Anthony Brabazon is a Full Professor of Accounting and College Principal and Dean, College of Business.

Previous positions held in UCD include Director for UCD Smurfit School, Vice-Principal of Research and Innovation for the College of Business and Law, Head of Research for the School of Business and Programme Director for the Master of Accounting Degree. Anthony was also academic project director for the design and construction of the undergraduate Quinn School of Business. In addition, he has held a variety of pro bono and non-executive directorship positions in professional bodies and other organisations, including membership of the Ethics Board of CIMA and a member (and chair) of the CCAB-I (Accounting Standards Consultative Committee - Ireland).

His primary research interests concern the development of natural computing theory and the application of natural computing algorithms to real-world problems, including the domain of business and finance. He is co-founder and co-director of the Natural Computing Research and Applications Group at UCD. Anthony has published in excess of 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers and has authored or edited fifteen books. He is founder of EvoFin, the only dedicated European research workshop on the application of evolutionary algorithms to computational finance and economics and is also a member of the IEEE Computational Finance and Economics Technical Committee.

Anthony completed his B Comm and Dip. Prof Accounting studies at UCD before qualifying as a professional accountant with KPMG. Subsequently he undertook postgraduate studies at number of universities including Trinity College Dublin, Heriot-Watt, Kingston and Stanford.

Aidan Connolly is the CEO of Irish dairy start-up Cainthus, which combines computer vision and artificial intelligence to enhance dairy farm performance. His expertise is in branding, agriculture and international marketing. Along with his wife Katie Philips Connolly, he is the author of ‘2-1-4-3: Plan Your Explosive Business Growth!’, which offers a modern alternative to the traditional business plan. Recently published by Context Publications, it has already received favourable reviews in the media and comes with recommendations from business academics and practitioners.

Aidan is also the President of AgriTech Capital, established in 2018 as a resource for new and established companies working at the interface of agriculture and technology.

Prior to joining Cainthus, Aidan served as Chief Innovation Officer and Vice President of corporate accounts for Alltech. He was responsible for the commercialization of Alltech’s global research in addition to the company’s corporate account strategy. He led the annual Alltech Global Feed Survey and the implementation of The Pearse Lyons Accelerator, a late-stage, agri-tech accelerator run by Alltech and Dogpatch Labs, which received 184 applications from more than 30 countries for its inaugural program.

Aidan is an adjunct Professor of Marketing and member of the North American Advisory Board at University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. He has also served as an executive board member of the International Feed Industry Federation, the National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, and the Harvard Business Review – to mention just a few.

He received a bachelor’s degree in commerce from University College Dublin and a master’s degree in international marketing from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Helen Doody is the Managing Director and Head of Abbey Capital in the USA - a leading Irish-owned investment management firm with presence in Europe and North America.

Previously, she was the Senior Client Advisor at Kepos Capital LP a boutique asset manager founded in 2010 by Mark Carhart, Giorgio De Santis and Bob Litterman former leaders of the Goldman Sachs Quantitative Investment Strategies group. Kepos had approximately $3bn in assets under management & focuses on offering clients alternative investments predominately in quantitative strategies. Helen joined Kepos in January 2018 and was responsible for asset raising in Europe and North America.

Helen opened her own boutique broker dealer, Celtic Advisors, in New York City in 2008. In 2010 she sold the business to Abbey Capital and at the same time was appointed the CEO & Managing Director of Abbey Capital’s US business until her departure to join Kepos. Whilst at Abbey Capital, Helen built a team with responsibility for private and mutual fund distribution through Private Bank Wealth Channels, Endowments, Foundations, Corporate and Public Plan Sponsors. Helen was also a Director of the Abbey Capital (US) LLC Board.

Prior to 2008 Helen spent ten years in equity markets, initially as an equity analyst with ABN AMRO in Dublin prior to working as a market maker for FTSE 250 equities in London. Whilst in London she began working in a Hedge Fund Sales Trading role also at ABN Amro. Helen returned to Ireland to Head up the Equity Trading Desk for Anglo Irish Bank in 2005. In May 2006 she moved to the USA and her first role in the USA was with Chilton Investments as their European Equity Trader.

Helen graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in 1997.

Michael J. Dowling is president and chief executive officer of Northwell Health, which delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area; pioneering research at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research; a visionary approach to medical education, highlighted by the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine; and health care coverage to individuals, families and businesses through the CareConnect Insurance Co., Inc. Northwell Health is the largest integrated healthcare system in New York State with a total workforce of about 61,000 employees – the state’s largest private employer. With 21 hospitals, 6,675 hospital and long-term care beds, more than 450 outpatient physician practices and a full complement of long-term care services, Northwell is one of the nation’s largest health systems, with $9.5 billion in annual revenue.

Prior to becoming president and CEO in 2002, Mr. Dowling was the health system’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Before joining Northwell Health in 1995, he was a senior vice president at Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Mr. Dowling served in New York State government for 12 years, including seven years as state director of Health, Education and Human Services and deputy secretary to the governor. He was also commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services.

Before his public service career, Mr. Dowling was a professor of social policy and assistant dean at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services, and director of the Fordham campus in Westchester County.

Mr Dowling has been honored with many awards over the years including the Alfred E. Smith Award from the American Society for Public Administration, the National Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Mr Dowling is Chairman of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL). He is also Past Chairman of the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State and the League of Voluntary Hospitals of New York.  He serves on numerous other boards, including the Holocaust Center of Nassau County.

Mr. Dowling grew up in Limerick, Ireland. He earned his undergraduate degree from University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, and his master’s degree from Fordham University. He also has honorary doctorates from University College Dublin, Hofstra University and Dowling College.

Eoin Duane has served as a Managing Director at Insight Partners since 2021. Eoin leads Insight’s Opportunities Fund strategy focused on structured equity investments in technology companies and currently sits on the board and oversees Insight’s investments in Saks.com, SOF.com, CivicPlus, CommerceHub and A Place for Mom. Insight Partners is a global private equity and venture capital firm focused on providing the capital, operating guidance and networks to help their portfolio companies succeed.

Prior to joining Insight, Eoin spent 13 years as an investor in public and private technology companies including eight years at Guggenheim Partners and five years at Evergreen Coast Capital, the technology-focused private equity arm of Elliott Management where he led their Flexible Capital strategy.

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Eoin has spent 15 years in New York City and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and family. His personal interests include strategy games such as poker, chess and backgammon, long-distance running, cycling, golf and non-fiction reading. Eoin sits on the boards of the Irish Repertory Theatre in Chelsea, and the Children’s Medical Research Foundation (CMRF), a nonprofit organization focused on pediatric research.

Eoin is a UCD graduate of both Quinn (B Comm) and Smurfit School (MBS - Finance) and is also a CFA charter holder.

Alan T. Ennis has extensive board and operational leadership experience in global corporations, both public and private, across many industries, including beauty, sports nutrition, consumer goods, medical research, diversified industrials, education, and financial services.

Mr. Ennis serves on the Board of Directors of four organizations: (1) Nutrabolt, a rapidly growing developer and marketer of innovative sports nutrition products, (2) Slendertone, which researches, designs, and manufactures medical device products that are clinically proven to tone and strengthen muscles, (3) University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School; (4) Children’s Medical Research Foundation, Inc. (Children’s Hospital in Ireland) (Chairman of the Board)

Prior to assuming board roles, Mr. Ennis was President and Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, Inc. from 2009 through 2013. Revlon Inc. is a $3 billion global beauty & personal care public company with a portfolio of iconic brands across segments, geographies, and channels. Revlon, under Mr. Ennis’ leadership, generated top line growth, sustained highly competitive operating profit margins, delivered positive cash flow, and saw a five-fold increase in share price. Mr. Ennis joined Revlon in 2005 and held a number of roles before becoming President and CEO. Prior to joining Revlon, Mr. Ennis held senior positions with Ingersoll-Rand Company, a $10 billion leading global diversified industrial, and he began his career in 1991 with Arthur Andersen in Ireland.

Mr. Ennis is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland; has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University College Dublin, Ireland; and has a Master of Business Administration Degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Mr. Ennis was the 2011 Recipient of the National Breast Cancer Coalition Leadership Award; was the UCD Quinn School of Business Alumni of the Year in 2013; and has been a three-time award recipient of the “100 Irish American Business Leaders” in 2011, 2017 and 2018. Mr. Ennis is an active runner and tri-athlete and enjoys golf and tennis. He resides in New Jersey with his wife Michelle and three children.

Ciaran is Managing Partner of COSIMO Venture Partners, an operational and investment firm with offices in Dublin and Boston. COSIMO transforms the most promising Irish & UK tech startups into global leaders with focused mentoring, smart strategy and venture capital.

Ciaran is a serial entrepreneur and has founded seven companies and been CEO at five. He has had two sell side exits and been involved in four buy side transactions. He has brought over twenty-five products/services to market, created over fifteen brands and raised over $100m in venture and corporate capital.

He was the founder of Ovation now part of the hugely successful and global MCI Group. He was also founder and first Chairman of the Dublin Convention Bureau and one of the pioneering lobbyists for the now hugely successful Dublin Convention Centre. He currently serves on the board of exciting technology start-ups, iTagged, GoParkit, Locatible and Nova Leah.

Ciaran is a strategic thinker, proven operator and innovative marketer for which he has won international awards. His business interests have taken him all over the globe where he has spoken at many prestigious conferences and events. His true passion is using this key business, marketing and international experience to benefit and grow promising companies, especially in the technology sector.

Ciaran is a graduate of UCD where he studied History and Political Science. He resides in Beverly, Massachusetts, on Boston’s North Shore, but travels back to Dublin regularly. He is married to Amanda and has two daughters, Elle and Jess and one son, Nathan.

Shaun Kelly is a former Global Chief Operating Officer for KPMG International. He retired from KPMG in September 2019. As the Global Chief Operating Officer, Shaun managed the day to day operational aspects of the firm’s Global Strategy and oversaw the delivery of global initiatives. Thorough his work with the Global leadership team he drove high performance and efficient service delivery across the KPMG network.

Shaun was previously the Vice Chair – Operations for KPMG LLP (2010-2015).  In that role he was responsible for forecasting and planning and monitoring the execution of the firm’s financial plan. He also had responsibility for oversight and execution of key KPMG shared services including finance and accounting, information technology, operations services and internal audit.

From 2005-2010 he was the Vice Chair in charge of KPMG’s U.S. Tax practice and Regional Head of the Americas Tax practice. Shaun was a member of the firm’s Management Committee from 2005-2015. Prior to assuming the Vice Chair role in 2005, Shaun served as the leader for KPMG’s Global Transaction Services practice and Regional Coordinating Partner for the Transaction Services practice in the Americas.

Shaun grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and joined KPMG International’s Irish member firm in Dublin in 1980 and transferred to the U.S. firm’s San Francisco office in 1984. He was admitted to the U.S. partnership in 1999.

Through his various leadership roles and his extensive work serving a broad range of significant U.S. companies which span a number of industries, Shaun has keen insights regarding marketplace trends and the business issues companies face in today’s environment.

Shaun has extensive international merger and acquisition and corporate restructuring experience. He has helped structure transactions and has provided due diligence assistance at a number of Fortune 500 clients as well as several large financial institutions.

Shaun earned a Bachelor of Commerce, First Class Honors from University College, Dublin. In 2015 Shaun was awarded a degree of Doctor of Science Economics, honoris causa by Queens University, Belfast.

Shaun is Chairman of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business North American Advisory Board.

He is also Chair of the Northern Ireland US Advisory Council East Coast arm, set up to help the Northern Ireland Executive accelerate investment and trade opportunities, a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Ireland Fund,  and member of the Board of Directors of the Irish Arts Center in New York. Shaun is Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee of Enactus, an organization of students, professors and industry leaders who use their business knowledge to help improve the lives of people worldwide. He is Co-Chair of KPMG’s Disabilities Network and member of KPMG’s Diversity Advisory Board.

Stephen Kennedy is a Financial Services audit partner, specializing in banking and capital markets clients, and is a KPMG designated SEC Reviewing Partner.

Professional and industry experience:

• Stephen began his career with KPMG in Ireland in 1998 and has worked with KPMG in the U.S. and Ireland.

• He has over 22 years of experience providing audit, transaction services and other advisory services to banking and capital clients.

• Stephen has considerable experience in the US and International banking sector, working with large publicly listed banks, including SEC and IFRS listed companies.

• Stephen also completed a two-year rotation as Chief of Staff to KPMG’s Global Chairman, providing strategic advice and maintaining the important internal and external relationships critical to the Global Chairman role.

• He has been a speaker and panel member at various conferences on banking and leasing topics.

• Stephen has significant experience working with, communicating to, and reporting to executive management and audit committees on current business, accounting, auditing and industry issues.

• Stephen is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (licensed in New York and Connecticut) and is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

• Stephen obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree and Masters of Accounting from University College Dublin.

• Stephen is a member of the Board of the Children’s Medical Research Foundation and the University College Dublin North American Advisory Board.

• He is married to Kimberly, has two children, Emma and Alexandria and lives in Darien, CT.

Trevor Madigan is founder of The Vision Lab (TVL), a firm which helps companies transform by tapping into the wisdom of their employees. TVL have developed advanced engagement analytics software using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to gather insights from large numbers of employees in a simple and fast way.

Trevor has served in several technology leadership positions over the past decade and in 2012 he was named to the ‘Irish America: Top Business 100’ List. Trevor sits on the advisory board of University College Dublin, graduate business school and the advisory board of nonprofit Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.

Prior to founding TVL, Trevor was based at Facebook New York. As Global Business Manager, he led international sales & business development for Facebook’s key partners, advertisers and some of the World’s leading brands, such as Samsung, Microsoft and Unilever. Trevor joined Facebook after almost 15 years in global sales and marketing leadership positions with Nokia, Mulberry and Mitsubishi.

He holds a DBS in Business Strategy from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Politics from University College Dublin. Trevor is a native of Dublin, Ireland and now resides in Manhattan, New York with his wife Breanne and son Conor.

Kieran is CEO of VentureWave Capital, an alternative fund management company, and its Impact Investing fund, Impact Ireland. This unique fund will enable members of the diaspora along with Irish investors benefit society in general and Ireland in particular.  Impact Ireland will take a control position in 10 to 15 European Technology for Good companies which it will relocate to Irelend.  

Kieran was Worldwide CEO of The Ireland Funds for ten years up to the end of 2018.  During that time $300 million was raised, half the Funds' total earnings since they were founded over 40 years ago.  In addition annual revenues increased threefold and grants awarded increased by a factor of five.  The Funds went from a one star to the highest level possible, four stars, on Charity Navigator for its effieciency, governance and transparency.

Kieran remains connected with many not-for-profit organizations, offering pro-bono advisory services to both U.S. and Ireland-based entities. He is particularly proud to have been appointed to the board of the Glucksman Ireland House at New York University, the leading center in the United States dedicated to the study of Ireland, Irish America and the Irish Diaspora in New York and globally.

Kevin F. O’Malley is a lawyer, author, and law professor who served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland during the Obama Administration. He began his legal career with the Department of Justice prosecuting organized crime and white collar criminal cases throughout the United States before entering the private practice of law and trying cases concerning medical negligence. He is the senior author of O’Malley, Grenig and Lee, Federal Jury Practice and Instructions, a nine volume treatise used in federal courts in the U.S. and cited as “the Bible” on the topic. He has published articles on other legal subjects in peer reviewed professional journals and is a frequent speaker at legal seminars.

President Obama called him back into government service as the Ambassador to Ireland where, upon taking up residence at Deerfield in Phoenix Park, he instituted the “Creative Minds” series which connected the next generation of Irish leaders with American artists and entrepreneurs in order to broaden and deepen the already existing ties between the two countries.

Upon returning to his home in St. Louis, Missouri, Ambassador O’Malley accepted an appointment as Ambassador in Residence and Professor of Practice at St. Louis University School of Law, his alma mater. He was consistently chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and has been awarded an honorary doctorate by St. Louis University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership which seeks to promote commercial expansion in the region.

Professor Federica Pazzaglia is Director of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and is Associate Dean of the UCD College of Business. She completed her PhD at the University of Alberta Business School. Her research interests include social cognition, identity, image, behavioral approaches to strategy, corporate governance, and social and institutional entrepreneurship. 

Her work has been accepted for publication in journals such as Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Management, Human Relations, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Research, and Family Business Review. 

She has received a number of research awards, to include a Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Alberta, and an Early Career Research Award from UCD. She has also received a 'Best Overall Paper Award' and a 'Carlo Masini Award for Innovative Scholarship' and has been a finalist for the 'Carolyn Dexter Award for Best International Paper' at the Academy of Management Conference. She also received a 'Best Reviewer Award' at Corporate Governance: An International Review and a Teaching Award from the University of Alberta. She is member of the editorial boards of Human Relations, Journal of Management Inquiry, and Corporate Governance: An International Review. 

Prior to moving to UCD she was Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba School of Business (Canada) and a Visiting Professor at Instituto de Empresa Business School (Spain). She has taught courses in the Bachelor of Commerce programs at Alberta and Manitoba, in the Master in Management program at Instituto de Empresa, and in the Executive program jointly offered by Instituto de Empresa and Northwestern University.

Peter Phelan, is a B. Comm. and MBS graduate whose twenty-year career in the U.S. in People & Culture leadership has included Chief People Officer roles at leading global tech companies MediaMath and Shutterstock. Peter’s successes span many industries, including: Advertising, Financial Services, Humanitarian Aid, Legal, Media, and Technology.

As Chief People Officer of MediaMath, he led cultural initiatives resulting in a Glassdoor ranking among the Top 25 Small/Medium Sized Business Best Place To Work in North America / Europe for 2014, 2015, and 2016 (a three-in-a-row never achieved by any other U.S. company on the East Coast or West Coast.)

Now he runs ValuesCulture, a Manhattan-based organizational culture consultancy.

Born in Dublin and a graduate of University College Dublin, Kathryn has worked in the U.S. for over two decades.

Since September 2021 Kathryn Spain is the Head of North American Equities Distribution for Investec. Previously she was Head of European equity sales in North America for Credit Suisse where she worked since 2002. Her previous roles within the company have included being Vice President from 2000 until 2002 in addition to Director from 2003 until 2007. Currently based in New York, she previously managed the international distribution platform for the Western U.S. out of San Francisco for 12 years. Prior to Credit Suisse, she held positions with Investec Asset Management in the UK, Barings Asset Management, and Bank of Ireland.