Breege is Chair and NED (Public and Private Sectors), a former Board Member & Group Director for Business Development & New Markets at Primark, and after 37 years, now continues in an ambassadorial role. Breege is a Trustee of The Primark Pension Plan.

A graduate of UCD, and a Chartered Director, Breege is currently Chair of the Implementation Group for the National Plan of Business and Human Rights*, Member of the Board of The Kylemore Trust, Member of Hillsborough Castle Board, Chair of Carroll Estates Dublin Ltd, Chair of Real World Analytics, Non- Executive Director of Shaw & Sons Ltd, Member of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Irish Advisory Board, Member of the Outside Appointments Board (Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour), and Member of Presidents Campaign Cabinet, Technological University Dublin.

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 Chair of Retail Ireland, a specialised retail structure within IBEC.

*Department of Foreign Affairs
**Irish Business Employers Confederation

Most recently Breege has been honoured as follows:

2022
All-Ireland Business Foundation All-Ireland Business Champions Lifetime Achievement Award

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
Technological University Dublin Doctorate of Philosophy (honoris causa)
Drapers UK Fashion Retailing Personality of the Year
Irish Tatler Women of the Year Hall of Fame Award
Davy Business Leaders Award - Ireland’s Most Powerful Women, Top 25
Women Economic Forum, New Delhi - Iconic Businesswomen of the Decade
Chevalier of The Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur, presented by President François Hollande

2015
UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School, New York Honoree
UCD Quinn School ‘Alumna of the Year’ Award, Dublin

2014
IMAGE The Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award

2011
Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Business Award

Leah Boersig has developed teams in innovative, high growth technology and non-profit organisations in the US and Ireland. Leah currently leads fraud risk operations at Square Europe, and was awarded the Her.ie scholarship to pursue an Executive MBA in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. Leah earned BAs in English and Gender Studies from Kenyon College, and a graduate certificate in Human Resources Management from Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Julie Byrne joined the UCD College of Business in January 2014 and is an associate professor of Banking and Finance. Since September 2017 she has served as the academic director of the Bachelor of Commerce programme at the Quinn School of business. Prior to that she was the academic director of the MSc in Energy and Environmental Finance programme in the Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is also co-Director of the UCD Centre for Business and Society (CeBas) and a lead researcher at the UCD Energy Institute. She lectures at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level and was a recipient of a UCD College of Business Teaching Excellence Award in 2020 and a UCD College of Business Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award in 2018.

Julie’s main research interests are in sustainable finance, energy & environmental finance, and corporate finance. She is currently a co-Pi on the Next Generation Energy Systems (NexSys) partnership programme, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, and a funded investigator on the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Valuation and Risk (VAR) project. Previously, she was a funded investigator on the Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme (ESIPP). An active researcher, she has published in journals such as Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Policy, and Energies. She has recently acted as a reviewer for Nature Energy, the Energy Journal, and Energies.

John Cotter is Professor of Finance and the Chair in Quantitative Finance at University College Dublin.  He is Chairperson of the Banking and Finance Subject Area.  He is a Research Fellow at the UCLA Ziman Research Center for Real Estate.  John has had visiting positions at UCLA, London School of Economics, Yale University, University of British Columbia and ESSEC Business School. 

His primary research, teaching and consultancy interests are in the areas of risk management, financial analysis and investment analysis.  He has also served as an expert witness in several financial cases. John is a member of the Group of Economic Advisers for the European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA), the supra-national supervisor of European financial markets.

Leon Diop is a 28 year old mixed race man from Tallaght. Born to an Irish mother and a Senegalese father. He grew up in a mixed ethnic and religious household. He studied Psychology in Maynooth University where he served two years as Students' Union President.

He is the founder of Black and Irish. An organisation striving to transform Ireland into a global leader in equality and inclusion. He is a host of the Black and Irish podcast with RTÉ. He currently serves on the boards of the Childhood Development Initiative, Tallaght and South Dublin County Partnership.

Patrick is the Jefferson Smurfit Professor of Strategic Management at University College Dublin (UCD). He has held senior positions at the University-including Vice-President, member of the Governing Authority, Associate Dean-UCD Business School and most recently, Academic Director of Executive Developmant at the School. He also holds visiting positions at Nanyang Business School in Singapore, the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin; the Antwerp School of Management and at the University of Albany. He graduated with a Ph.D. in Strategy from the University of Pittsburgh and earned his undergaraduate and master’s qualifications at UCD. Previous academic and visiting appointments have included Nanyang Business School; Peking University; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Penn State University and the University of Pittsburgh.

His research and consulting interests include: top management team processes; strategy development processes; leadership development and strategy implementation issues. Prior to entering academia he held a number of financial and strategy positions at KPMG; The Investment Bank of Ireland; Jefferson Smurfit Group and An Post.

Board Advisor, Albany Beck and former Chairman Citibank Ireland - Banking/Capital Markets and Advisory. Tony was Corporate Banking Head and Business Senior Credit Officer for Ireland. He is a former Chairperson of the Federation of International Banks in Ireland and was a member of the Government’s Clearing House Group for Financial Services. Currently serving as non-Executive Director of the Central Remedial Clinic.

Tony is a strategic business consultant with extensive independent non-executive board experience on the Irish subsidiary boards of International Banks, Fund Management and Aviation Leasing companies.

He graduated with a Batchelor of Commerce Degree from UCD and holds a Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors and a Professional Certificate in Responsible and Sustainable Finance from the Institute of Banking/UCD.

Audrey Healy is Head of Marketing and Communications and Director of Alumni Relations for the UCD College of Business based in Dublin, Ireland. Audrey has more than twenty year’s marketing and communications experience across a range of industry sectors spanning tourism, professional services, technology and higher education. Audrey’s career has been global with progressive roles undertaken in Wellington, Edinburgh, London and Dublin. Audrey takes great pleasure in supporting her teams to tell stories and create relationships that support the development of iconic and much loved organisations and brands.

Conor Keane is an award-winning journalist, documentary maker, and seasoned communicator with more than thirty years of experience working in the Irish media landscape. Conor, who now works as a consultant with Heneghan, a leading strategic communications consultancy, was the business editor of the Irish Examiner for eight years. A former Business Journalist of the Year, Conor started his career with the Limerick Leader newspaper and worked with The Kerryman newspaper in his native county.

Conor’s documentaries In Shame, Love, In Shame and A Very Irish Coup, broadcast as part of RTÉ Radio 1’s Documentary on One series, won Gold at the IMRO Radio Awards in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Conor has also won a Premios Ondas Award (Spain’s Bafta’s); Association of International Broadcasters Awards, best human-interest documentary; Gold Torc at the Celtic Media Awards and was shortlisted for the Prix Italia and the Prix Europa.

Emmet Oliver is an editor, lecturer and broadcaster. He started his career at The Irish Times where he was a business correspondent, media columnist and Asst. Business Editor. He then worked at Bloomberg UK and also spent time as a business editor at the Irish Independent and Sunday Tribune. During the financial crisis Emmet worked as Director of communications at IDA Ireland, where he was a member of the management committee.

Emmet returned to journalism in 2019 as editor of the Sunday Business Post and currently broadcasts on business and economic topics at NewsTalk 106. He also lectures at UCD Quinn School and hosts the official podcast Business Impact of UCD College of Business.

Jane is an experienced journalist, writer and editor, specialising in business and finance. She has written for both online and print media and has worked for The Irish Times, The Sunday Business Post and for international news agencies like Reuters and Bloomberg.

She now provides writing, content and editing services for a range of clients, focusing in particular on digital transformation projects and user experience (UX).

Nóirín O'Sullivan is an experienced executive leader, she most recently served as United Nations Assistant Secretary General for the United Nations Department of Safety and Security based in New York. Prior to joining the United Nations, Nóirín enjoyed a diverse and successful 36 year career in An Garda Síochana, making history when she became the first woman to lead An Garda Síochana (Ireland’s National Policing and Security Service).
 

Nóirín now operates as non-executive director, independent advisor and consultant across a number of sectors, including on the Board of Directors of the Irish Aviation Authority and as a Board Member of the National Maternity Hospital. She is a member of the North American Advisory Board of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. Nóirín is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Executive Institute (NEI). She holds a Master in Business Studies (MBS) from the Smurfit School of Business, University College Dublin. She is the recipient of numerous recognition and awards, including an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) from the University of Ulster for Distinguished Public Service.

Anton Savage has presented TV and Radio Shows including Ireland AM, The Seven O’Clock Show, The Apprentice, You’re Fired! The Sunday Business Show, Savage Sunday and The Anton Savage Show (for which he won the PPI Award for Best Magazine Show in the show’s inaugural year.)

Anton has written for publications including the Irish Independent, The Examiner, The Mail and Mail on Sunday and he has been a columnist for both The Sunday Independent and Herald. His first book Spin and Win – how Irish politicians get elected was published in 2007 to positive reviews. And almost no sales. (He tries to focus on the reviews…)

Anton is a founding Director of The Communications Clinic, one of Ireland’s leading communications training and advisory companies. He served in a number of senior management roles prior to that.

Anton is a regular MC at AGM’s, award ceremonies and Conferences, including the European People’s Party European Convention (which was addressed by the heads of dozens of EU Member States including the German Chancellor, Spanish Prime Minister and President of the European Council) and has hosted ‘Audiences With’ a range of guests, from Sir John Sawyers (former head of MI6) to Jeremy Paxman, to IKEA Global Chairman Lars-Johan Jarnheimer.