Ireland Chapter National Conference 2022 : Future Proofing Your Career: The Six PMI Global Mega Trends

Taragh Loughrey-Grant

RTÉ Radio Producer, Multi-Media Journalist

Taragh Loughrey-Grant has been working as a journalist for over 20 years with many of Ireland's key media outlets and is currently a producer with RTÉ Radio 1, The Ryan Tubridy Show.

Prior to that, she was a producer with Radio 1's Liveline programme for two years. Previously she worked as an online Digital Editor on RTÉ's website (rte.ie) in the LifeStyle section.

She has presented and/or co-produced a number of podcast series for RTÉ and a radio documentary for Documentary on One. She has facilitated, hosted and MC’d panels at numerous events including Dublin Tech Summit, Thrive and MoJoCon.

She has lectured in DCU to Journalism students in the areas of MoJo and reporting. She has worked as a contributor, broadcaster, researcher, producer and presenter across Radio (RTÉ Radio 1, 2fm, FM

Niall Breslin

Keynote Speaker

Niall Breslin 'Bressie' is an Award Winning Podcaster, Best Selling Author, Mental Health Campaigner, Charity Founder, Musician, Former Pro Rugby Player, and TV Presenter. He is speaking on mental health in the workplace across Civil, Civic and Equality Movements, one of the six PMI Mega Global Trends which are the theme of the 2022 conference.

The talk, although tackling a difficult subject, uses an irreverent and very human tone. The aim is to take the listener out of work mode and into a space where they feel empowered by another person's vulnerability.

In order to achieve this, Niall uses his own story as context. He begins by speaking about his own journey and how his inability to deal with his own mental health struggles led to him sabotaging his relationships and careers.

This came to a moment of clarity where Niall had to make a decision to face these demons head on. Most people's rock bottom is the starting point of their fight back, it just so happened that his rock bottom came 15 minutes before a prime-time television show, The Voice.

Niall goes on to explore how he found a way back to ultimately dealing with his own issues, but then returning to academia to find a way to help others deal with their struggles too. The most important part of the talk is to make sure the group leaves feeling empowered and armed with some information that can help them better become guardians of their own minds, in the chaos of the modern world.

Barry Lowry

Chief Information Officer for the Irish Government

Barry Lowry has been the Chief Information Officer for the Irish Government since April 2016 with the primary task of taking forward the Government’s digital agenda. This includes developing the use of shared services, digital ID, digital services and data to better serve the people of Ireland and ensure that Ireland is well-placed to influence and exemplify the EUʼs digital ambitions for 2030. Barry is also the Chief Adviser to Government on all Digital matters affecting the State and its citizens. Barry was previously the Director for IT Shared Services and Strategy and Head of the IT Profession within the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Barry is a Fellow of the Irish and British Computer Societies and is a former winner of the BCS Northern Ireland IT Professional of the Year. He was awarded an O.B.E. for services to the Northern Ireland Government and the Northern Ireland Computer Industry in 2017.

Stephen Prendiville

Leads EY Ireland’s Sustainability business

Stephen leads EY Ireland’s Sustainability business. Driving forward both EY Ireland’s own carbon negative and net zero strategy internally, while also ensuring our clients gain the maximum value from EY professionals experienced in sustainability and related services. Originally from Limerick, Stephen move to Canada in 2011 where he worked with large cities (including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa) to deliver sustainable mobility solutions as well as climate resilience advisory services. Passionate about the provision of higher order electrified public transport and compact urban design, and its role in tackling poverty and homelessness, Stephen has dedicated his professional career to network system thinking – considering the implications of multiple trends and disruptions for planning and strategy development for clients. Notably, Stephen has also undertaken significant infrastructure development and related policy development initiatives for the advance of the circular economy. Stephen returned to Ireland in the Summer of 2020 to lead EY Ireland’s ambitious climate action agenda and the growth of its sustainability services for our clients.

Pawel Fiedor

Senior Economist, Central Bank of Ireland

Paweł is a Senior Economist in the International Finance Division at the Central Bank of Ireland, working on research in financial economics, assessment of global risks, and the European Central Bank's system-wide stress test. Paweł has graduated with a PhD in financial economics at the Cracow University of Economics, and held a research fellowship at the University of Cape Town. He previously worked with the hedge fund industry, and the European Systemic Risk Board, where he was developing macroprudential policies for the European insurance sector and supporting the Advisory Scientific Committee.

Kieran McCorry

National Technology Officer for Microsoft in Ireland

Kieran McCorry is the National Technology Officer for Microsoft in Ireland and has worked in the technology industry for over 30 years. He is responsible for representing Microsoft to broad audiences for technology leadership, engendering trust, technology vision, strategic alignment, and national policy. He works across many sectors of the technology landscape including those of collaboration, social media, analytics, mobility, privacy, the Internet of Things, innovation, digital transformation, intellectual property, AI, and quantum computing. He is a frequent speaker at worldwide conferences and has been a regular contributor to various industry publications. He is the author of four books on messaging technology and holds several patents. He has a variety of degrees and post-graduate qualifications in computer science, law, corporate governance, digital policy, innovation and enterprise development.

Ike Nwankwo

Managing Director at Distinct Management Ltd

Ike Nwankwo is the managing director at Distinct Management Ltd., an independent project management consultancy focusing on information technology, construction and business transformation. He provides project, program and portfolio management consultancy and interim management services to a broad international client portfolio and assists organizations to deliver value through the effective implementation of their projects and program and the delivery of their organizational, strategic and corporate objectives. Over 25 years, Mr. Nwankwo has managed portfolios and led the delivery of multi-million dollar projects and programs across diverse sectors, for a diverse range of multinational organizations across the United Kingdom and Africa. A passionate and active volunteer to the project management profession; he is a member of and has served in several project management professional organizations and committees. He has supported multiple PMI initiatives and served on the Board of Directors of the PMI Nigeria Chapter as Vice President of Finance (2013–2014), President (2014–2016) and was the PMI Region Mentor for Africa (2016 –2020). He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Nigeria and an MBA from Middlesex University Business School, United Kingdom. He has several professional and project management certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile Project Management Practitioner (AgilePM), Disciplined Agile Lean Scrum Master (DALSM), PMO Practitioner (PMO-P), Prince 2 Practitioner (Prince2) and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner (PROSCI) and is a graduate of the PMI Leadership Institute Master Class of 2016. A motivated professional speaker, he has presented topics focusing on the awareness and value of project management and on leadership and co-authored a book on Global Leadership. Mr Nwankwo enjoys learning, networking, travel, music, Scrabble and Sudoko. He is enthusiastic and passionate about volunteerism, mentoring and giving back to society.