Leading High-Performance Organisations

John O’Gorman is the Programme Director for the Leading High Performance Organisations programme and the Diploma in High Performance Sales and Business Development in UCD Smurfit Executive Development. He is a six times author and has spent twenty-six years exploring performance potential across 12 industries including Pharma, Financial Services, Sport, and Technology.  He is a Managing Partner of Growth PitStop where his focus is on helping leaders to measure, model and unlock performance potential of critical growth projects and vital teams. John is a PCC Certified Coach – one of just over 13,000 coaches certified to this level globally. He is curious about collective performance, complex systems, and sport. The interconnection of sporting excellence, business excellence and human potential is an ongoing applied research project. His current executive and team coaching clients include Bank of Ireland, Merck, Citco, Irish Life, Pfizer, and several technology providers.

Former Leinster captain Leo Cullen made his senior debut during the interprovincial and Heineken Cup matches of the 1998/99 season. The Wicklow man gained 32 Irish caps during his career and had the honour of captaining Ireland against Russia, in Rotorua, during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He also captained Ireland against Scotland a month previous.

For 2008/09, Cullen was handed the captain’s armband and would captain Leinster Rugby to three Heineken Cup wins, a Challenge Cup title and two PRO12 titles. With his years of experience in the game, Cullen was asked to join the Leinster backroom staff by head coach Matt O’Connor after his retirement and he became the Leinster forwards coach in July 2014.

When O’Connor departed a season later, Cullen was appointed Leinster Rugby Head Coach in August 2015 and led the province to the top of the Guinness PRO12 table and to the PRO12 Final in his first season.  In 2018, in his third season, Cullen became the first man to win a Champions Cup title as a player and as a head coach as he presided over a first ever Guinness PRO14 and Champions Cup double for Leinster and since then the team have added three further PRO14 titles to the trophy cabinet back at UCD. 

Guy Easterby has been with Leinster Rugby since 2008, serving in key roles including Chief Scout, Team Manager, and Head of Rugby Operations before becoming Chief Operating Officer in July 2023. A former professional player with 64 caps for Leinster and 28 international appearances for Ireland, Guy combines his on-field expertise with a strategic vision for organisational excellence. Over his career, he played for clubs including Rotherham, London Scottish, Ebbw vale, Llanelli, Blackrock College, and Otley, earning accolades and leadership experience that now shape his role at Leinster Rugby.

Matthew has over 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing and was most recently the Global Head of Creative and Digital Sales and Strategy with Novartis. Matthew has worked across telecoms, consumer electronics, retail and commercial print in a variety of roles since achieving his Commerce Degree in UCD and his Masters in Business Studies from the Dublin Business School. Passionate about rugby, he played the game competitively through school and in the AIL with Terenure College

Juliette Fortune is a dedicated performance analyst with Leinster Rugby, where she has operated as Assistant Analyst since 2021. She plays a crucial role in providing insights that support the team’s preparation and performance strategies. 

A graduate of DCU with a degree in Sports Science and Health, Juliette is further advancing her expertise by pursuing a Master’s in Professional Practice, Sports Performance Analysis at Cardiff Metropolitan University. 

In addition to her work with Leinster Rugby, Juliette is an analyst for Blackrock RFC in the Energia AIL and is an active member of Bray Emmets GAA Club, showcasing her passion for sport both professionally and personally.

Dr. Emma Burrows is a sports and wellbeing coach with 14 years’ experience working with recreational, performance pathway, Olympic, Paralympic, and professional athletes. Emma’s current role is a joint initiative between Leinster Rugby and Rugby Players Ireland where she works full-time with Leinster Rugby as Personal Development Manager. She was previously the Player Development Manager for the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland where she developed and delivered their Personal Development Programme including career planning and wellbeing support to professional soccer players.

Emma completed a BSc. in Sport Science and Health in 2013 during which she conducted award winning research on coaches’ attitudes to mental health issues in athletes. She continued her studies in DCU completing her PhD in 2019 following a period of 5 years developing, implementing and evaluating a life skills and career adaptability intervention for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches and support providers which reached over 150 people ahead of the Rio 2016 Games. 

Rachel Scanlon is the HR Business Partner at Leinster Rugby, where she plays a key role in aligning the organisation’s human resources strategy with its high-performance culture. With a focus on fostering a collaborative and thriving environment, Rachel supports the development and well-being of staff and players across the organisation.

Rachel’s 20+ years of experience in HR and training equips her with a unique perspective on driving organisational success through people. Committed to excellence both on and off the field, Rachel’s leadership continues to strengthen Leinster Rugby’s reputation as a world-class sporting organisation.