Workforce Excellence Conference

Sacha started her career in Learning & Development over thirteen years ago when she became the global L&D lead for Shell’s Commercial Academy, a part of the organisation that looks after deals worth upwards of $500 million.

Eight years ago she moved to Ireland to set up the EMEA and LATAM sales enablement teams for LinkedIn and currently she’s Senior Director Learning and Development for Oracle Sales and Partner Academy.

In that role she leads a team of facilitators and Performance Partners who look after the enablement of all sales and sales related roles in EMEA and ECEMEA, from on boarding, followed by continuous learning, through to leadership development.

Outside of her role, Sacha is a public speaker on resilience and mindset, based on her own experience of becoming paralysed after a surgery gone wrong and subsequently regaining her independence and returning to work, four years ago.

Pragya is a Senior Analyst in the People and Organization Practice area, based in London. She works on Organisation Design and Digital Support Function projects and takes a keen interest in looking at the changes in the workplace, workforce and the nature of work with the next wave of disruptive technologies. Pragya is also a Professional SCRUM Master. Prior to joining BCG, Pragya worked as a Human Resource Management Consultant, working on organisation transformation, change management and leadership development projects.

Jonathan is a senior Project Manager for HR Experience and Engagements with a passion to enable people through recognition and digital services by utilizing employee feedback. He has a proven track record of managing global projects with 100,000 employees in scope.

Piotr joined B.Braun in 2008 after completing a Master of Engineering from AGH University of Science & Technology. Piotr has extensive experience in various positions within the Manufacturing Industry. Most recently he is responsible for executing tasks which are connected to upgrading Operational Excellence. Piotr initiated the Lean & Continuous Improvement Culture in B.Braun through the implementation of Lean Plus business process improvement programme which resulted in the completion of 8 Green belt projects. He has a completed a NFQ Level 9 Module in Driving OpEx Through LEAN Leadership & a Specialist Diploma in Quality Management Lean System – Black Belt Level, from the University of Limerick.

Penny joined CRH in 1998, after working as a Financial Controller for L’Oreal. In 2018 Penny was made Head of Procurement Performance Management & Reporting. Penny has extensive experience working in the Building Materials Industry. She specialises in Senior Executive Reporting, Global System Implementation, Internal Controls, Talent Management & Performance Management.

Richard Keegan is a specialist in the areas of Lean/World Class Business and Benchmarking. His concept of developing a three tier approach to company development has been adopted as a national approach to support the development of competitiveness in Irish industry, and is known as the Lean Business Offer. Over 1,100 company projects have been supported for Enterprise Ireland clients during his leadership. His approach has been adopted by the Industrial Development Authority, and an adapted version is currently being rolled out across the country for Micro companies. The approach is being adapted for roll-out to farm based businesses. An initial pilot has been successful in the Mushroom sector and a pilot is currently underway in the pig meat production sector, at farm level, working with Bord Bia and Teagasc, the National development Agencies for food marketing and techncial farm development.
He is asked to advise major companies in Europe. Through this work he has access to developing best practice thinking and provides insights and support to some significant companies, especially in Germany, Austria and Italy.
He is an Adjunct Associate Professor, in the Business School at Trinity College Dublin and is a visiting associate professor at the University of Northern Iowa, and a guest lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin.
Working with Toyota he has led over 80 best practice missions, for over 2,000 managers to the Deeside engine plant, as well as leading a mission by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Prime Minister of Ireland to Toyota Motomachi, Japan.
He acts as the advisor to the World Class Activities of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Co-Operation, a role he has held for nearly 20 years.
He writes on the subject of business improvement, typically around the areas of World Class Business, Lean and Benchmarking. His most recent E-Book, the Five Rings of Lean Business Excellence is now published and has been translated and publiushed in Germany.
He has worked previously for DAF Trucks, Nokia, Nestle and the ESB.
He likes to ride motorcycles, long distances.

Matthew joined Gattaca in January 2001 and has since seen it grow from a 50-person business into a global AIM-listed group with over 800 employees. Matthew is on the Gattaca board of management as well as being an advisory board member to Southampton Electronics & Computer System faculty & on eth CBI Council for the South East. Matthew attended Harvard Business School & The University of Portsmouth.

As the Digitalisation Lead for Siemens in Ireland, Joan Mulvihill continues to be at the forefront of driving technology adoption in Ireland.

Having held the position of CEO of the Irish Internet Association for 7 years, followed by 2 years as the Centre Director for the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce, her role at Siemens builds on Siemens’ and her deep commitment to and understanding of the needs of Irish business for their digital transformation.

Grant Downie is one of the most experienced figures in UK football performance, having worked in the industry for more than 30 years. He started his career in the NHS, before moving into football in 1987. He spent time as Head of Medical for Glasgow Rangers & Middlesbrough before joining Manchester City in 2011. In 2012 he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for his services to physiotherapy & young people. He now works as a mentor & consultant for clients including City Football Group, the Premiere League & SFA.

Neil Seligman is the Founder of The Conscious Professional and a pioneer of the Mindfulness and Conscious Leadership movement. He believes firmly in the possibility of bringing conscious solutions to the challenges of our world by inspiring leaders to adopt conscious models and supporting them as they future-proof their business and cultivate conscious cultures.
Neil is the author of two books: Conscious Leadership and 100 Mindfulness Meditations.

Lesley is amongst the UL’s early pioneers in the field of digital education and learning. She has designed and produced ground breaking interactive multimedia learning solutions for large public & private sector organisations. She was among the first to see the potential of VR and simulation technologies in teaching & learning. She has worked extensively as a Digital Technology Consultant & Strategist in Further & Higher Education & Corporate Learning & Development. Lesley’s work has been published in international academic journals & is recognised as the author of the definitive tome on Knowledge Management.

Sarah has over 13 years of experience in the Technology space, starting out as a graduate in one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. She joined eShopWorld in 2018 with the task of creating their very first Talent Development function for their then 120 employees. Today she is responsible for all digital learning from the eShopWorld Academy as well as development within Management and Leadership globally for 360 people.

Jo has been a volunteer with the Engage for Success movement since its launch. As Strategy Director she sits on the Core Team and co-hosts the weekly Engage for Success radio show.

EFS radio draws guests from across the engagement world with interesting stories to share. The Engage for Success agenda is absolutely aligned with Jo’s vision ‘to make workplaces better places to be’.

Jo’s ‘day job’ is MD and founder of Woodreed, a specialist ad agency who use the tools, techniques, creativity and insight of the advertising world to engage employees inside organisations.

I believe true leadership is elevating others.
I’m a Senior Human Resources Manager and an Executive & Life Coach with over 15 years’ private, public, multinational and HR consultancy experience.
I’m very passionate about the value of Human Resources within organisations to shape a high performing and inclusive work environment.

Kelly is the founder of HR Star and has over 15 years’ experience in the HR world having worked for leading local companies including Renishaw, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Lloyds TSB (formally C&G). Kelly is a proactive HR professional and firmly believes that HR should be fun, engaging and provide a healthy environment for all to flourish.

Helen is the Founder of Unique & Inclusive Wellbeing, an experienced provider of training and consultancy in leadership, team building, and employee engagement, with the primary objective of improving the health and the wellbeing of the workplace. Helen combines her lived experience of mental ill health, alongside her many years in leadership positions and training in psychology and counselling, which gives her a unique perspective in leadership, teams and creating cultures where employees thrive.

Talent is the greatest business challenge of the 21st century. As a partner at The Starr Conspiracy, Steve works with great companies that are creating innovative talent solutions to meet these challenges. We know more about buyers of HR, talent, and learning technologies. We deliver growth-oriented strategy, research, and advisory services, providing the guidance and key insights so our clients can grow market share and increase profitability.

As a former Human Resources professional, Ben supports talented and ambitious HR-related consultancies and businesses around the world as they help employers to create thriving businesses where people love to work.

For the past 23 years Chris has built up a very successful Training business & is a much sought-after speaker in Ireland and the UK. Chris is currently a director of The International Federation of Training & Development Organisations & represents Europe on the board. His approach to training & skills development reflects his considerable experience in working with a large range of public & private sector clients. His real-life experiences coupled with his thorough knowledge of the subject matter ensures all learners will gain an abundance of skills that will transfer to the workplace.

Katrin’s started KiKa Training Limited in 2018 to support decentralised organisations. Many of the organisations she had worked with in the past struggled with low productivity, adaptability & profitability. She made it her mission to help organisations & their teams do their best work, grow together and become the best versions of themselves as people and as a company. She is also co-organiser of global grassroots movement – Reinventing Work – with the mission to learn & practice more human centered ways of working.

Caroline is renowned for leading complex People Programmes with exceptional results across the UK, EMEA & USA. Caroline has spent nearly 20 years in HR and working in a range of industries from retail & logistics to telecommunications. In 2017 Caroline founded her own successful business InTER HR Ltd with the aim to take a fresh approach to HR and work with companies to meet their own specific needs and requirements, finding a solution to all problems and providing companies with their HR demands when they need it. Caroline will be launching her new company ‘The People Zone’ in January 2021.

Alan is an experienced Technical & Development Manager with over 16 years’ experience working in companies such as GSK, Onyx Scientific & most recently since 2013 CalaChem Ltd. In 2011 Alan was awarded his PhD in Chemistry from Heriot-Watt University & in 2019 he received his Six Sigma Master Black Belt qualification from The Institute of Six Sigma Professionals.

Nick has a strong business background gained in UK Blue Chip organisations while managing high performing teams of up tp 200 people, Nick has an in-depth knowledge of the principles of mutual respect, trust, passion, belief, leadership and communication. Nick has been a judge at the UK Customer Service Training Awards for a number of years, and at the Global WOW! Awards in London since 2015. He works closely with The WOW! Awards, helping to deliver improved employee advocacy.

With several decades of experience as a research scientist, educationalist, broadcaster, writer and motivational speaker, Ann now works as a management trainer and psychotherapist.

She uses her extensive life and work experiences to create an intimate and energised atmosphere as she shares information, research and opinions all wrapped up with humour and knowledge. She engages her audiences with interactive questions and opinion polls, creating unique insights into her chosen topics.

Ed is responsible for Culture & Change within Serco’s Justice & Immigration business, as well as being the Global Chair of the group’s LBGT+ network. His background is in leading & managing complex transformation & performance improvement programmes. Ed operates in a specialist role, combining Business Improvement & Operational Excellence with the creation of diverse & inclusive working structures & operational environments.

Dan leads the strategic services functions at Content + Cloud and drives business value through technology for his clients. Before joining Content + Cloud Dan gained significant experience across multiple industries as a consultant and through in-house toles of IT strategy, IT management, technology architecture, ERP & business systems. Dan has a strong understanding of empowerment of business process through technology and the value and issues that can result.

Brigid founded AllTalk Training in 2017 originally offering business English training to global companies based in Germany, France, the UK & Ireland. Brigid quickly identified a critical need among AllTalk Training’s clients and the wider international business community for more efficient and targeted solutions to their communication issues when dealing with international business exchanges. This is when she got the idea to develop cross-cultural communication training specifically for leaders, managers & team members who are native English speakers.

I am a company director, but also a poet.
I am a teacher of the science of positive mental wellbeing, but also a researcher on family heritage and what we can learn from this.
I don’t fit the stereotypes of what “a career” should be but in reality I don’t think anyone does. We all have far more interests and areas of expertise way beyond our job title. I just happen to do it all in public.

Carol has over 25 years coaching and leadership experience. She has an MSc in Coaching Psychology from the University of East London. In 2015 she was named one of Britain’s Top 50 Business Adviser in 2015; in 2018 she won a We Are The City, Rising Star Champion award for her work helping women to progress as leaders; and in 2017, 2018 and 2019 she was named a LinkedIn Top Voice UK. Carol’s book Quietly Visible: Leading with Influence and Impact as an Introverted Woman was listed as one of the 10 best self-development books written by women to read during lockdown.

Leila is a published author, speaker, mentor & coach who delivers training & workshops on Mental Health & Wellbeing, Womens Empowerment & Overcoming Adversity. She combines her skills and experience to help others activate and awaken their true potential and personal transformation. Leila has shared the stage with Tony Robbins & spoken in front of over 2000 people at the National Achievers Congress in London. In 2016 she was awarded “Outstanding Woman in Business, in Scotland”.

Ramesh has extensive expertise in Digital Transformation backed by early two decades of experience in the Techology industry. Before co-founding Cevitr in 2018, Ramesh worked in various leadership capacities in Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services & Harman International having organically grown business portfolios that he was responsible for. Ramesh is known for driving strategic transformation deals across the UK, Europe & Asia Pacific.

Anne is a researcher at The School of Engineering, Technology & Design at Christ Church University Canterbury. Her research is in Mobile Learning Technology she is currently researching developing pedagogy to improve users learning experience.

Robert has worked in the learning and skills arena for almost 2 decades and has delivered a range of workforce planning and research projects spanning both spatial and sectoral boundaries. Rob has experience in helping more than 50 employers with a total of 8,500 employees with their workforce planning activities including developing recruitment & training services.

Neil has over 20 years management experience in the multinational sector & a MSc in Training & Education from Griffith College Dublin. He now offers practical experience for organisations and teams who seek innovative approaches to training & development using the skills of improvisation. Neil delivers training and coaching solutions in areas such as Team Building & Development< Authentic Speaking & Presentation, Executive Presence & Communication.

Janet is an award-winning sales trainer & author. She has worked in a variety of sales roles and developed expertise within the pharmaceutical, training, government & software sectors. Janet founded Tadpole Training in 2012. Her wide knowledge & experience lets her relate to the challenges faces by small business owners & provide them with the solutions they need to overcome sales challenges. Janet is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management and an accredited member of the Association of Professional Coaches, Trainers & Consultants.

Founder of Symposium Learning, I’m a freelance trainer and adult educator with 20-years experience in People Management.
I assist organisations in the creation of effective and harmonious work environments providing support to middle & senior management.
I specialise in supporting fast paced organisations where team motivation is crucial to the delivery of services and products.

Josefin’s educational background is in Business Management, Administration and Operations having received a First Class Honours from IT Carlow. She is currently completing her MSc in Ethics & CSR in DCU. Josefin has 13 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry working starting with Allergan followed my Merck Group and in 2017 joining Bausch Health Companies as Supply Chain Specialist.

Alison has been advising recruitment businesses for more than 10 years. She has over 30 years’ experience in the recruitment sector working as Managing Director, Director of Sales, Operations & Training for some of the most successful businesses in the industry. Alison founded Recruitment Leadership Ltd in 2013 and has been providing strategic consultancy, coaching & training services to many clients across the UK. Alison has been awarded Honorary Fellowship of the IRP for services to the recruitment industry.

Precious is an experienced Chartered Surveyor and Partner at Queensbury Consulting. Prior to that she held the role of Commercial Director for Wood, a global engineering and infrastructure services organisation.

Precious is a strategist by nature and has strong business acumen and a passion for deciphering issues and providing strategic solutions which allows her to understand the detail, whilst being able to also lead strategically and offer effective advice and recommendations . She is able to articulate these to stakeholders at all levels, including SLT’s and governance boards.

Precious is an advocate of Equality Diversity & Inclusion and as such has a passion for empowering and engaging with Leaders and future leaders. She admires and encourages other women in business and has a keen interest in raising the profile of STEM careers. She is also a trustee and Co-Founder of Engage2Action CIC whose mission is to raise aspirations of young people to equip them with employability skills.

Adrian is an experienced Trainer, Quality Analyst & Business Coach with a BA from Dartmouth College. Adrian founded Mindgrasp in 2016 to support leading professionals craft the skills they require to excel in business. He is known for designing & delivery customised in-house trainings on sales, leadership, company values, communications as well as personal & professional growth.

Paola has long standing experience in supporting high growth businesses & ambitious entrepreneurs to realise their potential by expanding internationally & accessing funding. Throughout her career she has worked with investors, corporates & governments to create opportunities for growth & expansion. In her current role at the London Stock Exchange Group, Paola supports entrepreneurs & some of the UK’s fastest growing businesses to scale. Previously Paula designed, set up & ran Sirius, a programme of the UK government to help international graduates set up & grow their business in the UK.

Jason is an experienced Executive Director with over 20 years in strategic executive & operational posts, which includes within Higher Education, Corporate Business & SME’s. During this time Jason has supported Corporare, Educational & 3rd Sector Boards, providing governance & strategic support. Throughout his career Jason has had vast experience in developing & delivering strategies from the ground up with his remit involving having responsibility over HR – Talent, Learning, Organisational Development, Professional Development & Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.

Dermot is an experienced Behaviuor Support Specialist working in the Mental Health & Intellectual Disability care industry. Dermot specialises in Positive Behaviour Support, Mindfulness, Coaching, Clinical Supervision, Life Transitions & Suicide Prevention. Dermot has an extensive educational background having attended University of Central Lancashire, Carlow Institute of Technology, Dublin Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin & holding a MA in Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapy from University College Cork.

Kevin is the founder of Williams Kent, a human first HR recruitment firm that puts talent & culture at the forefront of everything they do. He is an experienced Recruitment Business Leader with a track record in Senior Appointments, Technology & HR Recruitment. Williams Kent are a value and service lead search firm who constantly aim to evolve and adapt to clients & candidate’s needs.

Mary is a Lean Black Belt Senior Manager with extensive leadership in public & privately –owned companies. She has a track record of mobilising teams to achieve outstanding results. Mary has achieved a Specialist Diploma in Lean – Black Belt Qualification & a Specialist Diploma in Six Sigma from the University of Limerick.

Darren Murray is Co – CEO of Health and Wellness International and Health and Fitness Ireland. Darren also lectures in the Waterford Institute of Technology on a part-time basis. His background is in Sports Science and he has obtained three master’s degrees in this realm. Darren’s main interests are in student healthcare and employee’s wellbeing. His previous employment consists of FAI development office, community employment supervisor and NCTC tutor.

Following a highly successful career with some of the UK’s largest companies & in the UK Parliament, Rosemary founded the Global PA Association & Training Academy in 2006. Rosemary has travelled the world extensively in the past 12 years delivering productive training programmes for many clients. Rosemary recognised the need for professional development for EA’s and PA’s while working as the Executive Assistant to Chairman of BT Christopher Bland. She established the BT PA network in 2003 to bring together this sector, to motivate & inspire them & offer professional development opportunities.

Claire is an experienced Campus Recruiter with Verizon Connect for the EMEA region with a demonstrated history of successfully building & managing intern, graduate & apprentice programs. Claire works to grow talent within Verizon while providing opportunities, challenges & support to students. Claire has a particular interest in Diversity & Inclusion. She has been recently appointed as Lead for the Disability Pride, Inclusion & Education Community at Verizon.

Richard is a Sales Consultant & Motivational Speaker who coaches & mentors family dealerships to increase their profits & build reputable sales & service teams within the automotive sector. In the past he has worked with dealer groups such as Palmers, Pentagon, London Electric Vehicle company and more. He joined the IMI, achieving the highest Level 4 Training Award in 2015, as well as being a fellow of the ISM.

Joe Is a Laughter Ambassador & Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher trained by Dr Madan Kataria, Founder of the Global Laughter Yoga Movement. His clients range from all industries some of them are Bank of Ireland, Lloyds, Dundee University, the NHS, Oxfam & even Glastonbury Festival. He founded the Joy Conference in Bristol in 2019 and is a 2 x TEDX Bristol Workshop leader. Joe’s background is in managing forest operations. In 1992 he was awarded one of the first “Centres of Excellence” award by the Forestry Authority for multi-objective management.

Judith is a successful Trainer, Coach & NPL Practitioner with a background in team management & training in corporate and entrepreneurial businesses.  In 2014 she founded Walk&Talk4Success with the aim to help female business owners thrive.  They are a dynamic community of woman in business who create a safe and honest environment to open up & get the support they need.

Dario is the EMEA Technical support Manager for Alfresco, an open source content management company. Dario uses his vast technical experience gained working across the industry and his leadership skills to ensure & deliver continuous success for both his clients & his team.

Dario is keen on personal and team growth by combining a hands-on approach with cybernetics people management. Dario is a catalyst to building trustworthy, reliable, and cross-collaborative teams delivering excellent, customer-first service while improving operational excellence.

Dario holds a number of industry – recognised certifications from Amazon and Microsoft as well as a Service Strategies Certified Support Manager certification in addition to his management diploma.

Founder with a demonstrated history of working in the mental health and finance industry. Skilled in Workplace/Career Counselling, Management and integrative Psychotherapy. Strong entrepreneurship professional with a Foundation Degree, PGCert, PGDip, focused in Integrative Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology and delivering successful mental wellbeing workshops for large companies such as eBay, Google, Thunes, InMotion powered by Jaguar Rover & many more.

Georgios has held executive positions in IBM, British Airways, ABN AMRO Bank and other multinationals. Georgios attends international conferences, networks with keynote speakers and brainstorms with consultants on a constant basis. After the global systemic collapse of 2008, Georgios also diverged as a serial entrepreneur building startup incubators and technology bootstraps to allow innovation and leadership among young technocrats. Georgios is a sought-after Strategy Advisor, Author, and Information Security Expert.

Lizzy is an Occupational Psychologist with a specilisation and passion in developing supportive and agile learning cultures & learning organisations. Lizzie has over 30 years’ experience in academic & applied psychology, research & practice. She has extensive experience working with private sector organisations, businesses, local government, public sector and all sectors in education, with experience working with SMEs, multinational companies, and FTSE 100 companies.

Jason is an experienced coordinator & team leader with a history of working in a variety of Not-for-Profit sector organisations. Jason works with the Salford Foundation to deliver a strong & coherent programme of activities to support schools across Greater Manchester. He aims to further career education offerings to schools and strengthen support to businesses by providing them with a free and robust infrastructure that enables employers & employees to volunteer safely in local schools.