RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE AND GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENT

Frances Fitzgerald is a globally recognised leader and advocate for equality. With over 20 years of parliamentary experience, she has held some of the country’s highest offices, including Tánaiste; Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation; Minister for Justice and Equality; and Ireland’s first-ever Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Before her election to the Dáil, Frances was Chair of the National Women’s Council of Ireland and Vice President of the European Women’s Lobby. From 2019 to 2024, Frances served as a Member of the European Parliament, where she was an influential voice on the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, and the Development Committee. She served on the committee on the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware and was a representative delegate for the European parliament for EU/USA and EU/China relations. She was rapporteur for the groundbreaking EU Directive on Violence Against Women.

Frances was awarded the Légion d’honneur by the French government in 2024 for her work in equality. She received the Emily Winifred Dickson Award from the RCSI in 2026. She also serves on the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council as a European Representative, and is an Ambassador for Ruhama.

Sheila Porter is the Founder and CEO of SciFest, and for more than 50 years she has been a driving force in promoting equal access to STEM education, inspiring generations of young people to discover the excitement, creativity, and life-changing opportunities STEM offers.

A former science teacher, Sheila founded SciFest in 2006. It is Ireland’s largest second-level STEM fair programme. She believes every student should have the opportunity to explore STEM through inquiry-based learning, regardless of gender, ability, or circumstance. Under her leadership, it has grown from a single fair into a nationwide programme of more than 165 events engaging over 15,000 students annually, with up to 60% female participation. Each year, SciFest students represent Ireland and win awards at prestigious international STEM competitions.

Throughout her career, Sheila has contributed extensively to STEM education. She has been a teacher at second level, a part-time lecturer in science education at third level, and a Master Trainer for Intel’s Design and Discovery Programme, training teachers in Ireland, Egypt, and Romania. She was also a guest speaker for a number of years at the Intel Educator Academy in the USA.

Sheila’s outstanding contribution has been recognised with honours including the Intel Educator of Excellence Award on three occasions, a British Council Teacher Award, the PharmaChemical Ireland ISTA Educator of the Year Award, and the Women in STEM Mentor of the Year Award.

Dr Desmond J. Green is a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, educational pioneer, and cultural philanthropist. Over several decades, he has combined a distinguished professional career with significant contributions to Irish education and culture.

A graduate in Chemical Engineering from UCD, where he served as Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society, Desmond also studied and lectured at the University of New Brunswick, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Returning to Ireland in 1971, he helped establish the Chemical Industry Association and, in 1977, founded MinChem, now Indaver Ireland Ltd, Ireland’s leading waste management company. He was a founder of the Dalkey School Project, Ireland’s first multi-denominational primary school.

Desmond helped establish the UCD Engineering Graduates Association, the University Industry Centre at UCD, and the first Campus Companies Venture Capital Scheme. He chaired the Ireland Canada University Foundation from 2014 to 2023. While living in Portugal, he was a founder member of the Ireland Portugal Business Network and of Oeiras International School.

The fine arts book James Joyce: A Life In Books, the Desmond J. Green Collection was launched this year, and his internationally significant James Joyce collection is on loan to the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI).

Deepak Chaudhari has over 25 years of experience in various leadership roles and has worked in India, USA, UK and Ireland. Now settled in Ireland with his family, he is the Chairman for the Ireland India Business Association (IIBA) and Country Head for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a major technology services company. Under his leadership, TCS has grown rapidly, and is now one of the largest IT services-based organisations in Ireland, creating a Global Delivery Centre and services across technology and business needs for Ireland, UK, US and Europe. The company also won the pensions auto-enrolment programme, a national initiative to boost Irish citizens’ financial well-being. As Chairman for IIBA, he leads activity in helping Irish companies to increase trade in India and Indian companies to expand in Ireland. IIBA has several key partner members, including UCD, TCS, Deloitte, PwC, William Fry, Dublin City Council, and Amneal. Under Deepak’s leadership, vibrant interactions take place across industry sectors such as technology, SMEs, education, aviation, pharma and medtech.

He is also a member of several other industry bodies, including AmCham, IBEC (Ireland’s largest lobby and business representative group), and BICC (British Irish Chamber of Commerce). He regularly participates in interactions with IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the Indian Embassy, IIBA, DFA, and other forums. Deepak’s academic achievements include a Bachelor of Engineering (Pune, India), an Executive MBA from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, and awards from IMD (Switzerland), Haas Business School (California), and IIM (Bangalore).

With over 20 years’ experience in the sport sector, Nora joined Sport Ireland in 2019 as Women in Sport Lead and is now Director of Strategic National Governing Body Programmes. She supports the development and delivery of national governing body initiatives, alongside continued responsibility for implementing the Women in Sport Policy. Prior to this, she held roles with the IRFU and Dublin GAA.

Nora is a recognised leader in advancing gender equality in sport, with expertise in policy development, strategic programme design and implementation, and stakeholder engagement, working closely with national governing bodies, local sports partnerships, government departments, and key stakeholders.

A former elite athlete, Nora represented Donegal in Gaelic football, winning two All-Ireland medals, was a member of the UCD team winning Dublin Women’s Soccer League titles (2003-2006) and three successive FAI Women’s Cup finals. She earned 50 caps for the Irish rugby team, competing in three Rugby World Cups (2010-2017).

A native of Belfast, Cathal Goan graduated from UCD in 1975 with a degree in Celtic Studies. He began his career in RTÉ as an archivist before becoming a radio producer and television producer/director. Cathal was head of RTÉ’s Irish language TV output before being appointed first head (Ceannasaí) of Teilifís na Gaeilge in 1994. In 2000, he became RTÉ’s Managing Director of Television, and in 2003 was appointed Director General, a position he held for seven years. He has a lifelong interest in Irish music, contributing occasional pieces to the journals Ceol and Béaloideas. He also teaches at the annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy. Cathal has served as chair of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and is currently chair of Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann and the Folklore of Ireland Foundation. He has been awarded the degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters by both Ulster University and the University of Galway.

Dr Jenny Melia is the CEO of Enterprise Ireland, the government’s enterprise development agency, which supports Irish-owned companies to start and scale, and to become global leaders in their field. It is her long-term ambition that exporting Irish companies will become the primary driver of the Irish economy.

As CEO, Jenny leads and supports the dedicated Enterprise Ireland team of almost 900 people, working across Ireland and the agency’s network of 42 offices around the world. Their focus is to help Irish businesses to grow and scale, to be profitable, productive, and competitive, and to create quality jobs across the country.

Over her 30-year career in Enterprise Ireland, Jenny has held various leadership positions within the organisation, including Chief Client Officer, Head of the High Potential Start-Up Division, and Head of National Research Programmes. A scientist by background, she holds a BSc and a PhD in Chemistry from UCD.

Jim O’Toole was appointed CEO of Bord Bia in November 2022, a role in which he promoted Ireland’s food, drink and horticulture sectors, championing responsible food production and premium quality to position Ireland as a leader in global markets.

He is a former CEO of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, and has held other senior positions in Bord Bia, including spearheading the development of Origin Green, the world’s only national food and drink sustainability programme. He has extensive experience in the global marketplace, having spent 15 years with Bord Bia in London, Milan and Paris.

Jim has been a board member of the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) and the Association of Chief Executives of State Agencies (ACESA). He holds a masters degree in Agricultural Science from UCD and has completed executive programmes at Hult Ashridge, Cranfield University, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, and Harvard Business School.

Paul Collins has advised on company strategy, mergers, and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate finance. He was Senior Advisor and Partner at Centerview Partners LLS from 2014-2023, where he worked with C-suites and boards on long-term strategic issues, M&A, and financing in the industrials sector.

From 2008 to 2014, he served as a Vice Chairman of Barclays PLC’s North American Investment Banking Division, Energy and Chemicals. Previously, he held various leadership positions at Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, the Blackstone Group, and Salomon Brothers.

Paul started his career with the Jefferson Smurfit Corporation, and during his tenure in investment banking he advised on over $200 billion of M&A transactions and related financing, worldwide. He is currently a board member of Standard Lithium Ltd.

The founder of Moonlight Puppies Press, he has authored 13 children’s books, inspiring and encouraging kids everywhere to do the right thing, to care for others, to appreciate the importance of family, and to always be the very best they can be. All the proceeds from his book sales go to various children’s charities. Paul also devotes his time to advocating for and supporting men navigating prostate and other cancers.

Paul holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Civil Law Degree with Honours from UCD. He lives in Connecticut, USA, with his three children.