Co-founder and Executive Chairman of ‘The Company of Food’ ; Co-founder and Managing Director of East Coast Bakehouse

Michael is the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of ‘The Company of Food’ (a specialist food investment business), Co-founder and Managing Director of East Coast Bakehouse (Ireland’s only commercial scale biscuit/cookie manufacturer), and an investor/director in various food businesses. He is also the current Chairman of Bord Bia (Irish government agency responsible for the promotion of the food and drink sector), Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, and a member of the Irish Emeritus Board of the Smurfit Graduate Business School.

He also acts as a judge/mentor on the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and co-founder/director of the Soul of Haiti Foundation. He is a regular writer on business issues in the Irish Times and a conference speaker.

He was formerly Chairman of the Marketing Institute of Ireland, a non-executive director at Drury Public Relations and founder/chairman of Traidlinks Uganda. Prior to establishing The Company of Food, he held the roles of Managing Director at Jacob Fruitfield, Kellogg's UK/Ireland, Fox’s Biscuits and Evian/Volvic UK/Ireland.

He holds a B.Comm and MBS from UCD and was selected as Alumnus of the Year by Smurfit Graduate Business School in 2010 and as EY Industry Irish Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005.

He is married to Alison Cowzer, they have two daughters (aged 15 and 12) and live in Rathmines, Dublin

Pat Cox is a founding partner of European Integration Solutions, the international Government relations firm. He represents many corporate clients in their dealings with Governments throughout Europe and also represents EU Corporations in their dealings with the US Government.

Pat Cox served as President of the European Parliament from January 2002 until July 2004. During his Presidency he campaigned ceaselessly throughout Europe to promote the enlargement of the European Union, including vigorous campaigning in the Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty and the subsequent accession referenda throughout Central and Eastern Europe. He was the European Parliament's senior representative on the Intergovernmental Conference leading to the adoption of the proposed new Constitutional Treaty.

Cox has also been a Member, prior to their accession, of the Joint Parliamentary Committees to Sweden, Austria and Hungary and served also on the Parliamentary Delegation to South Africa.

He was elected President of the European Liberal Democrat Group in 1998 and played a decisive role on the question of parliamentary accountability of the Executive towards the end of the life of the Santer Commission. He was unanimously re-elected as Group President in June 1999 following the elections to the European Parliament.

Between 1986 and 1989 Cox was the founding Secretary General of the Progressive Democrats in Ireland and represented that party in Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) in the early Nineties as their finance spokesman. Between 1982 and 1986 Pat Cox worked as a television current affairs reporter and presenter. He reported on Irish and international political and economic events, including US presidential elections and United Kingdom and French general elections.

He has received many awards and distinctions for his European leadership, including Freeman of his home city, Limerick, Honorary Doctorates from the National University of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin and the American College Dublin, and the President's Medal of the University of Limerick. He has been conferred by their respective Presidents with the highest national honours of Italy, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania. In 2003 he was presented in Poland with the Special Diploma of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the "Promotion of Poland in Europe" and he was awarded the Polish Business Oscar for 2003. In May 2004 Pat Cox was the recipient of the "International Charlemagne Prize" in Aachen for his outstanding contribution to the EU enlargement process.

In Brussels he has twice been recognised in award ceremonies for his parliamentary activity, being named "Member of the European Parliament of the Year" in 2001 and "Campaigner of the Year" in 2003. The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, following a vote, presented Cox with the "Transatlantic Business Award of the Year 2004".

Cox is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the "International Crisis Group" and of "Friends of Europe". He is also a member of APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council.

Since 1 January 2015 he has been the president of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe.

Group CEO of Ogilvy Ireland and Head of Country for WPP Ireland

JP Donnelly is Group CEO of Ogilvy Ireland and Head of Country for WPP Ireland. WPP employs over 600 people in Ireland, while the Ogilvy Group is made up of 4 distinct offers -- Wilson Hartnell, Ogilvy & Mather, eightytwenty and Geometry Global.

He is a former chairman of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and is currently a board member of the ISPCC.  He has also served on the boards of Crafts Council of Ireland, the Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital and MediaForum.ie.  JP is also part of the Executive Council of UCD Rugby, and the Leinster Rugby Commercial Committee. 

Niall FitzGerald is Chairman of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

His executive career was with Unilever where he worked in many countries across the globe. He was Chair and CEO from 1996 – 2004. Niall has chaired a wide range of companies and public bodies and has a broad range of current engagements both business and pro bono.

Loretta Brennan Glucksman is a prominent Irish-American philanthropist. During her 18 year tenure as Chairperson of the American Ireland Fund, Loretta oversaw contributions of over €300 million - of some more than €500m raised to date - in support of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development on the island of Ireland.

She has served on a variety of boards including IDA Ireland, The National Gallery of Ireland, The National Library, The National Concert Hall, The Abbey Theatre, Trinity College, University College Cork, The Royal College of Surgeons, The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, and Cork Airport Authority.

In 2018, she also served as grand marshal of the fifth avenue parade on St. Patricks day in New York, becoming only the fifth woman in the parades two-hundred and fifty seven year history to wear the sash. She is also a member of the Irish America hall of fame.

Former Chairman of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Paul Haran is a former Chairman of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Paul is a member of a number of company boards including Glanbia plc, the Mater Private Hospital, and Edward Dillon & Co. which he chairs.  He also chairs the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland and is a member of the Road Safety Authority. He is also a member of the Forum of the Economic and Social Research Council and of the Council of the Irish Taxation Institute, and a trustee of the Millennium Scholars Trust.  He is a frequent speaker at international fora and provides strategic advice to a number of companies.

Paul retired at the end of 2004 as Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment after a public sector career of almost 30 years. During that time he was a member of the Board of Forfas; also a member of the National Economic and Social Council of Ireland, the National Economic and Social Forum and the Top Level Appointments Commission.  He chaired the implementation group to establish Science Foundation Ireland.

Paul received both his BSc in Computer Science and his MSc in Economics, Statistics and Finance from Trinity College Dublin.  He received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Trinity College Dublin in 2006.

Aidan Heavey is Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil plc. He has played a key role in the development of Tullow Oil from its formation in 1985, to its current international status as a leading independent oil and gas exploration and production group. Aidan is a director of Traidlinks, an Irish-based charity established to develop and promote enterprise and diminish poverty in the developing world, particularly Africa.

A Chartered Accountant and a BComm graduate of UCD, Aidan previously held roles in the airline and engineering sectors in Ireland.

Anne Heffernan is HR Director of Dunnes Stores, managing 18,000 employees in four regions.

Anne studied medicine in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, graduating in June 1992.  She

practiced medicine for seven years specialising in Nephrology in St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin.  She

left medicine in June 1999 and commenced the full-time MBA programme in The Michael Smurfit

School of Business, UCD, graduating in November 2000.

Anne commenced work in Dunnes Stores in January 2001, starting her retail career in the food

buying office.  She learned the basics of buying food products in the Convenience Food department

and then progressing across all other food buying departments.  She moved to the Human Resources

department in November 2003 and was made HR Director in November 2005.

Herlihy joined Linkedin as VP & MD, in late 2015. His current focus is on:

1) Talent Solutions - Connecting talent with opportunity at massive scale

2) Marketing Solutions - The most effective place online for marketers to engage with professionals

3) Sales Solutions - The start of every sales opportunity

4) Learning Solutions - Personalised eLearning delivered at scale

Herlihy previously spent a decade at Google, where he was VP of SMB sales and head of Google

Ireland. In his time with Google the Irish arm of the tech giant’s business grew from 50 employees to

2,500. During the 10 years, it was Herlihy’s leadership that contributed to decisions such as Google’s

acquisition of Dublin’s tallest building – the 15-storey Montevetro Building – from REO for €99.5m in

2011 and it was the presence of Google that turned the Grand Canal Dock area into Dublin’s digital

Herlihy also holds a BComm degree & a DPA in accounting and Finance from UCD.  He is also a Qualified Chartered Accountant

Vivienne Jupp was appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of CIÉ in June 2011. She is a management consultant and formerly a Global Managing Director in Accenture.

She has had a number of Government appointments including Chairman of the Information Society Commission and Member of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. She was also a member of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector and a Board Member of the Irish Hospice Foundation.

Vivienne graduated from University College Dublin with BComm and MBS degrees. In 2000 she received the Outstanding Alumna Award from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business.

Jerome Kennedy was appointed to the Board at Total Produce plc on 28 November 2006 and is a member of the Audit, Compensation and Nomination Committees. Mr. Kennedy, FCA also serves as the Chairman of Caulfield McCarthy Group Retail.

Mr. Kennedy served as a Managing Partner of KPMG Ireland from 1995 to 2004. Mr. Kennedy led the successful integration of the Andersen Ireland firm into KPMG Ireland. He spent 15 years from 1980 to 1995 as a Partner in KPMG providing audit and advisory services to a range of Irish companies and Irish subsidiaries of multinational groups. Mr. Kennedy has been a Non-Executive Director of Total Produce PLC since November 28, 2006. He has been an Independent Non-Executive Director at Green REIT plc since June 25, 2013.

He has also served in a variety of companies including Independent News & Media plc, Bank of Ireland Life Holdings, New Ireland Assurance Company, Blackrock International Land Plc, KPMG Worldwide & as a Member of Board of KPMG Europe from 1995 to 2004 in addition to being a former member of the Irish Board of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Jerry Liston is a former Chairman of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, BWG Group, Kevin Broderick Ltd. and Balcas Timber Ltd and a former Board Member of Glanbia plc.

Previous Directorships included: Development Co-Operation Ireland, the Arthritis Foundation, NTR, Lake Communications and the Irish Aviation Authority.

Jerry served as Chief Executive of United Drug plc. from 1974 to 2000.

He is past Chairman and Board Member of The Marketing Society of Ireland and past President, Chairman and Board Member of the Irish Management Institute. Jerry has been awarded Honorary Lifetime Member of the Irish Marketing Institute and the Irish Marketing Society.

He graduated from University College Dublin with a BA in 1961 and an MBA in 1968. He studied Law at Kings Inn in 1962 and was called to the Irish Bar.

Gary McGann is the Chairman of Paddy Power Betfair Plc, one of the world’s largest public online sports betting and gaming companies. Gary is also Chairman of Aon Ireland and Sicon Ltd (Sisk Group). He is the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG), one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world. He remains a director of the SKG board.

Before joining the (then) Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1998 he held various executive positions at senior VP or CEO level in Irish industry in both the private and public sector. In 1968 he joined the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office as an auditor. He joined LM Ericsson Limited as Management Accountant in 1978 and later became Group Financial Controller of the Irish companies of LM Ericsson Group. He joined Gilbeys of Ireland Group as Group Finance Director in 1988 and was appointed Chief Executive in late 1991. He was also Chief Executive of their IFSC Company “Grand Met Finance Ireland” which he helped found in 1990. In early 1994, the Irish Government appointed him as Group Chief Executive of Aer Lingus, a position he held until 1998. He joined the Smurfit Group as Chief Financial Officer in August 1998. He was appointed President & Chief Operations Officer in December 1999, and was elected to the Group’s Board in January 2000. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in November 2002.

Gary is a Director of Green Reit plc, Multi-packaging Systems Plc (MPS), a Director and former President of IBEC (Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation), and a Director of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. He is also a former member of the ERT (European Round Table of Industrialists) and former Chairman of CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries). 
In the "not for profit sector" Gary is a director of Barnardos and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI).

Gary obtained a Bachelor of Arts from U.C.D., is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Accountants (FCCA), and holds a Masters degree in Management Science (MScMgnt). He is also an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Ireland.

Gary is a member of The K Club, Las Brisas Golf Club, RIAC, and Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.
He is married to Moira and they have 3 daughters and two granddaughters. He enjoys golf, music and theatre.

Mr. McGuire serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Infinity Capital Ltd. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Trintech Group PLC from February 2002 to January 17, 2011. From 1991 to August 1999, Mr. McGuire served as Trintech Group PLC's President, and from 1987 to 1991.

Before co-founding Trintech, Mr. McGuire worked with the Industrial Credit Corporation PLC, a leading Irish commercial bank, from 1982 to 1987, where his responsibilities included the appraisal of electronic industry investment projects.

Mr. McGuire received a bachelor of commerce and master of business studies from University College Dublin. Mr. McGuire is also a member of the Irish Emeritus Board of the Michael Smurfit, Graduate School of Business and a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland.

Rónán Murphy is a non-executive director of Davy and Liberty Insurance.

Rónán was previously Senior Partner of PwC Ireland, a position he was elected to in 2007 and was re-elected to for a further four year term on 1 July 2011. Rónán joined PwC in 1980 and was admitted to the partnership in 1992, following a two year secondment to PwC in Boston. As an assurance Partner, he served PwC clients in the financial services, technology and services sectors. In 1995, Rónán joined the Firm’s Leadership Team and held a number of operational leadership roles, prior to being appointed as Partner in Charge of the Firm’s Assurance practice in 2003, a position he held for four years. Rónán was a member of the PwC EMEA Leadership Board from 2010 to 2015.

Rónán completed a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Business Studies at University College Dublin before qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1982.

Rónán is a founding member of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce.

Anne Nolan was appointed to the Board of the Irish Chapter of the Ireland US Council in October 2014 and to the Board of Cricket Ireland in April 2016. Anne served as chairperson at the Irish Aviation Authority from June 2010 until June 2018. She also served for many years on the Board of the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) and the Executive Committee of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). She was previously a Board Member of the Irish Medicines Board, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and served as Chairman of their respective Audit Committees.

Anne has also previously served as a Council Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and as a member of the Irish Board of the Smurfit Business School. She is currently also an Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Management Science in the School of Pharmacy, Trinity College Dublin.

From 1982 to 1987 she worked in retail pharmacy and pharmaceutical wholesaling and from 1987 to 1994 she was Healthcare Group Director and Company Secretary with the Federation of Irish Chemical Industries. She was appointed Chief Executive of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association Ltd. in July 1994 and also served as its Company Secretary, until December 2014. 

Breege is a former Board Member & Group Director for Business Development & New Markets at Primark, and after 37 years, now continues in an ambassadorial role, is a trustee of Primark Better Lives Foundation, and a trustee of the Primark Pension Plan.

A graduate of UCD, and a Chartered Director, Breege is currently Chair of the Business and Human Rights Implementation Group, Chair of Real World Analytics, Chair of Carroll Estates, Non-Executive Director of Shaw & Sons Ltd, a member of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Irish Advisory Board, and a member of the Outside Appointments Board (Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour).

Breege has held government appointed positions; board member of a number of state companies including An Post and Aer Rianta, Chair of Shannon College of Hotel Management, Chair of the Labour Relations Commission, has been a Trustee and a Council Member of the National Executive of IBEC, and was the first Chairperson of Retail Ireland, a specialised retail structure within IBEC.

Most recently Breege has been honoured as follows:

2019

RDS Gold Medal Award for Enterprise

The Irish Times Top 1,000 Distinguished Leader in Business Award

2017

UCD Business – Smurfit Patrons of Excellence

2016

Doctorate of Philosophy (honoris causa), Dublin Institute of Technology

Fashion Retailing Personality of the Year, Drapers UK

Irish Tatler Women of the Year, Hall of Fame Award

Ireland’s Most Powerful Women, Top 25, Davy Business Leaders Award

Chevalier of The Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur by President François Hollande

Iconic Businesswomen of the Decade’ at the Women Economic Forum, New Delhi

2015

UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School, New York Honoree

UCD Quinn School ‘Alumna of the Year’ Award, Dublin

2014

The Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award IMAGE

2011

Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Business Award 

Mr. James O’Hara is a Non-Executive Director of Allied Irish Banks, Plc since October 13, 2010. Mr. O’Hara was Vice President of Intel Corporation and General Manager of Intel Ireland, where he was responsible for Intel’s technology and manufacturing group in Ireland. He is a Non-Executive Director of Fyffes plc and Chairman of a number of indigenous technology start-up companies. He is a past President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland and a former Irish board member at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business in addition to a former member of the board at Enterprise Ireland. He joined the Board of Allied Irish Banks, Plc in October 2010. He was appointed Non-Executive Director of EBS Limited in June 2012.

Educated at Blackrock College and University College Dublin (UCD) where he obtained a B. Comm, Lochlann Quinn qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1966.  He joined Arthur Andersen & Co. in London and, in 1969, he returned to Dublin to head up their audit practice in Ireland until 1980. Whilst at Arthur Andersen he became auditor and financial advisor to a small Irish start–up company Glen Electric (now Glen Dimplex).

In 1979, he joined Glen Dimplex as Deputy Chairman and Finance Director.  He was one of two shareholders –but sold his interest some years ago.  He retired from Glen Dimplex in 2007.

Mr Quinn’s private business interests include: a hotel in Dublin; commercial properties in several European cities and a vineyard in Bordeaux.

He was Chairman of Allied Irish Bank (AIB) from 1997 to 2003 and was Chairman of ESB (Ireland’s national electricity company) from 2008 to 2015. He is a former Director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (1990 – 2000) and a former Chairman of the National Gallery of Ireland (2002-2010).  He is a Director of the Graduate Business School of UCD since 1992 and was the major donor to the UCD Undergraduate Business School called the “Lochlann Quinn School”.

Tom Roche was a founding Executive Director and is currently non-Executive Chairman of NTR plc.  He is a non-Executive Director of a number of other companies.

He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with an MA (Economics) degree and holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Founding CEO of Forfas and Science Foundation Ireland and founding Chairman of the National Tourism Development Authority (now Failte Ireland).

A long-time advisor to government and industry and board member of private and public sector companies John Travers was founding CEO of Forfas and Science Foundation Ireland and founding Chairman of the National Tourism Development Authority (now Failte Ireland). Prior to that he was Chief Economic Advisor in the Department of Industry and Commerce, Principal Officer in the Departments of the Taoiseach and Finance and senior Town Planning advisor in the Department of Local Government.