Leading in Governance 2026

Sean O’Driscoll serves as Chair of the Governing Authority of University College Cork and of the Mid West Health Planning Board. He is a leading member of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce. Sean was Chairman and CEO of the Glen Dimplex Group, a Partner in KPMG and a Director of AIB. In addition to his Corporate Leadership, prior to this Sean also served as Chair of the Economic and Social Research Institute, as a member of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, the Ireland 2040 Delivery Board, the Action Plan for Jobs, several other Government Advisory Groups and is a former member of the Trilateral Commission. He is a recipient of an OBE and the Legion d’honneur.

Kara Owen CMG CVO took up the role of British Ambassador to Ireland in October 2025. Prior to this, she served as British High Commissioner to Singapore, having been appointed to the role in June 2019. Before her posting to Singapore, Kara was Director for the Americas at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Over the course of her diplomatic career, Kara has held a number of senior leadership positions across the UK diplomatic network. She served as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Paris from 2011 to 2016, following her role as Head of Strategy, Communication and Training in the Consular Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2011. From 2009 to 2011, Kara was Head of Diversity and Equality at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Earlier in her career, she served as Deputy Head of Mission in Hanoi from 2005 to 2009 and was Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary from 2003 to 2005. Her extensive international experience has given her deep expertise in diplomacy, leadership and international relations.

Orla Feely is President of University College Dublin. She holds a BE degree from University College Dublin and MS and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Engineers Ireland and the Irish Academy of Engineering. Professor Feely is President of CESAER (the Conference of European Schools of Advanced Engineering Education and Research), and has previously served as President of Engineers Ireland, as Chair of the Irish Research Council, the EU Advisory Group on Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions and the IEEE Technical Committee on Nonlinear Circuits and Systems, and as Board Member and Deputy Chair of the Higher Education Authority. She is a member of the Board of Ibec and a member of the judging panels for the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

John Hennessy CDir is a highly experienced board Chair and Non-Executive Director with a distinguished career spanning listed and private companies across a range of sectors. His experience combines board leadership and corporate governance with a strong legal, financial and commercial background. John is currently Non-Executive Chairman of Origin Enterprises plc, having joined the Board in January 2026. He also serves on its Remuneration Committee and Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee. Previously, he served as Chair of Dalata Hotel Group plc from its IPO in 2014 through to its sale and delisting in 2025. During his tenure, he oversaw a period of significant growth and expansion across Ireland, the UK and continental Europe. He has also chaired CPL Resources plc and served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of H&K International. John’s earlier career spanned the legal and financial sectors. He practised as a Senior Counsel at the Bar of Ireland, specialising in commercial law, company law and taxation, and was a Partner at Arthur Andersen, where he led forensic accounting, audit and advisory services. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Trinity College Dublin and a Barrister-at-Law degree from King’s Inns. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, as well as a Chartered Director (IoD Ireland) and an accredited mediator.

Professor Stephen Kinsella is Full Professor of Economics and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Limerick. He is also Economic Advisor to An Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance, and served on the Irish Government's AI Advisory Council. His research and commentary focus on macroeconomics, public policy, innovation, and the future of economic growth. A widely respected commentator on economic and business affairs, Stephen is a regular contributor to Irish and international media and has twice been named Economic Commentator of the Year. In addition to his academic work, he is a published author, keynote speaker, and advisor on issues ranging from competitiveness and productivity to technological change and economic policy.

Deputy Governor Mary-Elizabeth McMunn was appointed Deputy Governor Financial Regulation on 1 January 2025. She is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board. As Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation, Mary-Elizabeth is responsible for leading the regulation and supervision of credit institutions, credit unions and payments/electronic money institutions and the insurance sector. She is also responsible for overseeing the Central Bank’s supervisory risk, framework, analytics and data functions and is responsible for leading the Central Bank’s regulatory policy at national, European and global level. She chairs the Central Bank’s Supervisory Risk Committee. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Governor, Mary-Elizabeth was Director of Banking, Payments and Credit Union Supervision since 2018. She was responsible for the supervision and authorisation of banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions, and for the Registry of Credit Unions. Mary-Elizabeth joined the Central Bank in 1997 and has held senior roles in supervisory risk, banking supervision and insurance supervision, as well as having worked for a period in consulting. Mary-Elizabeth holds an MSc in Investment & Treasury from Dublin City University, a BA in Economics from University College Dublin, a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors and is a graduate of the Smurfit Business School.

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”.

At IoD Ireland Dr Caroline Spillane CDir leads the strategic direction of a 3,600-membership body dedicated to supporting directors while advancing high standards of governance nationally. Caroline has held several senior leadership roles including 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 also an experienced Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair serving as a board member of 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.