Martin D. Shanahan – IDA Ireland, CEO
Martin D. Shanahan is CEO of IDA Ireland. IDA (Industrial Development Agency) is Ireland’s inward investment promotion agency responsible for the attraction and development of foreign investment in Ireland. Martin took up this position on the 1st September 2014.
Prior to this, Martin was Chief Executive since 2010 of Forfás – Ireland’s policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation. Martin worked in a number of senior executive roles in Forfás since joining the agency in 2005. Martin has been to the forefront of the development of enterprise and innovation policy in Ireland including leading, at official level, the development of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs between 2011 and 2014. Martin has represented Ireland at EU and International fora.
Before joining Forfás, Martin worked in Fáilte Ireland (the National Tourism Development Authority) responsible for the professional development of the tourism sector. Earlier in his career Martin held a number of senior management positions in the private sector in tourism and hospitality.
Martin holds an M.Res (Educational Research) from Lancaster University, a M.Sc. and H.Dip from Dublin Institute of Technology and a B.Sc (Mgmt) from Trinity College Dublin. He has undertaken executive education in economics at Oxford University and at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard.
Martin is a board member of IDA Ireland and previously has been a board member of Forfás and the Management Advisory Committee of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation. Martin is a member of Ireland’s National Competitiveness Council. He has previously been a member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, and Ireland’s Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. Martin is a member of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Irish Hospitality Institute.
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Brian Quinn – Intel Labs Europe, Director of European Innovation
Brian is Director of European Innovation at Intel Labs Europe. In this role Brian oversees an innovation strategy that incorporates engagement with a broad European ecosystem, from academia to startups, industry fellow travelers to government. He works across an extensive technology agenda with a particular focus on Internet of Things (IOT) and Cloud Computing. Brian’s teams are based in Ireland, Germany and Turkey.
This innovation strategy includes leading Intel’s collaborative research strategy and agenda in Europe, and his team, for example, has driven Intel to be a leading player in FP7 and Horizon 2020 (European Commission Research Programmes). Brian has lead bi-lateral industry collaborative programmes with companies such as Nokia, SAP and BT, he has driven the concept and operation of Intel’s pan EMEA IoT Ignition labs, and has lead for Intel in its inaugural EMEA start-up accelerator programme ChallengeUP.
At a technical level Brian has participated on a number of research advisory groups for the European Commission, is has been member of the Faste Lab Advisory Board (University of Lulea, Sweden), member of Croke Park Stadium / GAA technology advisory board and has acted as a formal FP7 reviewer.
Brian graduated from Dublin City University, Ireland with an honours degree in Computer Science, Brian also hold post-graduate Diplomas in Accounting and Finance from ACCA, and in Innovation Management from the National University of Ireland.
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Maria Archer – Ericsson, IOTaas Global Business Lead
Maria has worked with a range of companies from blue chip to start-ups. Maria has specialized in growth and innovation in telecoms, media and communications, with a focus on increasing both revenue and shareholder value. She has led and delivered diverse projects in the cyber-physical world such as big data, e-commerce, media, cyber security, IOT and connected devices. She is an international executive having worked and lived in the UK, France, Middle East, Russia and the US. Maria is passionate about the opportunities of the networked society brings and enabling this through building ecosystems.
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Andrew Watson – Object Management Group, Vice President & Technical Director
Andrew has overall responsibility for OMG’s specification creation process, and also chairs the Architecture Board, the group of distinguished technical contributors from OMG member organisations that oversees the technical consistency of OMG’s work.
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Adrian Long – Johnson & Johnson Smart Factory, Enterprise Solution Architect
Adrian has extensive experience designing and deploying manufacturing and supply chain solutions across large multinational within pharmaceutical/biotech, process and FMCG industries. He is now part of the new software solution centre for Johnson & Johnson in UL, developing Enterprise SAP solutions using AGILE lean methodologies. His background is manufacturing/SCM and IT/Process Engineering. He also leads J & J’s innovation group exploring how new technologies can be used to improve business operations.
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Niall Moran – Microsoft, Technical Evangelist
Niall is a technical evangelist at Microsoft where he works with software companies advising them on how best to architect their solutions for the Microsoft stack. His areas of expertise are Cloud and IoT.
As part of his role he works with CTOs and CEOs of tech companies, both established and startup, that are looking to use the Microsoft platform (Azure Cloud, Windows 10, Office 365, IoT suite) to scale their business. He helps with technical architecture as well as identifying co-market and co-sell channels to support growing their business
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John McCurdy – Keenan Systems, Innovation Director
John graduated from the University of Limerick in 1992 and has since worked in the engineering and pharmaceutical industries before joining Keenan in 2005.
John led the team which developed the Keenan InTouch IoT solution which connects thousands of machines around the world to the Keenan team of nutritionists whose key focus is delivering improved performance to Keenan Farmers and throughout the supply chain by using its precision feeding platform. John continues to develop new technologies and integrate Keenans technology with other companies in order ensure the value of data is maximized and turned into actionable information delivering reliable outcomes.
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Gareth Hanley – Hanley Automation, Managing Director
Gareth has been Managing Director at Hanley Automation for over 15 years. Hanley Automation is a leading provider of automation technology to advanced manufacturing. He is passionate about developing the ecosystems of SMEs in Ireland providing specialist automation & IT integration services to global manufacturers.
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Jeanne Kelly – Mason Hayes Curran, Partner
Jeanne is a Partner in our Commercial Team and is a member of the firm’s Technology, Media and Communications team. She advises both public and private clients in relation to technology law (particularly data protection law), intellectual property and general commercial contract law.
Jeanne acts for a number of international corporates who operate in Ireland and is a key member of the Mason Hayes Curran’s inward investment team. She is a leading adviser on legal issues in computer gaming. She has extensive experience in the Universities sector and advises many leading Irish universities on technology transfer issues. Jeanne also acts for a number of innovative Irish technology companies on their expansions abroad and is active in Dublin’s start-up community.
Jeanne studied law at University College Dublin and at the Université de Haute Normandie, Rouen, France.
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Domhnall Carroll – Siemens Ltd., Division Lead, Digital Factory Division
Domhnall leads the Industrial business in Ireland at Siemens, a leading global supplier of manufacturing automation equipment, software and services. In addition to the local business of Siemens Ltd., Domhnall is currently focussed on the global development of data driven services in support of Industry 4.0 and the factory of the future. Based in the Siemens Operations Centre in Dublin, this work is part of Siemens’ R&D activities in industrial data analytics.
Domhnall joined Siemens in 2003, prior to this having held roles in engineering, sales and marketing in the electrical industry.
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Michael Darcy – Hal Software, CEO
For the past three years Michael has been CEO of Hal Software. An Irish start-up company, Hal Software’s “Spike Prototype” product enables customers design how they would like their Industrial Control and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to work, and how they would interact with other systems, including those of third parties (e.g. suppliers), using a standards based, non-proprietary framework. Previous to Hal Software, Michael held senior financial and commercial roles in several technology companies, including Cable & Wireless and The Now Factory. Michael has a BComm., an MSc. (Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Process Control) and is a Chartered Accountant.”
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Mike Wilson – ABB Robotics UK & Ireland, General Industry Sales Manager
Mike Wilson has over 30 years of experience in the application of automation to manufacturing across a broad range of industry sectors throughout Europe, Asia and America. Previously he has worked for both users and suppliers of automation and also as an independent consultant providing automation expertise to industry and training via Warwick Manufacturing Group. He is widely recognised as one of the leading authorities on the application of industrial robot systems in the UK.
Mike is General Industry Sales Manager for ABB Robotics UK & Ireland. In addition, he is Chairman of the British Automation and Robot Association, Director of the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, Board member of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance, serves on the Technical Advisory Board for the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Intelligent Automation and has been invited to join the Advisory Board of the Midlands Robotics Network. He has previously been Chairman of the International Federation of Robotics from 2000 to 2003.
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Joe McGill – Rockwell Automation, Commercial Engineer
Joe McGill is Technical Consultant with Rockwell Automation focused on Industrial Automation, with 20 years experience in Manufacturing and Automation Systems across many industry segments. I work with customers to help understand and solve their business challenges. I specialize in bridging the IT/OT gap.
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Jonathan Downey – Schivo, Strategic Projects Manager
Jonathan is responsible for management and implementation of projects which are of strategic importance to the Schivo group, including the implementation of new processes and introduction of new products. He also manages the groups research and development activities and has led the development of the groups own product line. Jonathan led the implementation of the group’s additive manufacturing (3D printing) capabilities, in both metal and plastic, and the company continues to embed this technology into a normal production environment using traditional manufacturing methodologies to compliment the additive processes.