Join us for what will be an empowering conversation featuring global and local speakers who will share their stories to inspire change and enable action
In March 2019, Colin was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AIB and an Executive Director on the AIB Board. He joined AIB in August 2016 as Managing Director, Wholesale, Institutional & Corporate Banking Division. Prior to joining AIB, he was Managing Director at Macquarie Capital where he led the development of its business in Ireland. Previously, he was a Special Policy Adviser at the Departments of Transport and Finance, Research Director and Chief Economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers, Head of Trading Research and Senior Economist at Bank of Ireland Group Treasury and a country risk analyst at NatWest. He has a PhD in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and degrees in Commerce & Economics from University College, Cork. He served as a Non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus Group plc from 2008 to 2014. Colin is a Director of the Ireland Funds, Ireland Chapter and Non-Executive Director and President 2021/2022 of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.
Dearbhail McDonald is an award-winning Journalist, Author and Broadcaster. A global Eisenhower Fellow, the former Group Business and Legal Editor of Independent News And Media is the 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award from the UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards, as well The Mary Cummins Award for Outstanding Achievement of Women in Media. An in-demand broadcaster, Dearbhail presented BBC Northern Ireland’s ‘Crime NI’, ‘Sunday with Dearbhail’ on BBC Radio Ulster and also regularly sits in the hot seat on RTÉ Radio One covering Brendan O’Connor.
President of the strategic committee of the Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris, the Newry born non-executive director has served as a member of the board of Fighting Words, Ireland’s national creative writing centre for children and young adults, as well as the Stephen’s Green Trust. Dearbhail holds an LL.B (Law) from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Masters Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University.
Trevor Noah is a globally beloved comedian best known as being the host of the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central for seven years. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah broke free from the restraints of a 30-minute linear show, producing engaging social content, award-winning digital series, podcasts and more for its global audience.
Trevor served as the Grammy Awards host for three consecutive years, and his stand-up special “Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia” received a Grammy nomination for best comedy album in 2020. He has written, produced, and starred in 12 comedy specials, including 2022’s Emmy-nominated “I Wish You Would,” and has sold out stand-up comedy shows, including his current “Off The Record” World Tour.
Trevor is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. The book received the Thurber Prize for American Humor and two NAACP Image Awards.
Emmy-nominated Day Zero Productions, a joint venture between Trevor and Paramount Global, currently develops and produces entertaining and impactful content for a global audience. Trevor has also launched the Trevor Noah Foundation, which works to improve equitable access to quality education for underserved youth in South Africa.
Trevor's future projects include hosting Amazon Prime Video’s first South African original series called LOL: Last One Laughing, serving as executive producer for the long-running British comedy series Mock the Week, and hosting an original Spotify weekly podcast. Following the extraordinary success of “Born a Crime,” Trevor is also writing a new book titled “Into the Uncut Grass” scheduled for release in 2024.
The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern became the Prime Minister of New Zealand at just 37 years of age. During her time in office, she faced the challenges of a live streamed domestic terror attack against New Zealand’s Muslim community, a volcanic eruption and the COVID 19 pandemic. Her leadership led to one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in developed nations, banning military-style weapons, and spearheading the Christchurch Call against online extremism. A champion of woman's empowerment, she achieved 50% female representation in New Zealand's parliament and boards, decriminalized abortion, and extended paid parental leave. Ms. Ardern is also a passionate advocate on climate action and is a board member of The Earthshot Prize, focusing on solutions to climate change and environmental issues. She's a 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and Hauser Leader, and a Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Klein Center, focused on combatting online extremism.
Michael is Managing Director and Co-owner of Country Crest, a successful agri foods business based in North County Dublin. Michael worked on the family farm in Lusk from a young age, learning to buy and sell cattle as well as looking after an extensive vegetable growing business. He saw the benefits of building a partnership with retailers, and along with his brother Gabriel, they formed Country Crest in 1993 to grow and prepack fresh potatoes for the retail sector – on the same land that their family has been farming for over 100 years. Country Crest is now recognised as one of the largest suppliers of potatoes, onions and sweet potatoes to retailers in Ireland, and its prepared meal division, Ballymaguire Foods, is the largest producer of fresh prepared meals in Ireland. Country Crest’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in a range of stringent sustainability targets and positive actions that respect the environment, its people, and local communities.The company’s business – of farming, producing and distributing fresh, great-tasting healthy food – is driven by a passion for innovation, sustainability and continued growth.
Caoimhe was appointed Chief Sustainability officer in April 2020. She has over 20 years’ experience in competition and regulation, strategy, and sustainability development. Prior to joining CIÉ, Caoimhe advised and led the delivery of regulatory strategy in the communications markets and in sustainable development. Her experience includes senior management roles in ComReg, as Head of Market Intelligence and Market Analysis Manager and in strategy development in AXA Ireland. Caoimhe is the Chair of Global Action Plan, Ireland, a not for profit organisation driving sustainability initiatives across Ireland.
Eddie co-founded The Electric Storage Company seven years ago with his wife, Anne Marie, to disrupt the traditional energy sector by developing a new smart software solution for energy storage and management that would put customers in control, increase energy efficiency, generate savings and reduce carbon simultaneously. They are now serving clients in Ireland, GB and EU markets from their central Belfast location.
A Chartered Surveyor with 17 years' experience working in the commercial real estate sector, Shane is a specialist in the management of large office, retail and logistic portfolios. Since joining IPUT nine years ago, Shane has been responsible for the management of IPUT’s multi-let portfolio and has been a primary liaison for IPUT’s single let occupiers. He was also responsible for the management of leasing events in IPUT’s standing portfolio. As part of his role, Shane has led the development and implementation of IPUT’s Responsible Investment Strategy and was appointed Sustainability Lead for the business in January 2020. In January 2023 Shane was appointed Head of Sustainability tasked with focusing solely on leading the development and implementation of the IPUT Responsible Investment Strategy.
Dónal joined Aer Lingus in 2009 and has held a number of roles since then in Legal, Corporate Affairs and Communications. Dónal currently holds the position of Chief Corporate Affairs Officer with responsibility for Government and Corporate Affairs, Communications, Sustainability, Property and Risk.He is a lawyer and a graduate of University College Dublin.
Owen leads the sustainability strategy for Musgrave Group and its brands, working with retail partners, suppliers and customers to put sustainability at the heart of the group’s activity. Owen has a background in agriculture and studied food business in UCD, an MAgrSc in Agricultural Innovation Support and a MSc in Business Sustainability from UCD Smurfit Business School. Owen has experience in leading sustainability in the retail sector in both Ireland and the UK having previously represented Bord Bia and Sainsbury’s
Garrett was appointed Group Chief Sustainability Officer in July 2021. He joined Smurfit Kappa in 2000 and has held a number of roles in operations across the Group in Argentina, France and Ireland before moving to the UK where he managed a number of corrugated box plants. In 2016 he took up the position of Head of Investor Relations for the Group, a position he held to 2021. Garrett holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from University College Dublin and has completed his postgraduate studies with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership. He was appointed as Director to the Smurfit Kappa Foundation in May 2022.
Niall is a Senior Manager, Environment & Sustainability with ESB. His responsibilities include enhancing sustainability leadership in ESB, overseeing a portfolio of sustainability environmental initiatives and management systems as well as supporting the delivery of new EU reporting requirements. Previously Niall held a variety of senior leadership roles including Head of Regulation and Innovation in ESB’s Customer Solutions business, Head of ESB eCars, ESB Group Strategy Manager, ESB’s Finance Transformation Program Manager, Head of its Property function and General Manager of ESB’s external Telecoms business (ESBT). He has a Masters in Executive & Business Coaching from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (FCCA).
Helen is a highly experienced marketeer with 30 years’ experience in consumer marketing and market research across a range of sectors and geographies. A graduate of the University of Limerick, she started her career with Infratest+GfK, based in Germany. From there she moved to Motorola, where she held a range of roles including Director of Global Consumer Insights and Product Marketing and Director of Marketing. After working in broadcast and telecoms regulation at Ofcom as the Director of Market Research, she held Marketing Director and Chief Marketing Officer roles at the BBC, DFS, Countrywide and Boots, where she was also the Chair and Director of the Boots Charitable Trust. Helen also serves on the Board of AIB Group (UK) p.l.c as a Non-Executive Director. Helen was appointed Senior Independent Director with effect from 1 July 2022.
Welcome Address & Introduction to the event
Comedian, Best-selling Author, Producer and Philanthropist
• Michael Hoey, Managing Director, Country Crest Ltd
• Caoimhe Donnelly, Chief Sustainability Officer, CIÉ Group
• Eddie McGoldrick, Co-Founder The Electric Storage Company
• Shane Caldwell, Head of Sustainability, IPUT Real Estate Dublin
• Donal Moriarty, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Aer Lingus
• Owen Keogh, Head of Sustainability, Musgrave Group
• Garrett Quinn, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Smurfit Kappa
• Niall Hogan, Senior Manager, Environment & Sustainability, ESB
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Senior Fellow, Harvard University
Non-Executive Director & Chair, Sustainable Business Advisory Committee, AIB
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