Michael Browne is a Senior Development Advisor in Enterprise Ireland’s Fintech & Financial Services Department. He has a portfolio of clients across the fintech spectrum at every stage of development from innovative early-stage start-ups to unicorns who are leading global players in their marketplace. He also leads Enterprise Ireland’s Global Fintech team, which has representatives spanning the world from Sydney to San Francisco. Previously, he worked in Enterprise Ireland’s Equity and Commercial Evaluation Departments. Prior to joining Enterprise Ireland, Michael worked as an Equity Analyst in the Research Department of Goodbody Stockbrokers. He has completed a summer internship in the Taxation Department of Arthur Andersen. Michael has a Bachelor of Business Studies degree from Trinity College and a Masters in Investment & Treasury Management from DCU. He is a CFA Charterholder and a Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He is currently studying for a certificate in ESG Investing.

Brid O’Connell, MMII, MMPRII, MSc (Hons), was appointed as CEO of Guaranteed Irish in July 2016. Brid has a long career in marketing, branding communications and PR.

She has welcomed the opportunity to add value to Guaranteed Irish members through her revitalising and repositioning of the organisation to reflect modern Ireland and global economy.

Derek Foley Butler is CEO of GRID Finance and Chairman of the GRID Foundation. Derek has spent his life between the private and third sector working for PwC, GOAL, Goodbody Stockbrokers and EY before founding GRID Finance in 2013. He was an early advocate for peer to peer lending. Derek founded the SME recovery campaign in 2020 which advocated for a government response for SME’s to the pandemic. He sees a vital need to recognise the best of Irish Fintech that are contributing to building a better financial system in Ireland and will Chair the awards.

Sinead works and advises in the fintech world, following a period in banking after her qualification as a barrister. She led teams in the legal, compliance and risk divisions of a global fintech organisation during its unicorn days, holding a CBI approved CRO role, before moving into the role of Senior Legal Advisor and Irish Branch Lead for the Electronic Money Association (EMA).

She has a passion for well-being, providing mentoring and coaching in the innovative financial services sector. She founded Financial InnovateHER, a Group promoting Mentoring, Networking and Learning amongst women in the sector, in 2024.

Sinead acts as Secretary to the Fintech Intelligence Taskforce (FIT) with the FIU, and holds the seat representing EMA on CBI Financial Forum sub-groups. She is a member (previous Secretary) of the Ethics Committee within the Compliance Institute, holds the LCOI, and is registered on the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA).

She also holds an LLM and Diploma in management studies. She went on to qualify as a Notary Public, then moved into studies and qualifications as a Personal, Leadership, Corporate Wellbeing and Team Coach in 2020.

David Howard is Deputy Director of Financial Services Ireland (FSI) group, the Ibec trade association representing the interests of the financial services sector in Ireland. In his role, David is a member of the CBI’s Financial Industry Stakeholder Forum. In Ibec, David has previously served as Director of the Building Materials Federation and as Senior Policy Executive with Property Industry Ireland. Prior to joining Ibec in 2013, David worked with Kellen Europe, a trade association and management consultancy based in Brussels.  

Alison is a respected serial entrepreneur, who is an active contributor in the start up ecosystem. Her background in Exec level international corporate gave her the business and growth knowledge essential in the startup ecosystem. She is focused on tech, specifically tech for good leveraging her keen interest in Sustainability.
Alison co-founded and served as the COO of CyberPie (AI & Blaockchain), an Irish startup that achieved successful investment and exit strategies. Not put off by the founder journey she then co-founded and became COO of Trrue, a Layer 1 blockchain protocol for the Financial Services ecosystem, focused on Impact, and Green finance, UK and Ireland based.

She spearheads Idunn Consulting, where she serves as the Founder and Principle, leveraging her extensive expertise to offer strategic management consulting services, research and thinktank to startups and SME’s. Focusing predominately on female startups and SME’s, in Ireland and Northern Ireland, iDunn Consulting advises on long term business sustainability and scaling.

Alison is an Angel Investor and Advisor to a number of startups, a registered Help to Grow mentor, she has mentored over 40+ startups and SME’s in UK and Ireland.

Gareth Walsh brings nearly 20 years of strategic leadership, compliance, and corporate governance expertise within the FinTech sector. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director and Chair at both Rippling and SumUp, and also holds board positions at Linked Finance and Lendermarket. Gareth’s dynamic career includes key roles at SumUp, where he served as CEO of the Irish Entity, Global Head of Corporate Governance, and Global Head of Risk & Compliance. His 12-year leadership was instrumental in SumUp’s meteoric rise to a valuation exceeding €10 billion.

Gareth’s extensive experience with numerous FinTechs positions him as a distinguished leader in the industry. He is adept at guiding companies through the complexities of market entry and scaling in a regulated environment.

Paula Kennedy Garcia, CEO at Forward Emphasis International, is a seasoned award winning BPO leader and industry-recognised innovator who has been at the forefront of conversations that shapes the intersection of global brands and technology in the age of automation and AI

Renown for her visionary thinking, Paula has earned multiple awards for her innovation and futurist leadership, fueling growth and advancing customer and user experiences with the use of emerging technologies like AI, neuroscience, machine learning and language translation, and creating pioneering solutions for digital health and well-being, global online safety and the gig-economy, to name a few.

Paula has long been an advocate for women in business in leadership, and is a profiled speaker in the tech and BPO industry, including the coveted TedX alumni and a published contributor to Forbes Technology Council.