About our Speakers
Alan Irwin
Vice President of International Products & Solutions for Global Payments
Alan Irwin is the Vice President of International Products & Solutions for Global Payments, a fortune 500 payment technology company, and co-founder of Calcutta Connect, an NGO whose commitment is to deliver access to education for underprivileged communities in West Bengal, India. He’s spent the last 12 years working across many areas within the fintech industry and has a genuine passion for all things technology, payments and development education.
Alan is based in Dublin, Ireland and leads product management teams internationally who are responsible for delivering some of the biggest innovations in payment technology for many of the largest multinational merchants; examples incl. GP TOM – Europe’s leading SoftPOS solution and GP Ecommerce – one of the world’s most successful Ecommerce gateways.
Alan is a Maynooth alumni who considers his years and memories spent here as some of his best ever. He attributes much of his success to the learnings and experiences he gained thanks to the University. He relishes the rare opportunity to have an afternoon walk around the grounds of the campus with his wife (whom he met while studying here) and their beloved dog Bear.
Trudi Brook
Senior Manager, ROI CTO Service Enablement BT Ireland
A passionate, practical, and people-focused IT leader, Trudi has over 25 years’ experiencein the tech industry.
Following a degree in mechanical engineering from UCD, she developed
project management skills and experience through the consulting world of Deloitte and then as part of the telecoms world with BT Ireland (www.BTIreland.com) delivering many successful technology solutions for customers to a time, cost and quality agenda. Managing teams of project managers for BT came next, where she had responsibility for multiple customer portfolios as well as hiring, leading and developing talented PM professionals. More recently she has been applying her skills within the Technology office of BT where she leads the Service Enablement team and owns the strategy, budget, communications and governance on behalf of the CTO. She is a founding member and driving force behind the BT Ireland Inspiring Women in Business network and externally is part of the leadership
team of Connecting Women in Technology (www.CWiT.ie)
Dr. Tim Calahan, MS, MBA, MDA
Chief Technology Officer at Michigan Medicine and the Chief Executive Officer at EHC Consulting
Dr. Tim Calahan is a seasoned executive and clinical technology leader specializing in cloud transformation and hosting Epic in the cloud.
With a foundation in engineering, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate, Dr. Calahan combines technical expertise with strategic vision to drive innovation. He has over 30 years of professional experience, including 25 years in healthcare and 15 years in management consulting. Currently, he serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Michigan Medicine and the Chief Executive Officer at EHC Consulting, where he leads initiatives to optimize healthcare IT and advance digital transformation through public cloud solutions.
Paul Delahunty
Chief Information Security Officer at Stryve
Paul Delahunty is Chief Information Security Officer at Stryve, a leading Irish multi-cloud and cybersecurity company and ICTTF Cyber Security Company of the Year 2022.
As CIO and IT Leaders Security Leader of the Year 2023 and 2024, and Tech Excellence CIO of the Year 2024, Paul has established himself as one of the top Information Security experts in the country.
A certified CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), ISO 27001 Lead Auditor and DORA Certified Compliance Specialist (ICTTF) with over twelve years of experience in information security, Paul started his career as an engineer with Ericsson before venturing into the start-up world as Operations Director with moQom. More recently, he worked as an Information Security and Audit Manager for Hostelworld, before joining the rapidly expanding team at Stryve. Paul is CIO and IT Leaders Security Leader of the Year 2023 and 2024, and is the Tech Excellence Awards CIO of the Year 2024.
As a founding member of the Southeast Cyber Ireland committee, Paul shares his knowledge helping to build a cybersecurity community across the country which links with Cyber Ireland’s national activities. He is also an active ICTTF (International Cyber Threat Task Force) member.
Paul is a popular keynote speaker at national and international cybersecurity conferences and events, including IDEAM’s “Smart Industrial Control Systems”, AtlanTec, Tech Connect, Kyte Consulting’s “The Evolution of Cloud” and Maynooth University’s “Innovation Value Institute” Summit 2024. He is a regular contributor to the national conversation on cybersecurity in print media, radio and television.
Kammil Mahajan
Managing Director of Advice Bytes
Kammil Mahajan is a cybersecurity expert, entrepreneur, and thought leader with over a decade of experience leading and transforming information security and IT operations. As Managing Director of Advice Bytes, he bridges cybersecurity and AI security, empowering organizations to tackle evolving digital threats. He has worked with global giants like Facebook, Google, and Maynooth University and is currently pursuing a PhD in AI Security at ATU. A certified CISM and ISO 27001 professional, Kammil also lectures on cybersecurity, sharing his expertise with the next generation of professionals. His expertise and experience make him a trusted speaker on AI security, compliance, and building resilient businesses.
Jane Corr
CIÉ Group IT&T Head of Cyber Security
Jane is a recognised Information Security & IT leader who has a track record of building successful teams. She is known for her ‘Can Do’ attitude while always keeping the customer in mind. With over 30 years’ experience in a variety of IT infrastructure roles, Jane moved into Information Security ten years ago. She has held Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Cybersecurity roles in both private and public sector. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Trinity College Dublin and has attained CISSP, CRISC and CISM security certifications.
Mark Kirwan
CEO and co-founder of Positive Carbon
Mark Kirwan is the CEO and co-founder of Positive Carbon, a trailblazing sustainability company that combines AI and data-driven solutions to tackle the global challenge of food waste. With a proven track record of driving innovation in sustainability, Mark has guided Positive Carbon to become a leader in helping businesses reduce food waste, save costs, and meet ambitious sustainability goals.
Under Mark’s leadership, Positive Carbon has achieved partnerships with high-profile organizations such as Gather & Gather, The Merrion Hotel, and KPMG, achieving waste reductions of over 30%. The company’s cutting-edge technology and results-driven approach have earned it recognition as a Top 100 Start-ups in Ireland and finalist at the All-Ireland Sustainability Awards and Business and finance award 2024 for innovation of the year.
Mark is a sought-after voice in sustainability and technology, offering unique insights into how AI and data can accelerate change. His engaging storytelling and practical expertise make him a powerful advocate for using innovative technology to solve complex environmental challenges.
At the IVI Summit, Mark will inspire audiences by sharing actionable strategies and a forward-thinking vision for a sustainable, data-driven future—demonstrating what’s possible when technology meets responsibility.
Dr. Adegboyega Ojo
GovTech Cluster Lead
Adegboyega Ojo is Full Professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, Canada. Prof. Ojo is also Canada Research Chair in Governance and Artificial Intelligence. His research is primarily in the area of digital government. He studies how digital and data technologies can be used to support innovation in government institutions and address societal challenges. Prof. Ojo is keen on understanding the conditions and technical design requirements for the beneficial and ethical use of data-driven innovation, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence-based solutions in different public service and policy contexts.
Before joining Carleton University, he was a faculty at Maynooth University School of Business and earlier a Senior Research Fellow & Head of the E-Government Unit at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, University of Galway, Republic of Ireland. He also worked at the Centre for Electronic Governance, United Nations University in Macao SAR, China, where he supported governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America in developing digital government strategies. Adegboyega is Associate Editor of the Government Information Quarterly Journal (Elsevier), Digital Government: Research and Practice journal (ACM) and also the Information Polity Journal (IOS Press). He holds a PhD in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Joan Mulvihil
Digitalisation Lead, Siemens Ireland
Joan Mulvihill is a Digitalization and Creativity Evangelist for Siemens who spends her days turning chaos into creativity. On meeting her you immediately sense that this is a woman who has found her purpose and she is pursuing it relentlessly.
When she’s not busy revolutionizing industries by helping organizations embrace digitalisation, Joan is on quest to rehumanise organisations. Admittedly, embracing technology and rehumanising organisations sound like strange bedfellows but when you hear this futurist speak it all starts to make sense. As a keynote speaker, this “artist-leader” knows the qualities of light and dark, the values of colour and tone are not just descriptors for art but for life. She spends her days asking tough questions of herself and of industry. She is arresting in her honesty and in her own words is “a practitioner of extreme vulnerability”.
She is an artist who paints commentary on how technology, society, and human creativity collide in the most unexpected, delightful and sometimes dark ways. This new series of work, “The Perspectives of a Woman in Tech – Sometimes She’s Angry” is far removed from any corporate slide-deck on digitalisation you’ve seen. This is digitalisation unplugged. This is the start of humanity rewired.
Dr. Sabarathinam Chockalingam
Senior Researcher in Cyber Security at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway
Dr. Sabarathinam Chockalingam is a Senior Researcher in Cyber Security at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), Norway. Saba has a PhD within Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security from the Delft University of Technology and Master of Science in Cyber Security and Management from the University of Warwick.
He has managed and worked in national and international research projects related to Cyber Security like CPSEC, RECYCIN, and SecuRoPS. Currently, he is leading the activity on Distinguishing Attacks and Faults to Support Effective Response in the international OECD Halden Human Technology Organisation (HTO) project.
Finally, he also served as an Organization and Program Committee member in various international conferences and workshops in addition to being a reviewer and (guest) editor for high-quality journals in the field of his expertise like the International Journal of Information Security, and Computer Standards and Interfaces.
Sander Frank, MA
Research associate and doctoral student at “The Open Government Institute” of Zeppelin University
Sander Frank conducts research and works as a research associate and doctoral student at “The Open Government Institute” of Zeppelin University, focusing primarily on the implications and potentials of the intersection between digitalization and sustainability in politics and public administration within the context of the “Twin Transition.”
Additionally, he is involved in the institute’s core research areas and supports the institute’s director, Prof. Dr. Jörn von Lucke. Since 2019, he has been a member of the municipal council of the city of Friedrichshafen and served as a member of the Advisory Board for Sustainable Development of the Baden-Württemberg State Government from 2017 to 2021.
Dr. Claudia Roessing
Postdoctoral researcher at VISION project
Claudia Roessing has completed her PhD at Maynooth University, where she investigated the variations of data lifecycles based on data requirements in the Smart City scenario. She has years of experience in the software development industry with a background in Business Analysis and Consulting and Computer Science. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the VISION project, which is financed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and focuses on reducing the use of virgin materials in the Irish building sector.
Dr. Nicola Mountford
Associate Professor in Management, and PhD Director at Maynooth University’s School of Business
Dr Nicola Mountford is Associate Professor and Director of the PhD programme at the School of Business, Maynooth University. Dr Mountford’s research focuses on the organisation of healthcare, in particular government roles and patient voice in decision-making processes. She has published in journals such as Organisation Studies, International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of Business Research, Studies in Higher Education, and co-authored two (of eight) papers for a special theme issue of Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) on connected health technologies. Dr Mountford was the only academic from the discipline of business to contribute to this special issue. She has led work packages in two European projects – CHAMELEONS which designed interdisciplinarity and intersectorality into the PhD experience for Connected Health; and OPENING DOORS which developed an online open science and open innovation module. These EU projects showcase Dr Mountford’s additional research focus on redesigning doctoral education to facilitate digital health technology design and uptake. In 2016 she held a Fulbright TechImpact scholarship, funded by Enterprise Ireland in the area of Digital Health. She is currently working with colleagues in Maynooth University Biology on a Future Innovator Challenge Award, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, that seeks to reduce neonatal mortality due to sepsis in Uganda.
Dr. Gültekin Cakir
Lecturer and Researcher in Strategic Management – TU Dublin
Dr Gültekin Cakir is a lecturer and academic programme coordinator at the Faculty of Business, Technological University Dublin, and a member of the Strategy & Leadership Group in the School of Management, People and Organisations. He holds a PhD in Business and Management from Maynooth University and a Master’s degree in General Management from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Dortmund, Germany. He teaches modules on undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels in Strategy and Digital Innovation & Emerging Technologies.
Before joining TU Dublin, Gültekin was a Research Fellow at the Innovation Value Institute, Maynooth, where he worked with companies, start-ups, other institutes and collaborators on diverse research projects centred around digital innovation and organisational digital maturity. Gültekin is a member of the Digital Retail Research Cluster at IVI and was a recipient of the EU Horizon Europe Marie Curie Skłodowska scholarship award within “PERFORM”, a European training project focusing on the digital transformation of the retailing industry, where he was also chair of the ESR Committee.
Denise Manton
Executive Officer of Empower
Denise Manton has 20+ years of multi-disciplinary experience with a focus on innovation driven technology and digital transformation initiatives both in industry and in academic research environments, operating at various levels from software engineering to senior management. In her role as Executive Officer of Empower, she will drive the long-term strategic planning of the research programme and lead engagement and collaboration with diverse stakeholder groups, building a community of practice to overcome the global challenges in the area of data governance. Denise is also responsible for ensuring the key objectives are met and growth of the programme achieved.
Prof. Jan Vom Brocke
Director, Institute for Information Systems, University of Liechtenstein
Professor Jan vom Brocke the Hilti Endowed Chair for Business Process Management, Director of the Institute for Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein and Co-Founder of DIGITIZE.EU – an innovative platform to inspire and implement ambitious digitalization initiatives across Europe.
Jan`s research has been published in many of the Financial Times Top 50 journals, such as Management Science, Management Information Systems Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems and MIT Sloan Management Review, and a recent Stanford study ranks Jan vom Brocke among the Top 0.5% of the world’s most cited scientists across all disciplines. He is the author and editor of 44 books, many of them considered best sellers in management and digitalization, such as the book Business Process Management Cases – Digital Innovation and Business Transformation in Practice, which has been downloaded more than 5 million times on the Springer Nature database.
Jan has acquired over €40 million in research funding and the projects of his team have been featured in popular newspapers around the word, including the Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail, and Telegraph. Jan has received over 20 international awards and has been named a Fellow of the World Association for Information Systems. Jan is an invited speaker and trusted advisor to many companies – big and small – as well as governmental institutions across Europe.
Daragh O'Brien
Founder and Managing Director of Castlebridge
Daragh O Brien is founder and managing director of Castlebridge, one of Ireland’s leading consultancies working in data strategy, data governance, and data protection. Since founding Castlebridge in 2009, Daragh and his team have worked with organisations of all sizes across a variety of sectors, including start-ups, SMEs, Non-Profits, Government bodies, EU institutions and other International Organisations.
Daragh is a co-author of Ethical Data and Information Management: Concepts, Tools, and Methods, published by Kogan Page, lectures in UCD School of Law and the Law Society of Ireland on Data Governance and Data Protection, and in the Smurfit Graduate School of Business on Data Ethics. He is also a member of the Innovation Value Institute in NUI Maynooth. He is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society and a Fellow of Information Privacy from the IAPP.
Dervla McCabe
Development Adviser in Enterprise Ireland
Dervla McCabe works closely with an exciting portfolio of Food & Drink HPSUs (High Potential Start Ups) and supports them to harness valuable opportunities and provides access to a expansive network of industry personal and investors. Dervla works with companies across varying development stages, from pre-Seed, Seed to Scale, supporting the companies at all stages through a mixture of grant and equity products. Dervla leads out on the Food Works programme, a dedicated 10-month investment accelerator programme for food & beverage companies.
Cornel Klien
Research Program Manager at Siemens Foundational Technologies in Munich
Cornel Klein leads the corporate research program at Siemens Foundation Technologies on the validation and engineering of intelligent and autonomous systems and manages large collaborative research projects. In this role, he is closely connected with external partners in the Siemens research and innovation ecosystem, including funding agencies, universities, startups, and industrial R&I initiatives.
He has extensive expertise in communications, cyber-physical and embedded systems, software and systems engineering, as well as in application domains such as automotive, mobility, and smart cities/buildings. Cornel has also served as project manager and co-author of several foresight studies, including The Software Car, which explores the impact of digital transformation on the automotive industry, and Embodied Intelligence: Driving the Digital Transformation 2.0“
Cornel holds a Master’s and a PhD in Computer Science from the Technical University of Munich.
Dr Annalisa Setti
Senior Lecturer and cognitive scientist at University College Cork, Ireland
From the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork, Dr Annalisa Setti is concerned with maximizing the co-benefits of nature and environmental interactions for different groups including those with sensory sensitivity and the elders. She collaborates regularly with Cork City Council and Cork Healthy Cities on topics related to nature-based solutions, climate change and resilience. An advocate of the UCC Green Campus she advices on topics related to the role of nature contact in students’ well-being and sustainably lifestyle. In this session, she will guide participants through exploring possible futures, challenging assumptions, and expanding their capacity to drive change in a psychologically informed way, and highlight the potential for bias to influence our perspectives.
Terri Morrissey
Director at This Is…
Terri Morrissey is a consultant with the firm ‘This-is’, an organisational psychologist, and former CEO of PSI. In 2020, her book ‘Uncertainty Rules? Making uncertainty work for you‘ was published and Terri has played a major role in developing psychological approaches to climate change and sustainability with the APA, the Global Psychology Alliance and with An Taisce. Most recently, Terri was the innovation manager for the EU funded project GoGreen Routes, and is a member of the advisory board of GoGreen Next.
Professor Craig Mahoney
Education Leader, Strategist and Performance Psychologist currently working with The Education Group (TEG) in London
Professor Craig Mahoney currently works in London with The Education Group London (TEG) on a range of projects including launching an Ed Tech startup designed to make learning English language simple. He has been a twice serving university President at the University of the West of Scotland from 2013 – 2021 and the University of Law during 2022. Previously he was CEO at the Higher Education Academy, a UK national agency overseeing the enhancement of pedagogy and the delivery of modern learning, teaching and assessment in universities.
A dynamic public advocate of higher education, Craig is a research active academic with a strong interest in topics covering differentiated student-centred learning, research informed teaching, e-learning; widespread use of open educational resources, teaching excellence and global engagement. He is a passionate supporter of equality, diversity and inclusion and has developed many programmes, initiatives and change plans to remove discrimination and enable fairness by allowing every student and member of staff to be their true selves.
As a chartered psychologist, Professor Mahoney has been an internationally recognised performance psychologist for more than 30 years and is chairperson of the Advisory Board for GoGreen Next.
Craig is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Professor Mahoney has been a Board member on the UK Quality Assurance Agency, a Board member for Glasgow City of Sciences, a Trustee on the Carnegie Trust for Universities of Scotland, Convener of Universities Scotland Climate Emergency and Efficiency Committee, a Board member for SportScotland, Chair of British Universities and Colleges Sport and a Board member of Converge Challenge. He is currently Chair of Brooklands FE College Board in London and an adviser to several commercial bodies.
Alan Scarry
Researcher PHD Student at University of Limerick
Alan Scarry MSc is a researcher with the GoGreen Next project. He is currently awaiting his PhD viva voce examination.
His research focused on sustainability and food science and he currently leads the Academy Cluster within the GoGreen Next project.
He originally completed a BA in NUIG focusing on Classical History and Sociology; within this, he developed an interest in why we eat what we eat and examined patterns of human behaviour over time to explore how diet patterns evolved in our current society. Following this, he completed an MSc in Food, Nutrition and Health in UCD. His focus was on the composition of foods, the possible diets one could consume to achieve optimum health, and the impact of food regulations. He is currently a PhD candidate for GoGreen Routes, researching the environmental impact of diet using novel dietary technology.
Registered Associate Nutritionist with AFN member number 26946. Registered with The Nutrition Society, member number 67384. Affliate member of British Dietetics Assiociation :the Sustainable Diets Specialist Group member number 23311.
Dr. Elaine Gallagher
Behavioural Science Consultant and Environmental Psychologist
Together with Tadhg and Annalisa,Dr Elaine Gallagheris co-editor of the forthcoming Springer/Palgrave text entitled ‘The Individual and Climate Change: A Psychological Approach to Action.’ Elaine studied for her undergraduate degree in psychology at Maynooth University, pursued a MSc. in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey and graduated from Bath University with a PhD. Formerly a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Limerick, Elaine is a consultant in sustainability working with industry in Ireland and the UK.
Dr Tadhg MacIntyre
Assistant Professor in Environmental Psychology at Maynooth University.
Dr Tadhg MacIntyre is based at the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University where he leads two EU funded projects on urban health. GoGreen Routes which is at final reporting stage is a 52 month project on urban health which included Limerick among it’s target cities. At Maynooth University he leads the Masters of Science program in Environmental Psychology.
Azra Aryania
Postdoctoral Researcher at the Innovation Value Institute
