Professor Martin Curley

Martin Curley is Professor of Innovation at Maynooth University. Most recently, Martin was Director of the Digital Transformation and Open Innovation at the Health Service Executive (HSE), helping enable the digital transformation of Ireland’s health service and also served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the HSE. Prior to joining the HSE Martin was Senior Vice President and group head for Global Digital Practice at Mastercard. Previously Martin was vice president at Intel Corporation and Director/GM of Intel Labs Europe, Intel’s network of more than 50 research labs which he helped grow across the European region. He also served as a senior principal engineer at Intel Labs Europe leading Intel’s research and innovation engagement with the European Commission and the broader European Union research ecosystem. Prior to this Curley was Global Director of IT Innovation and Director of IT Strategy and Technology at Intel. Earlier in his Intel career, he held a number of senior positions for Intel in the United States and Europe. He also worked in research and management positions at GE in Ireland and Philips in the Netherlands.

Martin has a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering and a master’s degree in business studies, both from University College Dublin, Ireland. He received his Ph.D. in information systems from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Curley is the author of eight books on technology management for value, innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, the British Computer Society and, the Irish Computer Society. Martin is co-founder of the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University, a unique industry-academia collaboration driving research and development of advanced IT and Digital maturity frameworks. He was previously a visiting scholar at MIT Sloan Centre for Information Systems Research and a visiting research fellow at the CERN Open Lab in Geneva. He was the inaugural winner of the Engineers Ireland Innovation engineer of the year in 2006 and was jointly awarded European Chief Technology Officer of the year for 2015-2016.

Professor Eeva Leinonen

Professor Eeva Leinonen joined Maynooth University as President in October 2021, after five years of service as Vice Chancellor and President at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.

Professor Leinonen was born and raised in Finland, where she completed her schooling. She and her two brothers were the first in their family to attend university. Her own experience has cemented her belief in the role of education as a social equaliser, with the power to transform for the better the lives of individuals, families and whole communities.

As part of her education in Finland Professor Leinonen spent a year as an exchange student in Michigan, USA, prior to entering university in England, where she studied linguistics and psychology. She obtained a BSc (Hons) in Linguistics and Psychology (First Class) from Aston University, UK; MPhil in Text Linguistics from Exeter University, UK: PhD in Clinical Linguistics from De Montfort University, UK; Docent (Higher Doctorate) from her hometown university, University of Oulu, Finland; and DSc (Honoris Causa) from Aston University, UK.

Professor Leinonen’s academic research focuses on pragmatic language processing deficits in children and young adults with autistic spectrum disorders. She collaborates with colleagues in Finland and Italy, including recent work on cross-cultural comparison of pragmatic development in typically developing children in these two cultural contexts. She also speaks and writes about higher education topics, including institutional leadership, curriculum and technology enhanced learning.

Professor Leinonen has extensive experience in higher education in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and internationally. Prior to joining Maynooth University, she spent over eight years in Australia, where she first held the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) at the University of Wollongong and then Vice Chancellor of Murdoch University.

Dr John Sheehan

John is deeply engaged in healthcare technology, with a focus on emerging innovations like cloud computing, AI, Augmented Reality, Robotics and Quantum Computing. His work revolves around bridging the clinical, digital, and industrial realms to advance technology policy.

John’s journey in Radiology commenced in 2005 when he embarked on fellowships in MRI (Body, Neuro & MSK) and Cardiovascular Imaging at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. His dedication led him to become the Chief of Cardiovascular Imaging at NorthShore University Health System by 2009.

Currently, John serves as a Consultant Radiologist at Blackrock Health (Hermitage & Blackrock Clinics) and Mobile Medical Diagnostics, specialising in Diagnostic to Interventional Radiology. His expertise shines in Cardiovascular, Hepatobiliary, Prostate, MSK, and Colonography, where he continues to set new standards.

John also holds the role of Clinical Director at Hermitage Clinic and Mobile Medical Diagnostics, while providing valuable advice to xWave Technologies. In this capacity, he brings his clinical insights to inform administrative decision-making.

As the Vice Chair of Ireland’s Digital Health Association, John plays a role in shaping Ireland’s Digital Health Strategy.

Known for his calm diligence and solution-focused approach, John balances his professional life with diverse hobbies like music, gardening, and photography.

Join John on his journey to drive healthcare technology and innovation for a brighter future.

Prof Mark Lawler

Prof Patrizia Paterlini

Emeritus Professor of Cell biology and Oncology, former Director at INSERM, Patrizia Paterlinit is Rarecells’ Founder and President. In addition to fundamental research studies on liver carcinogenesis early in her career, she focused on applied research. Her research led to the discovery and development of the patented ISET® technique for isolation and characterization of circulating tumor and fetal cells permitting innovative advances in non-invasive predictive oncology and prenatal diagnosis. Prof Paterlini oversees the continuing development of Rarecells and its ISET® technology. Her work was acknowledged by 13 prestigious awards and led to 120+ high level scientific publications.

Danny McCoy

Danny McCoy is Chief Executive Officer of Ibec, Ireland’s largest business representative organisation and one of the largest in Europe. He has been CEO since 2009, Ibec has doubled in size to be a €50 million turnover business, with 330 employees over ten locations and owning 39 trade brands.

He is a graduate in Commerce from the University of Galway and postgraduate in Economics from University College Dublin. He has held lecturing posts at University College London, University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University. He has been senior economist at the Central Bank of Ireland and the Economic & Social Research Institute as well as being a consultant to the European Commission in Brussels and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Danny is a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Honorary Doctorate in Economics from University of Galway, Honorary Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, Adjunct Professor Trinity College Dublin Business School and former President of the Statistical & Social Inquiry Society of Ireland and Independent Non Executive Director of Iput Real Estate.

He is currently the Employer Leader on the tripartite Labour Employer Economic Forum, Executive Committee of BusinessEurope, advisory committee of the Marine, Resource and Energy Institute (MaREI), member of both the State Investment and Trade Council and the Balance for Better Business group. Previously, he has been a member of the National Economic & Social Council, National Competitiveness Council, Commission on Taxation and the National Training Agency.

Dr NG Yeuk Fan

Dr Ng Yeuk Fan is a Senior Consultant Public Health Physician experienced in health systems and services planning and evaluation, healthcare corporate transformation, organization development and change management.

He is currently Director & Head of Corporate Development in Yishun Health, a member of the National Healthcare Group. As the Director, he is responsible for value based care & services planning, health system & services evaluation, insights & analytics, corporate planning, and organization development. Ongoing focus areas include the development and deployment of a Unified Care Model for the Yishun Zone Regional Health System in NHG, development of a health system and health services performance measurement framework, value-based transformation of lifelong care and episodic care services, development of person-centered needs assessment tools, implementation of needs-based population segmentation tool, development of population outcomes and financial risk prediction models, deployment of population health survey for the North of Singapore, development of a unified data model for population health systems, and development of organization development methods to accelerate health system transformation.

Dr Ng is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, as well as Adjunct Associate Professor in the Health Systems & Services Research Program in the Duke-NUS Medical School. He is also a physician faculty in the National Preventive Medicine Residency Programme in National University Health System, and a clinical teacher in the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

His academic interests include the application of systems thinking, design thinking and complexity thinking in health systems, value based care, integrated care, population health systems and health system transformation.

Dr Andy Phillips

A Welshman, Dr Andy Phillips comes to the HSE from his role as Acting CEO of Safer Care Victoria, Australia. He has worked in clinical, operational and strategic executive leadership roles in healthcare for the past 37 years. Andy maintains his clinical qualification as a consultant clinical scientist.

Since 2009, Andy has been leading large scale health system transformation in Wales, New Zealand and Australia, with a passion for integrating health and social care. Andy has practised co-creating health and relationship centred healthcare for over 20 years, with recent work leading kindness and compassion in healthcare. Andy will be taking up his role as Regional Executive Officer in HSE South West on 1 March 2024.

HSE South West will serve the people of Cork and Kerry.

Dr Mary Canning

Dr Canning was President of the Royal Irish Academy from 2020 to 2023, and a board member of the Higher Education Authority from 2007 to 2017. In 2009, she was appointed to the National Strategic Review of Higher Education in Ireland and in 2014, she was awarded a D.Litt (honoris causa) by the NUI.

As a former World Bank Lead Education Specialist based in Washington DC, she worked on education policy in a wide range of countries in Europe and Central Asia from 1992-2007. She has served on numerous OECD Higher Education Examiner teams in Europe and Latin America and holds a PhD in Literature from University College, Dublin.

Dr Diarmuid O’Shea

Dr Diarmuid O’Shea, MD FRCPI, is the President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). He is a Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine in St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. A graduate of University College Dublin. He completed his MD in Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He trained in General Internal and Geriatric Medicine in the RVI and Freeman Hospitals, Newcastle, United KingdomHe was the National Specialty Director for Geriatric Medicine, Clinical Lead for the National Clinical Programme for Older People with the HSE until 2019 and Chair of the Irish Committee on Higher Medical Training from 2017 to 2019. He has held a number of roles in the RCPI including the position of Vice-President of Education and Professional Development, Masterclass Series Convenor and Registrar from 2014 to 2021. He is a former President of The Irish Gerontological Society of Ireland. He was elected the 143rd President of the RCPI in 2023.

Dr. Siobhán Ní Bhriain

Dr. Siobhán Ní Bhriain is the HSE National Clinical Director for Integrated Care and leads the HSE National Clinical Programmes. She is a Consultant Psychiatrist for Older Persons Tallaght University Hospital/CHO 7 since 2006. She was appointed Clinical Director for the Tallaght and St. James’s Mental Health Services in 2012, finishing up in 2018. During that time, she also served as Chair of the TUH Medical Board for four years. She took up the post of NCAGL for Mental Health in January 2019 and moved to the role of National Clinical Director for Integrated Care, Clinical Design and Innovation in February 2020. The move coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and Siobhán led the development of the ‘HSE Operational Pathways of Care for Covid-19’ for the Chief Clinical Officer, as well as co-ordinating the development of clinical guidance across the National Clinical Programmes. Siobhán is a graduate of UCD and trained in Medicine and Psychiatry in the UK and Ireland. She worked as a Research Fellow in the Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing before completing her Higher Specialist Training in Old Age and General Adult Psychiatry. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, a Member of the Royal College of Physicians of
London, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the College of Psychiatry of Ireland and completed an MSc in Leadership in RCSI in 2019.

Professor Piero Formica

Professor Formica has published extensively on knowledge economics, entrepreneurship and innovation. Ideators: Their Words and Voices (2022),

One Health: Transformative Enterprises, Wellbeing and Education in the Knowledge Economy (2023), Sciencepreneurship: Science, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Economic Growth (2023), published by Emerald Publishing Group, and Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence: Exhibition at the Mind Gallery (2024, Edizioni Pendragon) are his most recent books.

For his contribution to modern innovation policy, he received the 2017 Innovation Luminary Award from the Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group under the aegis of the European Union and the 2023 Magister Peloritanus Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti of the University of Messina, Italy.

Dr John Sheehan

John is deeply engaged in healthcare technology, with a focus on emerging innovations like cloud computing, AI, Augmented Reality, Robotics and Quantum Computing. His work revolves around bridging the clinical, digital, and industrial realms to advance technology policy.

John’s journey in Radiology commenced in 2005 when he embarked on fellowships in MRI (Body, Neuro & MSK) and Cardiovascular Imaging at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. His dedication led him to become the Chief of Cardiovascular Imaging at NorthShore University Health System by 2009.

Currently, John serves as a Consultant Radiologist at Blackrock Health (Hermitage & Blackrock Clinics) and Mobile Medical Diagnostics, specialising in Diagnostic to Interventional Radiology. His expertise shines in Cardiovascular, Hepatobiliary, Prostate, MSK, and Colonography, where he continues to set new standards.

John also holds the role of Clinical Director at Hermitage Clinic and Mobile Medical Diagnostics, while providing valuable advice to xWave Technologies. In this capacity, he brings his clinical insights to inform administrative decision-making.

As the Vice Chair of Ireland’s Digital Health Association, John plays a role in shaping Ireland’s Digital Health Strategy.

Known for his calm diligence and solution-focused approach, John balances his professional life with diverse hobbies like music, gardening, and photography.

Join John on his journey to drive healthcare technology and innovation for a brighter future.

Professor Ciara Heavin

Ciara Heavin is a Professor in Business Information Systems at Cork University Business School, University College Cork, Ireland. Her research focuses on opportunities for using information systems (IS) in the global healthcare ecosystem and in digital transformation. As Co-Director of the Health Information Systems Research Centre (HIRSC), Ciara has directed funded research in the investigation, development, and implementation of innovative technology solutions in the health/healthcare domain. She has published articles in several top international IS journals and conference proceedings. She has co-authored three books with Daniel J. Power: Decision Support, Analytics, and Business Intelligence, Data-Based Decision Making and Digital Transformation and On Becoming Agile. She earned a PhD from University College Cork.

Aislinn Gannon

Richard Egan

Pete Boyd

Maxine Radcliffe

Miriam Roche

Miriam is responsible for leading on the procurement and implementation of the EHR Programme at the Mater Hospital. She is an experienced healthcare leader with a proven track record of successfully delivering complex projects, including St. James’s Hospital EPR and e-Prescribing implementation where she held roles such as Engagement & Delivery Lead and Interim CIO.

Miriam’s expertise lies in transformation project delivery, problem solving and managing diverse teams. Her strong clinical knowledge means that she understands the value proposition of digital projects for both patients and healthcare practitioners.

She is passionate about improving patient care through access to information and digital insights. Miriam holds an MSc. in Digital Health Transformation, a Professional Diploma in Creativity, Innovation and Leadership and a Diploma in Leadership in Quality and Safety

Susan Treacy

Bror Salmelin

Currently Bror Salmelin continues his work on modern innovation approaches as independent thought leader, but also as member of the board for Industry Commons Foundation, an actor and think-tank for value creation in industry and society by open innovation approaches.

He is former Advisor for Innovation Systems at the European Commission, Directorate General for Communications, Network, content, and Technology (DG CONNECT) where he was responsible for Open innovation and Modern innovation systems. He was actively contributing to innovation policies related to new instruments, entrepreneurship and SME. He was heading the units Integration in Manufacturing, Electronic Commerce and Collaborative Working Environments before becoming Advisor of the Directorate General of the European Commission.

He is also creator of the Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group (OISPG), an industry-led group advising on strategic priorities for open and service innovation which operated as think-tank for the digital transformations. He, together with Martin Curley created the concept of Open Innovation 2.0, and organised several top level conferences including Innovation Luminary Award ceremonies for the leading open innovation thinkers and doers.

He developed the concept of European Network of Living Labs in 2002, which is grown through EU presidencies to a 450+ sites innovation network for collaborative innovation.

Before joining the European Commission in 1998 he held the position of Deputy of the ICT Section in Technology Development Centre and served as the Finnish representative at ESPRIT/IST programme of the EU. He lived in Los Angeles and worked as vice consul establishing business and research contacts between Californian and Finnish IT and Media companies.

Bror Salmelin is a member of New Club of Paris, and Member of the Advisory Board for Innovation Value Institute, Ireland. He has an expertise in intangible economy and value creation, related to policies like innovation policy, productivity and creativity focused on new service innovation. His recent focus is in industry and societal commons, being a founding member of the Industry Commons Foundation.

Jobs transformation together with the societal transformation is one of his expertise areas, related to open innovation ecosystems in particular.

After retirement he remains active in speaking and writing on open innovation, creative, industrial and societal commons and the transformation of the society. He is member of the Board for Industry Commons Foundation and advisor for other activities, projects and entities.

His main interest areas include Industrial and Societal Commons, Open Innovation 2.0 and its derivatives, insights in modern innovation practises , innovation ecosystem creation and strategic development on organisational and methodological levels.

He is based in Kouvola, Finland and Laurabuc, France.

Richard Wyatt-Haines

Richard Wyatt-Haines is the founder of Health and Care Innovations. HCI is a groundbreaking digital health company that enables health systems to adopt new and sustainable ways of delivering health and care for patients, and all their treatments and their conditions as close to home as possible and doing that across the whole health system.

Dr Ciara McCormack

Dr Ciara McCormack is an Assistant Professor in Sport Science and Health at Maynooth University and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist. Her research focuses on the role of exercise and digital health in the primary and secondary prevention of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. She is passionate about designing, delivering, and evaluating patient-centred, technology-enabled interventions that use physical activity to improve long-term health outcomes and healthcare delivery.

Ciara is currently embedded in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, where she is leading a national programme to transform pulmonary hypertension (PH) research and rehabilitation services in Ireland. She is the lead researcher on an SFI CONNECT collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, delivered through the Innovation Value Institute (IVI), which is focused on digitising pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) pathways. This project is exploring how digital technologies can be integrated into routine clinical care to enhance patient monitoring, engagement, and access to exercise-based rehabilitation.

Her broader research spans hospital, home, and community settings, leveraging both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine how lifestyle and physical activity interventions—supported by digital tools—can impact disease progression, symptom management, and healthcare utilisation. She is particularly interested in creating scalable, technology-enabled models of exercise delivery for adults aged 40+ and people living with chronic diseases, with an emphasis on addressing health inequalities.

Ciara completed her PhD in Clinical Exercise Physiology at Dublin City University, where she developed, delivered, and evaluated a home-based physical activity intervention for PH patients, co-designed with patients and underpinned by behavioural science. This work, conducted in collaboration with respiratory consultants at the Mater Hospital, has informed similar programmes internationally.

She is currently involved in multiple national and international projects on exercise and rehabilitation for people living with pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and vascular disease, and serves on the GoGreenNext Advisory Board, contributing expertise on inclusive methodologies and the integration of digital and lifestyle interventions into sustainable healthcare initiatives.

Beyond her academic and clinical roles, Ciara is committed to public engagement and health advocacy. She works closely with the HSE on Ireland’s Physical Activity Guidelines and contributes to national efforts to embed rehabilitation and physical activity pathways into chronic disease management. She also represents Ireland on the global Exercise is Medicine Emerging Leadership Programme, supporting the implementation of physical activity as a standard in clinical care.

Her work has been recognised through multiple awards from organisations such as the American Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, and DCU Invent. Ciara regularly contributes to national health campaigns, appears on RTÉ Radio 1 as an expert on physical activity and health, and provides consultancy to healthcare, community, and corporate groups seeking to implement evidence-based, digitally supported physical activity programmes.

Nollag Conneely

Nollag Conneely is a highly experienced Data Protection Officer with an MSc in Cybersecurity Management, an MSc in Human Resource Management, and an MA in Leadership, Management and Defence. A Privacy and Cybersecurity SME. He is a co-author of the NATO Hybrid and Cybersecurity Threats Curriculum. Nollag is Course Co-ordinator and lecturer for the Information Governance course at European Security and Defence College, Brussels. He is also a member of the CEDPO DPO Working Group. He is a speaker and contributor for the Irish Computer Society and ADPO

Andy Webber

Andy has 30 years’ experience in the medical technology development, marketing and distribution environments. Working primarily with cardiac function and cardiovascular screening products, he has spent the past two decades launching new disruptive technologies around the world.

Having built a career focused on how the integration of novel technologies can improve patient outcomes, he was instrumental in the widespread introduction of a new clinical pathway to health providers including both the NHS and Canadian Health Care Systems. Creating a multi-faceted program has enabled change to the care of thousands of surgical patients and made them an invested component in their own recovery. Now a globally accepted and used pathway, it has proven to lower rates of post operative complications, reduce in hospital length of stay and overall health administration costs.

Currently, Andy is part of the small team at HeartSciences Inc who are leading the AI revolution by applying it to the most used cardiac testing device, the 12 lead ECG. With unique product offerings, they have proven to be at the forefront of change and expect to close the diagnostic gap by enabling better screening of patients, allowing quicker access to care, and assisting health structures overcome waitlist and cost burdens.

Fintan Foy

Over a 35-year Fintan’s career has been spent in medical education and training in both Ireland and overseas. He worked from 1993 – 2011 in RCSI in a number of senior posts including Project Lead for a overseas projects in the Gulf and Malaysia.
From 2011 to 2017, he was CEO of the College of Anaesthetists in Ireland. This was a young organsiation and within which he put in place a strong governance structure, a clear identity and established a strong overseas base.
For the last 8 years he has been CEO of the Irish College of General Practitioners with the College seeing growth across all its key areas in Ireland and overseas.
Fintan has completed an MBA from Smurfit Business School in addition to a primary degree and postgraduate qualifications in HR, Accountancy, Teaching, etc.
Fintan has served on the Board of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland for 8 years and is also Company Secretary of Polio Survivors Ireland. In June 2023, he was appointed to the Board of the Dublin Dental University Hospital.
Fintan’s areas of professional interest are in Business Growth Strategies, Corporate governance and developing and empowering senior members of staff.

Prof Sean Gaine

Prof Sean Gaine is Consultant Respiratory Physician at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin and director of the National Pulmonary Hypertension Unit. Prof Gaine completed his medical education at Trinity College Dublin and his medical residency and fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. During his Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship Prof Gaine obtained his PhD for work exploring the control of pulmonary vasculature function. He subsequently held faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine. He established the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1999 and subsequently the National Pulmonary Hypertension Unit upon his return to Dublin. His research interests include novel biomarkers and new therapeutic agents in pulmonary vascular diseases. Prof Gaine has been a working member of the European Society of Cardiology and European Respiratory Society guidelines committee on Pulmonary Hypertension in the past and a task force member of the WHO World PH symposiums since 2003. Professor Gaine is a member of numerous international associations, and is a Fellow of the College of Chest Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland and the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine. He is Chief Medical Officer of the Olympic Council of Ireland and led the medical team at the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London.

Prof Michael Kerin

Prof. Michael J. Kerin (MB, MCH, FRCSI, FRCS.Ed.,FRCS) is Vice President of RCSI and a Consultant General and Breast Surgeon at Galway University Hospital.
Prof. Kerin the Chair of Surgery and Vice Dean of the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and is also the Chair of Surgery and Director of the HSE West and Northwest Cancer Network.

Richard Jones

Strategist and tech entrepreneur.  Led, founded and helped others build businesses across four continents and held every main C-suite position.

13 startups founded/co-founded.  4 successful exits, 2 failures, 1 failure to launch – remaining companies still in play.

Sweat equity support/refounding of 5 startups.  1 successful exit, 1 upcoming and 3 still in play.

Invited speaker at UN General Assembly 77 Science Symposium and member of team looking to deliver 10x improvements into healthcare globally.

Mentor on the GE Edison Accelerator / Wayra programme. Supporting AI companies in digital health.

Guest lecturer at University College London and honorary lecturer at School of Medicine, UCLAN – on masters level, digital health courses.

On Academic Advisory Board of the College of Contemporary Healthcare

COGX Keynote speaker in Global Leadership – Winner of Health Tech 4 Covid19 innovation award and overall Tech 4 Covid19 Award at COGX 2020 (C2-AI)

Interviewed on BBC News and BBC 5Live and chair at 50+ tech events on five continents

Only private sector expert on national medical device regulator’s project using AI to develop synthetic data sets and develop methodologies for verifying AI software in healthcare.

AI lead for Patient Safety Learning organisation

Mentor on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur programme

Author of “Project Management Survival” (Kogan Page – English,  Mandarin, Polish and Latvian), “The One Day MBA” (ICSA) and “Strategy Genius” (Hodder – English and Arabic).

Alex Wilkes

Alex Wilkes is the Country President for AstraZeneca Ireland. He has been with AstraZeneca since 2019, most recently serving as Regional Commercial Director for Respiratory and Immunology within the company’s EUCAN market team.

Before joining AstraZeneca, Alex spent over 18 years in senior leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry across the UK and Switzerland, including positions at Hoffmann-La Roche, Eli Lilly, and Merck.

Alex holds an undergraduate degree in Anatomy and Physiology from the University of Leeds and an MBA from Manchester Business School.

Patricia McAuliffe

Patricia McAuliffe has 25 + experience in nursing across ID/ Acute services in the Mater and is not Director of Nursing in The Royal Hospital Donnybrook since 2023 . Throughout my nursing career, Patricia McAuliffe has always been a passionate leader who demonstrates a supportive attitude towards the needs of the patient family and staff.

She has lead and supervised multidisciplinary teams to achieve set targets and create a collaborative and supportive environment. She consistently endeavors to lead as a role model upholding high standards by operating with a high degree of integrity. Rehabilitation has been a key aspect and driver of Trish’s entire nursing career as it is the essence of health care. As a health care provider, she tries to give swift access to all our patients to our services so they can return into the community to their daily lives

Patricia is an RGN and has a BSc in Leadership and a qualification in Healthcare Economics from the IPA.

Donal Morris

Donal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from Dublin City University.

David Trevitt

James Louttit

Based in Dublin, James Louttit runs Impactful Project Management, which provides training based on 20 years’ experience delivering projects and coaching others. He has taught project management principles to hundreds of people from all backgrounds and levels of experience. His training is used by companies like Accenture, AIB and Deloitte as well as people who have found themselves having to manage projects as part of their normal jobs. His innovative, human style using stories, cartoons, vlogs, games and discussion to explain complex ideas is popular in conferences, corporate events and across a range of social media and traditional media formats.

James also offers a consultancy service and bespoke training sessions. His career as a Consultant, IT Leader and CIO has helped him become a world-class expert in Agile Transformation and all aspects of Leadership and Project Management. He has been a guest lecturer and run sessions at Manchester University and Maynooth University, speaks at conferences, podcasts and corporate events and is a regular vlogger. He was a featured speaker at the 2022 CIO/CISO Ireland Summit on the subject “Agile Project Management: What can I do as a CIO to help my team succeed”. He was a speaker at the 2022 Tech Connect Live: Dublin with “10 tips from Agile Transformation to help your team become a little better tomorrow”. James was named one of the top 100 CIOs in Ireland in both 2021 and 2022 and led the team that won the 2020 “TIARA” Award for technology transformation.

Karen Kelly

Prior to nursing Karen had a career in International corporate finance, internet banking during the dotcom era followed by a few years where she stepped into the entrepreneurial world.
Karen has been fortunate to work with a lot of innovative people throughout her career, both before and during my nursing career, who are not afraid to bend the curve and go against the norm. She has met and worked alongside some fantastic leaders and mentors, which has made her very open minded, empathetic, innovative and someone who thinks of ‘the big picture’ as well as the small challenges.
Karen’s nursing career, spanning across 16 years, mainly focused on cardiology, started in pediatric intensive care, moved into acute adult’s coronary care, then to clinical nurse specialist in heart failure and brought her to Advanced Nurse Practitioner in a regional hospital.
During COVID she brought together a collaborative chronic illness team of ANPs and cardiac diagnostics that worked to improve patient outcomes, reduce patients visit to OPD and readmissions to hospital. She introduced a remote monitoring program for acute heart failure in Ireland and used POCUS to access volume status in HF patients both resulted in reduced readmission and increased patient empowerment.
Karen is passionate about empowering people with the knowledge, tools and support they need to manage their health and wellness at home and in the community and to provide timely access to all relevant services and diagnostics if, and when, required.
Advocate of shifting the conversation from patient to person, illness to wellness, hospital to home, physician to person led health journey and from disease management to early diagnoses and prevention.

Richard Malone

Richard Malone is the ICT & Digital General Manager for South East Community Health, has a master’s in Health informatics combined will a bachelor in Information Technology and Telecommunications and has recently completed a lean Six Sigma certification in Process Improvement in Health Systems in addition he lectures at Atlantic Technology University in Healthcare analytics. Mr Malone has 22 years’ experience working in a level 4 acute hospital setting and has relocated to the South East two years ago hoping to bring his experience and knowledge to help transform ICT and Digital services in Community settings to benefit the people of the South East.

Deirdre Bennett

Deirdre Bennett is Professor in Medical Education and Head, Medical Education Unit at University College Cork. She is currently co-chair of the Irish Network of Healthcare Educators. Deirdre’s clinical background is in General Practice. She has focused on the research, policy and practice of medical and health professions’ education since 2008. Her research focuses on learning in clinical environments and professional identity development. She is currently leading a large HRB-funded project on health professions’ education for climate change and sustainability.

Deirdre has been PI and Co-PI on several HRB funded projects, and has been funded by the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), Irish Network of Medical Educators (INMED) and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) amongst others. Her research partners in Ireland have included the Medical Council, RCPI, Forum of Postgraduate Training Bodies, State Claims Agency and the Health Service Executive. Her international research networks include European (UK, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden) and Canadian partners.

Dr Donal Bailey

Dr Donal Bailey has been a medical practitioner since 2009 and working in Centric Health since 2016, most recently as Director of Clinical Innovation. He is now the CEO of Care-Connect, our new care management business between Centric Health and Irish Life Health. He is a medical graduate of Trinity College Dublin, MSc Sports and Exercise Medicine 2011 from Queen Mary University London, MICGP since 2016, and Executive MBA 2017 from University College Dublin

Dr Monika Suryavanshi

With over two decades of experience in the healthcare industry, Dr Monika developed a deep understanding of health and care systems, bringing both clinical and managerial expertise from different markets and cultures. As an expert on a wide range of strategic, operational and compliance projects, ranging from developing new business and care models to improving processes and workflows in hospitals, she worked with various stakeholders in different countries such as USA, Spain, Kazakhstan, Georgia, China, and Kenya.
Amongst others, Dr Monika worked as Executive Director of Helios Healthcare Architects, a consulting business unit of Fresenius Helios, one of the largest healthcare groups in Europe. Before joining Helios group, Dr. Monika has worked in clinical and management capacities as an emergency physician and hospital manager for 15 years in India. She headed her own hospital and a clinic in Pune, a first-tier city in India.
She was also a faculty member and trainer in Emergency Medicine and American Heart Association courses at Symbiosis International University, Pune, India.
Dr Monika’s academic background includes Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, USA and International University, Germany.

Professor Ray O’Sullivan

Ray is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with an interest in simulation and innovation in healthcare, especially women’s health. He is now the Chief Executive Officer/Founder of Vox-AI. He also is an associate professor in Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI). 

Ray used to be the Director of Womens Health Group Ireland. He was Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Health Services Executi, St.Luke’s Hospital for 17 years. He was also a Consultant Gynaecologist in UPMC.

David Wall

Tallaght Hospital’s Director of ICT, David Wall, has been named as one of the top 100 Chief Information Officers (CIO’s) in Ireland by Business & Finance Magazine.  Mr Wall, at number 25, has been honoured as a key leader in ICT, and is one of the few healthcare professionals to feature on the magazine’s annual CIO 100 list.

Business & Finance Magazine’s CIO 100 is an acknowledgement and recognition of the role of the ICT and the value senior business technology executives provide to their organisations.

In his role, Mr Wall leads Tallaght Hospital in planning and implementing enterprise-wide information solutions that support best practice in patient care, clinical and business operations, and achieve more effective and cost beneficial enterprise-wide ICT operations.

Mr Wall said: “It is extremely humbling to receive this honour and recognition.  I work as part of a fantastic team in Tallaght Hospital where we strive to ensure best practice and high standards every day.  It is critical that we implement technologies in the workplace that not only improve the patient experience, but also deliver innovation across the heath system.”

Commending Mr Wall on his achievement, Tallaght Hospital CEO David Slevin said: “We are delighted to see David’s work being acknowledged by this latest CIO 100 listing.  It is a testament to not only him, but to his team and the wider staff at our hospital.  We are committed to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care; there is no doubt as to the important role that ICT solutions play in delivering this.”

CEO of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, Dr Susan O’Reilly, said: “I want to commend David on this great achievement, and to his team for the important contribution they are making at Tallaght Hospital.  Innovative use of digital technology and ICT solutions are vital to the improvement and delivery of patient-centric care across our Group. It is imperative that we continuously strive to enhance the patient experience at our hospitals, and an important element of this is undoubtedly the advancement of ICT solutions in our health system.”

John Kildea

John Kildea is a tenured associate professor of Medical Physics in the Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada; Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre; and Quebec Health Research Fund dual chair in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health.

John’s research focuses on building software for patient-centered health informatics and experimental methods to examine the biophysics underlying radiation-induced carcinogenesis. At the RI-MUHC, John directs the research, development, and technology innovation activities for the Opal Health Informatics Group (O-HIG), a research team he co-founded in 2014 with a patient and a clinician.

Opal is an award-winning open-source patient-in-the-loop platform that provides a patient portal, a waiting room management system and a databank framework for data donation. Opal is vendor agnostic and has been integrated with OpenEMR and other electronic medical record systems.

Hugh Nelson

Hugh Nelson is Head of Community Wellbeing for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust where he is lead for Community Planning and other collaborative partnerships. Hugh is responsible for community development, prevention and early intervention services across 20 plus thematic areas including mental health, loneliness, rurality and healthy lifestyles. Hugh is committed to collaborative working on the wider determinants of health and to working with others to enhance health literacy and health equity. Hugh enjoys creative initiatives for population health which builds self-efficacy, including a place based approach to mental wellbeing, a social prescribing service provided jointly by Trust and Age NI and building supportive networks led by community and voluntary sector colleagues.

Natasha Reilly

I have a BSc Hons degree in Adult Nursing from Edge Hill University. I have experience working for the NHS in the UK, Aintree University Hospital, The Walton Centre and also in Northern Ireland working in The South West Acute Hospital.
I’m currently working in Cavan General Hospital where I worked as a Staff Nurse, Clinical Nurse Manger and now working in Practice Development as a Clinical Nurse Facilitator (Overseas). I worked with the pilot project for Digital INEWS in Cavan General Hospital and continue to do so to date.

Paul Griffin

Paul has over 15 years’ experience working in the public health sector across clinical, operational, management and project specific roles at both organisational and national level.
Paul has been the Change Lead for Project Fusion in the NRH, resulting in the implementation of their EPR solution across the hospital and services. He has been involved in the project from pre-contract stage through design, testing, go-live and follow-on support.
Paul has a BSc in Physiotherapy from UCD and an MSc in Leadership from the RCSI.

Anna Marie

Anna Marie Kiernan is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Pain Management at the Pain Excellence Centre in Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, Limerick. With over 20 years of experience, she holds a Masters in Pain Management and a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Innovation. Since 2021, she has, in collaboration with the Pain team, reduced patient wait times from 190 to 30 weeks by developing new services and leaner processes. She leads on Rapid Access Assessment, Neuropathic Pain Treatment and is exploring digital reality for pain treatment. Anna Marie has co-developed the Midwest Innovation Steering Committee which supporting frontline and academic innovation.

Lorraine Smyth

Lorraine Smyth is a distinguished leader in health technology and digital transformation, with over 23 years of experience in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Her career spans key roles across Digital Transformation, Procurement, and National HR, with a consistent focus on delivering impactful change in the healthcare sector.
As a co-founder of the HSE Digital Academy and the HSE Digital Transformation Team, Lorraine has been instrumental in shaping national digital health strategy. She currently collaborates with multiple National Clinical Programmes, leading the redesign of care pathways to integrate digital technologies and e-enablers that place patient care at the centre of service delivery.
Lorraine has led numerous high-impact national digital initiatives, including the award-winning COVID Patient Monitoring App, which also formed the basis of her MSc in Digital Transformation in Healthcare (University of Limerick). This project earned her the Best Student Project at the Irish Healthcare Awards in 2021.

Her leadership and innovation have been widely recognised, receiving accolades such as:

• Digital Transformation Leader of the Year and Innovator of the Year at the Women in IT Awards (2021)
• Women in STEM Award for Health Technology (2023)
• Businesswoman of the Year – STEM, Network Ireland Wexford (2023) She has also been nominated for the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year – STEM Professional (2025).

In addition to her MSc, Lorraine holds a Professional Diploma in Human Rights and Equality. She is a board member of Amnesty International Ireland. Passionate about innovation with purpose, Lorraine champions a patient-centred approach to digital transformation—ensuring that every advancement serves to enhance the quality and equity of healthcare delivery.

Dr. Helena Rushe

Dr. Helena Rushe, Graduated from the MSc in Digital Health Transformation in 2023, Current role – Professional lead for Psychology at CHI. Member of the Digital Clinical & Operational Advisory Council and Research Ethics committees at CHI.

Niall McGrath

Niall McGrath is a Business Intelligence and Data Analyst Manager at HSE Dublin South & Wicklow.  Prior to joining the HSE Niall worked for over 10 years as a Cloud Consultant and Business Analyst in sectors including healthcare (Roche, Pfizer, J&J, Quintiles), financial Services (Visa Europe), telecommunications (Vodafone, Actix, MACH) & technology (Volex, Plantronics). Niall has an MSc in Health Psychology from Ulster University and an MSc in Digital Health Transformation from University of Limerick. 

Dr. Patricia Walsh

Ciaran Cuddihy

Ciaran is a mental health nurse from Dublin, Ireland currently living and working in Galway in Practice Development. He has extensive experience working in the mental health sector in both the independent and public sector. Ciaran has a keen interest in reducing restrictive practices in mental health care and creating safe environments of care.
Having completed the Masters Programme in Digital Health Transformation in 2022, Ciaran has sought to introduce technological innovations to his practice area, creating a series of podcasts to assist staff education and using virtual reality nature immersion for service users as an alternative to traditional relaxation experiences.
Ciaran is a keen open water swimmer, runner and sports enthusiast. He believes in the restorative effects of nature and its benefits for mental health care provision.
Email: ciaran.cuddihy@hse.ie

Claire Ramsey

Claire is a Health and Wellbeing Manager for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT) in Northern Ireland and operational manager of the NHSCT area wide Social Prescribing Service – ‘Connect North: Your pathway to wellbeing’ launched in 2022.
Claire graduated as a Dietitian in 2003 and continues to work in the health and social care arena combining her passions for health literacy, person-centred care and personal and public involvement initiatives striving to improve services and the client experience.

Nollag Conneely

A strategic leader with experience in the private, and public sector across multiple industries and international organisations. Nollag has developed, delivered and implemented Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) programs in high-risk military environments in the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans, and also with commercial organisations in Healthcare, Insurance, Fintech, and Education, in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
A contributor to NATO’s PfP Cybersecurity and Hybrid Curricula, Lecturer and Course coordinator for Data Governance at the European Security and Defence College, and a speaker at the United Nations General Assembly Health Symposium. Nollag holds qualifications in multiple disciplines which creates his unique value, these include MSc in HR, MA in Management and Leadership, MSc in Cybersecurity Management and Prince2 Project Management. Nollag is a retired Lt Col in the Irish Defence Forces with experience in Intelligence and operational roles.

Alison Murphy

Alison graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy from the University of Limerick in 2006. She gained experience across the acute sector before becoming a Senior Physiotherapist in a HSE Dublin South, Kildare, West Wicklow Community Healthcare Organisation in 2010. In 2019, Alison progressed to taking up role as Physiotherapy Manager In-Charge-III, overseeing services in primary care, older persons, and disabilities. She currently serves as Operational Lead for the Dublin Southwest Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons, a role she began in 2021. Alison holds a Professional Diploma in Management in Healthcare (NFQ Level 9) and is committed to improving patient care quality. She has designed and implemented a digital patient record for the ICPOP service, fundamentally transforming their paper-based processes to fully electronic.

Peter Jean Paul

Peter Jean Paul has worked as a project specialist leading several key national projects within the government of Saint Lucia including: “Establishing a Data Driven Policy Development Unit within the Ministry of Physical Development and Urban Renewal” and “Enhancing Saint Lucia’s strategic frameworks to access Climate Finance”.  He has also worked with international organizations like the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC). He has a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics (Trinidad and Tobago), a Masters in International Human Resource Development (Taiwan) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (New Zealand). He has won several international scholarships and awards including an international Commonwealth Scholarship to do his PHD and a research award for placing first in the 3 Minute Thesis competition in New Zealand.  Peter Jean Paul has strongly affirmed that digital transformation backed by a strong human resource is key to meeting some of the intractable sustainable issues of our time. Passionate about innovative practical research Peter has dedicate his academic and professional career to realizing the aims of the sustainable development goals. When he is not researching he is volunteering with Red Cross and Salvation Army to improve the welfare of the less fortunate.

Sabrina Lynn

Sabrina graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Health and Leisure Studies from Queen’s University Belfast in 2002. With over 20 years of experience in Health Improvement, she has played key roles within both the Northern and Southern Health & Social Care Trusts, leading initiatives focused on Physical Activity and Obesity.
Currently serving as the Health & Wellbeing Locality Lead for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, she oversees key thematic areas such as Social Prescribing, Children and Young People, Healthy Lifestyles and Health Literacy. Her approach is grounded in strong partnership working and innovation to advance impactful health and wellbeing programmes that foster healthier communities and empower individuals with the skills and knowledge to enhance their health and wellbeing.

Charles House

Amanda Bates

Amanda started her career in Sydney Australia as a Registered Nurse, specialising in Cardiothoracic Nursing. Moving to Ireland commenced working in Critical Care and completed the MSc in Nursing. Having worked in both the Public and Private sectors Amanda has been responsible for leading and supporting the delivery change.  With a genuine interest in digital health Amanda completed the MSc Digital Health Transformation through University of Limerick.

In her current role one as the Nursing Clinical Information Lead is to build digital workforce readiness and competence to foster and embrace innovation and enable digital to be a fundamental part of Nursing care delivery.
Within Project Management and Leadership roles, large scale change has been achieved through a shared vision and co design approach across all grades of Nursing, developing a systemised Nursing assessment and care planning methodology utilising Standardised Nursing Terminologies.

Amanda envisages the many benefits of digital health, enhancing the experience of the service user, identifying timely risk thus achieving improved clinical outcomes throughout their healthcare journey.

Pete Struthers