB Group plc, Aidan managed €3.5bn of ESG issuance. He was also responsible for the construction of AIBs ESG debt programmes (Green and Social). AIBs social bond framework and issuance remain the only social bond debt programmes and issuance in the Irish corporate landscape. Aidan also has experience in SLBs, Transitionary Bonds and Sustainable Equity Funds.
Dr. Celine McInerney, independent non-executive director, climate finance, sustainability and ESG expert
Following an undergraduate finance degree from Dublin City University and masters from Trinity College Dublin, Celine spent her early career as an investment banker specialising in mergers and acquisitions in London and New York with Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers. On returning to Ireland in the early 2000’s, her focus moved to renewable energy investment with SWS Energy and then Merrion Capital where she was a founding partner of the Cork office. In 2010, she took up a role in University College Cork lecturing in finance and completing her PhD in energy finance. She ran a successful research group focused on renewables investment funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the European Commission. She has published widely and is a regular speaker at conferences both in Ireland and UK. Celine completed the IoD Director diploma with distinction in 2020. She sits on the board of University College Cork’s campus accommodation company since 2018. She chaired the board of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service in Cork and Kerry from 2018-2021 and was a director and chair of the Audit, Finance and Risk committee of Cork charity Deaf Enterprises from 2015 to 2018. She is owner director of family businesses in the energy sector.
Susie Crawford, Sustainability Manager , Cairn Homes
Susie Crawford is the Sustainability Manager at Cairn Homes. Susie is an experienced sustainability professional with a background in economics having previously worked as an economist both at Cairn Homes and AECOM. She holds and MSc in Economic and Environmental Modelling from NUIG.
Spiro Comitis, Co-Lead, the Havas Genus Sustainability Network, UK
Spiro advises businesses on the opportunities hidden in the drive to Net Zero by embedding sustainability into an organisation’s strategy and by designing new operating models to drive their transformation and engagement across the entire value chain. The Havas Genus Sustainability Network combines consulting and creativity to deliver lasting sustainability transformations through business consulting, the strategic communications with investors, regulators and policy makers and the creative communications that shift consumer behaviour.