Dr. Adele Whelan is a Senior Research Officer in the Economic Analysis Division, specialising in labour market economics, education, and skills development, she is also Adjunct Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin . Her research spans both quantitative and qualitative methods, with publications in leading journals including Oxford Economic Papers, World Development, and Studies in Higher Education.Adele holds a PhD in Economics from Maynooth University and has lectured at both Maynooth and UCD. Her current projects include European-funded research on blockchain skills (CHAISE) and youth employment (Cowork4YOUTH), alongside national studies on labour market trends, skills demand, and social inclusion in post-pandemic Ireland.

Aidan has over 25 years’ experience exploring how culture and capability development enable people and teams to thrive. He currently leads work on Culture, Organisation Development, and Future Capabilities at ESB, supporting the Group’s ambition to decarbonise Ireland’s electricity system by 2040.Previously, Aidan held senior roles at Intel Corporation and Engineers Ireland, focusing on leadership, change, and talent development. He holds a PhD in Leadership Psychology from Munster Technological University and is an accredited coach and mentor with the EMCC.

ngela O'Donovan is an Occupational Psychologist with over 25 years’ experience spanning private and HEI sectors both nationally and internationally. In her role at University College Cork she carries a broad portfolio of work relating to HR Strategy and Organisational Development as well as being active in the design and delivery of University partnered CPD programmes to industry. Committed to supporting the L&D profession, Angela continues to make a contribution to progressing the profession in collaboration with L&DI.

Dr. Daniel Susskind is a bestselling author. He is the Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business at Gresham College. He is also a Research Professor at King’s College London, and a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, a Digital Fellow at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, and an Associate Member of the Economics Department at Oxford University. He explores the impact of economic growth and technology — particularly artificial intelligence (AI) — on work and society

Deirdre is Group Vice President, Talent and Learning at Smurfit Westrock, where she leads the Group’s Talent and Learning agenda. Her remit includes senior leadership development, strategic talent and performance management, and oversight of the Group’s Learning Academy.With over 25 years of international HR experience, Deirdre has held Senior HR roles at Microsoft, PwC, and Oracle. Her expertise spans strategic talent management, leadership development, organizational development, culture transformation, and business change.Deirdre is also a qualified executive coach and a seasoned facilitator, passionate about enabling leaders to build self-awareness and emotional confidence. Since October 2022, she has served on the board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Ireland.

CEO & Director, The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin. Gemma Bodinetz joined The Lir Academy in 2023 following her role as Director of Drama, Dance, Production & Film at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She previously served as Artistic Director of Liverpool’s Everyman and Playhouse Theatres, where she led their transformation into leading commissioning venues and co-delivered the award-winning £28 million rebuild of the Everyman Theatre, which won the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2014. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Gemma began her career as a theatre director working with major institutions including the National Theatre, Royal Court, and Royal Shakespeare Company. Her leadership and contribution to the arts have been recognised with multiple awards, including Best Director at the UK Theatre Awards and an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University.

Kevin works with clients to develop, deliver and evaluate bespoke solutions that drive performance across their business - from graduate to C-suite level. He is a highly skilled consultant and facilitator with a wealth of experience in designing the systems and processes that support effective learning, measurement and talent development.   Kevin has developed HPC’s evidence-based approach to measuring the business value of our clients’ learning solutions. He brings an analytical and insightful perspective to the way we demonstrate L&D’s impact across organisations through data and storytelling.    Before joining HPC in 2013, Kevin was Head of L&D for Matheson where his work was recognised with a number of National Training and grad Ireland Awards. Since joining HPC, his client work has been recognised at the L&DI Awards, the Training Journal Awards and the LPI Learning Awards. The most recent accolade is a LPI finalist nomination for HPC for the 2025 Learning Provider of the Year Award.

Mairéad is Sustainability /Senior Investment/Commercial Manager at Enterprise Ireland. With over 20 years’ experience spanning the private and public sectors, Mairéad has built a career focused on driving business growth and sectoral development. After nearly a decade working internationally across industries such as telecommunications, financial services, education, and food, Mairéad joined the public sector 14 years ago bringing a wealth of commercial insight to Enterprise Ireland. At Enterprise Ireland, she has worked across the full spectrum of the food industry from dairy and beef to seafood and confectionery supporting companies from micro enterprises to large multinational food businesses. This unique perspective, combining private-sector experience with public-sector innovation, underpins her passion for helping Irish businesses grow and compete on the global stage.

Maria is an Award Winning leader in Executive Public Speaking & Presentations Skills Coaching and Speech & Pitch Coaching and is one of The Lir Academy's Senior Communication Coaches on their Theatre Skills for Business programme. As a professional performer and keynote speaker, Maria began coaching C-Level executives, senior leadership, and professional speakers 15 years ago. She specialises in working with Senior leaders and executives who want to up their game and show up as powerful, impactful, inspiring speakers in their business, organization, and for the people around them. She has coached for global giants, including Google, Facebook, Amazon, Diageo, Virgin Media, TikTok, Booking.com, Salesforce, Stripe, Pfizer, Novartis, Stryker, Accenture, Grant Thornton, KPMG, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen. Her motto? “Own your voice, Own your story, Own the room.”Maria believes that there is a powerful, passionate speaker in every one of us. Great speakers are made, not born. The Lir Academy's Theatre Skills for Business training helps our clients to understand that their role as a speaker is to connect and influence every audience they meet and to engage, inspire, and move their audience to action. What we have to say can change people’s lives and in order to do that, we’ve got to own our story first before we can give it away.

Richard Curran is a journalist, broadcaster and author. He is the presenter of The Business radio show on RTE Radio One and a columnist with the Sunday Independent. Presenter of Dragons Den on RTE Television for eight series, Richard has 30 years experience in business journalism. He is a former business editor of the Irish Independent and former deputy editor of The Sunday Business Post. He has co-written two books, one on Irish entrepreneurs and the other on the multi-billion euro collapse of Irish Nationwide Building Society. He has also made several television documentaries for RTE including, Future Shock: Property Crash in 2007 and The Battle For Rural Ireland in 2015.

Sharon is the Head of Human Resources and Communications at BnM (Bord na Móna), where she leads the organisation’s people strategy, culture transformation, and internal and external communications agenda. With over 20 years’ experience in HR leadership across complex and evolving industries, Sharon is passionate about creating environments where people can thrive, collaborate and contribute to sustainable growth. At BnM, Sharon has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s transition from a traditional energy business to a renewable energy leader- ensuring that its people, values and culture evolve in step with its ambitious renewable energy mission. She is a strong advocate for continuous learning, leadership development, strategic talent management and employee engagement as cornerstones of organisational success.A champion of purposeful communication and authentic leadership, Sharon brings a strategic yet human-centred approach to navigating change. Her insights into aligning learning, culture and corporate transformation make her a compelling voice in the future of work and people development.

With a background in HR and organisational development, Sinead has led teams through transformation and growth. Since joining Broadlake in 2024, she partnered with leaders across our businesses to shape people strategies that drive high performance and sustainable growth. She leads a group-wide programme focused on organisational design, strategic resourcing, and high-performance culture, aligned with our 3X10X ambition. Our work was recently awarded as Winners of both 'Learning & Development Organisation of the year' & 'Best Coaching Initiative' at the 2025 Learning & Development Awards. Grounded in clarity, authenticity, and active listening, she is passionate about building workplaces that are both high-performing and human-centred.

Tom Kelley is a globally recognized leader in innovation and design, celebrated for fostering creativity in organisations worldwide. As a Partner at IDEO and Chairman of D4V, he helps companies and startups unlock their creative potential and drive transformative growth. He is the co-author, with his brother David Kelley, of the bestselling Creative Confidence, a guide to cultivating creativity across every level of an organisation. Tom’s earlier works include The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. He has received numerous accolades, including Executive Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the Kellogg Award for Distinguished Leadership.