Leading in Governance 2025

Dr Darcy, is a clinical research psychologist and health tech innovator passionate about making mental health support radically accessible. She founded Woebot, the first clinically validated mental health chatbot grounded in decades of psychological science and responsible design. Trained at UCD, Stanford School of Medicine, and the American Psychiatric Association, Alison has always been drawn to overcoming unmet needs in care. Her work has led to 18 clinical trials and widespread recognition — with Woebot featured in 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Recognized in Time Magazine's inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in AI, she continues to advocate for safe, engaging uses of AI in healthcare.

Feargal O'Rourke was appointed Chair of IDA Ireland, the State’s inward investment agency, by the Irish Government in January 2024 for a five-year term. He also serves as Chair of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) and @Outmin, and is a Board Advisor to Yuno Energy. In August 2024, he joined the Board of C&C Group plc, where he chairs the Audit Committee. He is the author of From Rags to Riches (Nov 2024), the definitive account of the Irish men’s rugby team in the professional era. In May 2025, Feargal was appointed to the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Taskforce. He is a member of the Finance and Property Committees of the IRFU and the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School Irish Advisory Board (2019–present). He previously served as a Lay Member of the Council of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (2017–2023) and on the Dublin North East Inner City Implementation Board (2017–2021). Feargal was Managing Partner (CEO) of PwC Ireland from 2015 to 2023 and a member of the PwC EMEA Leadership Team. A Partner from 1996, he held various leadership roles including Head of Tax (2011–2015), and was unanimously re-elected for a second term as Managing Partner in 2019. With 27 years’ experience, he has advised multinationals—primarily from the US West Coast—on Irish, European, and global matters, and has worked with Irish public, private, and State entities across diverse sectors. Feargal served on the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland (2014–2020), and was appointed by the Government to the Commission on Taxation (2008–2009) and the Board of Forfás, the State body for science, technology, and industrial policy (1998–2005). He regularly engages with both State and private sectors on taxation, investment, and regulatory issues affecting inward investment. Feargal is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an Honorary Fellow of the Irish Taxation Institute (2024), having placed first nationally in the final exam. He holds a First Class Honours B.Comm and a Diploma in Professional Accounting from University College Dublin, and received the Midlands Gateway Chamber Ambassador Award in 2015.

Dr. Frances Ruane is an Irish economist, who currently chairs Ireland’s National Competitiveness and Productivity Council and is a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Board. She studied Economics at UCD and at Oxford University, where she graduated with a DPhil in Economics in 1980. Over several decades Frances has gained wide experience of the public policy making process in Ireland. This includes as a board member of IDA Ireland, Forfás, Higher Education Authority, Health Research Board, and the Commission of the National Pensions Reserve Fund. She has chaired the National Statistics Board, and expert groups in health and disability. She has also served as a member of national committees in the areas of taxation, skills, and innovation. Her commercial Board experiences include Bord Gáis Eireann (now Ervia), PIMCO Fund Managers, and Dodge and Cox Fund Managers. Outside Ireland, Frances’s advisory roles have included membership of the Economic Advisory Group (EAG) at the Dept for the Economy in Northern Ireland, and in Scotland as a member of the Council of Economic Advisors to the Scottish First Minister, and of the Enterprise and Skills Review Group. In addition she has served as a member of the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board, the Euro-50 Group and the World Bank Data Advisory Panel. Dr. Ruane was Director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) from 2006 to 2015. She previously held academic positions at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) between 1977 and 2006, as well as administrative positions, including College Bursar. Prior to working in TCD, she worked as an economist at the Central Bank of Ireland and at IDA Ireland. Her research interests are in economic development, international economics and public policy making. She is currently a member of the Royal Irish Academy and an Honorary Fellow of TCD.

Rosheen is a seasoned executive with years of leading complex businesses in clean energy, water treatment, the waste management sector and financial services. Rosheen was appointed Chief Executive Officer of NTR plc in April 2013.  NTR is an investor and asset manager in Europe’s clean energy transition. Having invested in over 3 GW of clean power projects over 25 years, today NTR’s expert interdisciplinary team manages 1.4GW of clean power and energy storage projects across seven European markets on behalf of three investment funds. Prior to joining NTR, Rosheen was CEO of GE Money Ireland, the consumer finance division of General Electric. Prior to that, Rosheen led the business transformation initiative for Irish utility ESB Power Generation.   Rosheen is a Director of Grafton Group plc and construction group Sisk. She holds a PhD and MA from Dublin City University, and BSc from Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Helen McBreen is an accomplished venture capital investor and technology leader with over 20 years of experience scaling innovative deep tech companies. She is a Partner at Atlantic Bridge a global deep tech investor and Founder of the Atlantic Bridge University Fund, which has catalyzed over €1 billion in investment into early-stage deeptech startups. Since 2015, she has led the creation and deployment of multiple institutional funds, invested in 45 deep tech companies, and successfully exited companies acquired by Apple, Quantexa, and Cambridge Education Group. Helen holds a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Edinburgh, where she was awarded multiple prestigious scholarships. Her expertise spans seed-stage investing, IP commercialization, international M&A, and institutional fundraising. She was previously an investor at the National Digital Research Centre, co-founding Europe’s first dedicated science ventures accelerator. Helen sits on several boards across sectors such as quantum computing, AI, cybersecurity, and medtech, and chairs Ireland’s leading Integrated Photonics Centre (IPIC). A Kauffman Fellow, former VP of Tech Tour Europe and an active voice for women in technology and venture capital, Helen is widely recognized among the Top 100 Women in STEM. Helen is proud to be a Judge at the world recognised Young Scientist and Technologist Exhibition and is a recent addition to the board of Kinia an education focused non-profit focused on skills and learning for children.

Peter is a Partner in Fieldfisher and is a member of the Corporate and Commercial team. Peter has eighteen years of experience securing favourable outcomes for clients in all aspects of commercial and corporate law including M&A transactions, venture capital transactions and corporate restructurings both in Ireland and on a cross-border basis. Peter also advises companies and directors on corporate governance issues, the application of the Companies Act and the duties and obligations of directors. Peter advises on intellectual property development, protection and exploitation, including branding issues, marketing and advertising. He has extensive experience in technology development, procurement and licensing deals, including managed services, systems integration, and technology and business process outsourcing. Peter is an associate faculty member in the Law Society, lecturing and tutoring on share and asset disposals and acquisitions.

Rachael Ingle is CEO Aon Ireland and Executive Chair UK, Ireland and South Africa Subregion. She joined the business in 1998 and sits on Aon’s EMEA Executive Committee and is a member of Aon’s Global Executive Leadership Team. Rachael is also a Board member of The Aon Ireland Master Trustee DAC in Ireland and the Aon multi-employer European pension plan, United Pensions in Belgium.  An actuary by profession, Rachael has over 30 years' experience in integration and change management, product innovation, shaping policy, risk and governance, client relationship management, business growth and leading teams. Appointed by the Irish government’s Minister for Finance in 2023, Rachael is the Chairperson of the National Treasury Management Agency, where she serves as a NED on the Board and also sits on the Remuneration Committee.  Rachael is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland and is an experienced pension plan Trustee. She is also a former Chairperson and Council member and of the Irish Association of Pension Funds.  She holds a BSc in Applied Science (Maths and Physics) and an MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Control.

Áine co-founded Kinzen, a tech startup that tackled misinformation online. As COO, she helped build tools to detect and disrupt harmful content. Spotify acquired Kinzen in October 2022, and Áine transitioned to a leadership role there as Director. Her work continues to shape how global platforms handle digital safety. Before Kinzen, Áine led global journalism partnerships at Facebook in New York. She helped launch the Facebook Journalism Project and co-founded the News Integrity Initiative. These programs supported reliable news and empowered journalists worldwide. Áine spent five years at Storyful, first as political editor, then head of content, and finally managing editor. Before that, she worked over seven years as a political correspondent for The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, and The Irish Examiner. She serves as chair of the Gaisce Council, which oversees the President of Ireland’s Award. Áine also chairs Rethink Ireland and The Shona Project. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media appointed her to its advisory committee on women’s stories in national collections. Áine holds a B.Ed, a Master’s in Journalism from DCU, and a Master’s in Business Science from University College Cork.She earned leadership certificates from Cornell and Harvard University, and an advanced coaching diploma from Kingstown College. In 2018, she graduated from the Sulzberger Leadership Program at Columbia University. Her accolades include the 2018 Irish Tatler Woman of the Year in Media award. In 2022, she received the VIP Eir Power of Women award for digital innovation. The Woman of Vision award followed in 2023 for her work in tech. DCU honoured her with an Alumni Award in 2020. Áine regularly speaks at major international conferences. She also hosts Reignite on RTÉ Radio One and occasionally presents on The Business. Her broadcasting presence further amplifies her influence in business and public discourse. She has earned consistent national recognition for her work. The Irish Examiner named her among “100 Women Changing Ireland in 2021”. In 2023, The Irish Independent featured her in “Ireland’s Rising Stars: 50 Ones to Watch”. Most recently, The Business Post listed her in “Ireland’s Top 100 People in Tech 2024”.

Caroline Spillane CDir is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Directors Ireland. She commenced the role in July 2022. Caroline has held several senior leadership roles including most recently as Director General of Engineers Ireland, the all-Ireland professional body for engineers, CEO of the Medical Council of Ireland, the independent statutory regulator of over 25,000 medical practitioners and Assistant National Director of the Health Services Executive. Caroline is an experienced Non-Executive Director serving as a board member of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), ESB Networks and Irish Manufacturing Research. She is also a member of the Advisory Group to Balance for Better Business, an independent business-led Review Group established by the government to improve gender balance in senior leadership in Ireland. Caroline's qualifications include a BA from UCC and an MA from TUD. She is currently undertaking a Doctoral programme with SETU.