Speakers
With over thirty years of business experience, Adrian brings a fresh perspective to Workplace Wellbeing. Notwithstanding a long history of depression and anxiety, he has worked successfully in several industries, both at home and abroad, and at all management levels including the CEO.
An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal skills, Adrian can address business groups, employees, and management teams with authenticity, credibility, and relatability. He genuinely cares about people's development, possesses high EQ, and has a deep understanding of mental health in the workplace.
Adrian has extensive experience in delivering presentations, trainings, and panel discussions and is an avid advocate for positive mental health.
Adrian is a board director of the mental health Charity Aware and sits on their Fundraising & Communications Committee. He is an Ambassador with See Change Ireland whose mission is to work positively to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health problems.
Adrian has practiced Taekwon Do since 1998, and currently holds a Sixth Dan Black Belt, an International Instructors certificate, and a Class A International Umpire’s certificate. He has competed at home and abroad for many years including representing Ireland at ITF World Championships.
(Bus Eireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail),
Anne is an advanced facilitator in promoting health and wellness, Health/Life coach, and a member of the Association for Health Promotion Ireland. She works closely with the Men’s Development Network and HSE in delivering Men’s Health 1-day training workshops called ENGAGE to all 3 companies within the CIE group and to other men’s groups.
Anne has helped develop health promotion programs and strategies within the CIE group of companies. She has delivered a few programs in Dublin Bus called Gut Busters and a one-year program called Life Fit to 500 Irish rail and Bus Eireann employees. She also works with employees as a Health/Life coach using neuro linguistic programming and life coaching techniques. She continues to work cross company with management and key stakeholders in developing wellness policies to support staff. Anne also offers Life Fit programs and masterclass workshops in wellness under various topics such as motivation to change, sleep and recovery, nutrition, mindset, managing shift work and exercise etc. Prior to her present role, she has worked as an Occupational Health and Safety Advisor for IBM, Toyota, and Intel. In 2018 she completed a masters (Hons) in Advanced Facilitation Skills in Promoting Health and Wellness from Waterford Institute of Technology and in 2020 completed a post grad in Workplace Wellness from Trinity.
Barbara is the Programme Coordinator for See Change; the National Stigma Reduction Partnership Ireland and an inspirational ‘thought leader’ in her field. Barbara has over 12 years’ experience in changing the culture of mental health at all levels of society. A regular contributor to national mainstream and social media, Barbara is at home speaking to local community groups, CEO’s or senior leaders in the public and corporate world. She has lectured at Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, and University College Cork inspiring people to think differently about mental health and wellbeing. In the national discourse on mental health Barbara has motivated change and advised policy makers such as the National Office for Suicide Prevention, Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, Mental Health Commission and Irish Mental Health Lawyers Association. A highly esteemed trainer and facilitator, Barbara now uses her passion and experience to lead a national programme ‘See Change’, to give voice to people with lived experience of mental health difficulties, inspire a message of hope and recovery and ultimately spark an international conversation on reducing stigma.
Show more
Cait Gleeson is Irish Water’s Scientific Services Programme Delivery Manager and Co-chair of Irish Water’s ibelong Diversity & Inclusion Council.
Cait is a leading proponent of D&I at Irish Water, having spearheaded the development of Irish Water’s Employee Resource Groups including the ibelong Women’s, Rainbow, Ethnic and Cultural diversity and Family networks. She is a key contributor to the organisation’s D&I strategy and critical elements of it including recruitment and selection, policy and governance.
Cait is a fundamental believer in the value that diversity and inclusion brings to our workplace. “If we are to create a world class water utility to support our society and economy we need to nurture a warm and thriving place of work availing of all of our talents and skills and reflecting the society we serve.”
Ciara Doherty has worked in radio and television for over a decade and presents The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One in March alongside co-anchor Claire Brock. The show offers a unique take on the big stories of the day with a panel of guests. The show also includes a panel discussion covering the key issues in the news. Ciara was previously the co-anchor on Ireland AM on Virgin Media One Ireland’s number one breakfast show. She studied law in UCD Dublin and qualified as a Barrister however later moved to London were she studied Broadcast Journalism at the London College of Communications. After spending 3 years as a researcher in ITV, working on everything from the Pride of Britain Awards to Celebrity Love Island, Ciara returned home in 2006 to take up a position on Newstalk Breakfast, a daily news and current affairs programme.
Show more
Claire Hellen has worked with Ibec for 15 years and during this time she has advised employers across a wide variety of industries on employee relations, employment law and HR best practice. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBS in Human Resource Management from the Smurfit Business School. She also has a Diploma in Executive Coaching and will shortly receive her Diploma in Leadership, Creativity and Innovation from UCD.
Show more
Claire Murray, is the Colleague Wellbeing Lead at Bank of Ireland. Claire is passionate about colleagues’ experience in work, from health and wellbeing to engagement and belonging. Claire took on the role of Wellbeing Lead six months before the pandemic, building out a programme that helped support colleagues during lockdown and beyond. Claire has had various roles across Culture, Organisational Effectiveness, Diversity & Inclusion and wider HR roles and consulting roles.
Show more
David is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Trinity College Dublin at the school of medicine, nursing, and midwifery. His research within a Healthcare Innovation and Integration research theme relates to health promotion, disease prevention, and management. It links to mental and overall wellbeing and unravels what connects us. David is on a journey to become a thought leader in both general and minority populations in key concepts such as human connection, social connection, loneliness, isolation, narrative approaches, diversity inclusion & belonging.
David works for DeCare as the head of health promotion for Ireland and Europe. David has completed an M.A. in Health Promotion with specialist interest in mental health and workplace wellbeing at the school of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science at NUI Galway. David also guests lectures on the outreach specialist certificate and postgraduate health promotion programmes in Galway.
David is also a Mental Health Ambassador with See Change Ireland. He has built and implemented wellness and education programs for over 500 companies, organisations and healthcare settings across Ireland and the UK. He is a trainer with Skillnet Ireland and trains companies in workplace health promotion and mental health practices. David was involved in the set up of the brand new SFA Workplace Wellbeing Award for smaller businesses in Ireland.Dave has also received the Irish Gerontology Society's Presidential Award for his research on health promotion and the ageing population.With over 10 years experience in the workplace wellbeing arena, Dave has many years clinical experience holding both health and medical qualifications including a specialist in oral health.
The Mental Health First Aid Ireland Manager has been working and studying as a professional in the area of mental health and well-being for over 20 years. He leads the team at MHFA Ireland to who bring their evidence-based mental health training all over Ireland. Their aim is to create more supportive and informed communities and workplaces. An occasional contributor to digital, television and print media, often speaking publicly on mental health at conferences, schools, colleges and the corporate world and has guest lectured at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Ireland. In the past he was a guest speaker at the Oireachtas Forum on Mental Health, the Garda Commissioners Conference and the European Parliament.
In his personal life he can be found supporting many national mental health campaigns, supporting Leinster Rugby, nurturing and feeding his love of coffee, and with what’s left he spends time with his 3 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a goldfish called Stevie (Nicks).
Eoin McGee is a Certified Financial Planner CFP© and qualified financial advisor QFA. Eoin has been working with clients and businesses for over 20 years. He started his career with Irish Life assurance where he learned the inner workings of a large life company. He left to spend time in technical support in Standard Life before returning to Irish Life as a financial advisor. He was the youngest financial advisor at that time to have ever been recruited for the role. He quickly became one of the most successful advisors in Irish Life. After several years in this role, he was approached by Ulster Bank and became a wealth manager covering five branches throughout Leinster.
It was at this time he was headhunted to create and head up a national team for the then third largest mortgage broker in the country, he recruited a team of six advisors and two support staff. Eoin was the head of financial planning for the newest and most dynamic team of advisors in the country.
In 2008, Eoin set up Prosperous Financial Planning. His ambition with Prosperous was to establish a fee-based client centric offering to his clients. In the belief that by “doing right” by the client every time will result in long-lasting, long-term relationships. The business is built on its service and the expert delivery of advice.
Eoin was one of the first people in the country to attain the designation of Qualified Financial Advisor. He has also completed a post grad in the school of professional finance, UCD and successfully completed the certified financial planner (CFP©) exam in February 2014. Eoin has been a member of the Brokers Ireland financial services committee and he also sat on the steering group of FPSB (Financial Planning Standards Board) Ireland. He currently sits on the advisory committee of a large investment fund.
In 2017 Eoin took part in a TV show on RTE called ‘This Crowded House’. The show saw Brendan Courtney engage with young adults who were trying to move out of home to rent or buy. Brendan brought each person to see Eoin for financial advice. Series two of ‘This Crowded House’ was aired in Autumn 2018.
For the past 4 years, Eoin has presented a show called ‘How to be Good with Money’ which airs on RTE One. Each week, Eoin helped a household to manage their money better and achieve their financial goals. ‘How to be Good with Money’ recently competed its 4th season on RTÉ One. Eoin has also written a book by the same name which is a No.1 bestseller and is in the top three of bestselling Personal Finance books of all time. This year, Eoin released his second book 'How to Make Your Money Work'. The book has been at the top of the charts since its release. As well as regularly contributing features in the national press, Eoin is a regular personal finance expert guest on national radio and presents a financial segment on ‘Today with Claire Byrne’ on RTÉ Radio One.
Eoin often speaks to corporate companies on topics from financial and mental health to personal finances and mortgages to investing and debt management.
Eoin has a keen interest in Gaelic games at club and intercounty level. He has been the Chair of the board of his local GAA Club Aylmer Gaels, the chair of Ballyteague GFC development committee and a member of the executive. He is a Dublin GAA football supporter. Eoin runs when he can find the time and has successfully finished ten marathons.
Jackson has long been a major figure and thought leader in the growing global movement of men working to promote gender equality and prevent gender violence.
He is co-founder of the multiracial, mixed-gender Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program, one of the longest-running and most widely influential gender violence prevention programs in North America and beyond. His books include the classic bestseller The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help. He is the creator of the award-winning Tough Guise educational documentary series. His TEDx talk, Violence Against Women Is a Men's Issue, has more than 5 million views
He has lectured and trained in all fifty U.S. states, eight Canadian provinces and every continent except Antarctica.
Dr. Kennedy trained and graduated from UCD. He has been a practising obstetrician and gynaecologist for over 20 years and has been working exclusively in fertility for the last 10. He has worked in a number of different fertility units and was the medical director in Sims IVF from 2015-2020. In 2021 he joined and helped to found Thérapie Fertility, a new IVF clinic in Ireland which is promoting a more streamlined and accessible approach to fertility treatment. Dr. Kennedy has been responsible for assisting thousands of Irish couples and women in becoming parents.
Show more
Kara is Head of Social Policy acts as strategic advisor and support on diversity and inclusion, skills and labour market policy and practices to Ibec member organisations. Role includes the development of tools and guidelines, lobbying and developing policy positions at a national and European level. Board member of Skillnets, member of the Governing Authority, DCU and Chair of the Joint Equality Council at ESB. An organisational psychologist and practicing psychotherapist, formerly HR manager in industry with lecturing experience at undergraduate, postgraduate and executive level.
With Ibec since 2008, specialist in strategy development and implementation, public and regulatory policy, business representation and stakeholder engagement.
Leona joined the Health Products Regulatory Authority in June 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving back home to Ireland following a decade spent working in London, Leona took on the role of Learning & Development Manager in HPRA’s HR and Change department. Leona plays an active role in supporting the design, development and delivery of an annual health and wellbeing programme that meets the needs the organisation’s health and wellbeing strategy.
Show more
A graduate of DCU and UCD, Lorraine is a Senior Executive in Ibec’s Knowledge Centre. She provides specialist advice and information to Ibec members on employment law, HR and other employment related issues.
Show more
Niamh is a Productivity Coach, creator of the Better Workday programme and author of Remote Working Essentials. She will challenge you to think differently about how you manage your time, energy, attention and relationships at work so that you can be successful while also supporting your well-being. Niamh works with companies that want to support their employees in this area through team workshops, leadership coaching and online courses.
Show more
A commercial leader with a strong track record built over 20 years with telecommunications company BT working in both the Irish and UK markets. Most recent experience has been as a Growth Strategy Consultant with Integrity 360, a software technology company in rapid growth phase. Previously General Manager roles in BT UK supporting significant revenue streams and Head of Strategy and Contract Management in BT Ireland leading the strategy for Ireland and Wholesale markets.
Show more
Paula Lawlor is the CEO of Suicide or Survive, a Chartered Organisational Psychologist, and CBT Therapist. Paula has been working in the area of Mental Health for over 30 years in a range of roles including Senior Psychologist and Deputy Director of Research, Innovation and Business Excellence with the Rehab Group, Partner in Webster Lawlor and Associates, National Programme Manager with Suicide or Survive, Lecturer in UCD and IICP, and in private psychotherapy practice. Paula has a passion for supporting people to achieve their potential whatever their life journey may bring.
Show more
Stacey Machesney is Head of Health & Wellbeing at Irish Life, where she leads the delivery of wellbeing solutions for Irish Life’s 1.3 million customers.
Irish Life Wellbeing helps organisations transform their aspirations for employee wellbeing programmes into a sustainable asset that demonstrates the strategic value of employee wellbeing. The practice draws on the experience of Irish Life’s network of science, health, financial and sustainability professionals: combining insights, experience, and methodological rigour to help businesses and their employees maximise their health and wellbeing with improved lifestyle choices to effect long term behavioural change.
Prior to her role with Irish Life, Stacey was the Head of Ireland at Spectrum Life, delivering wellness solutions for over 500,000 users across the UK & Ireland. Stacey’s extensive experience in public health, HR leadership and health education drive her passion for creating impactful, measurable employee wellbeing solutions that achieve long-term success. To focus on her own health and wellbeing, Stacey enjoys cooking and competes with her mum, a food scientist, to produce the most nutritious recipes, sometimes sacrificing on taste.
The Happy Pear started out back in 2004 with Steve, Dave, a tiny shop and a dream of helping people to eat more veg! Fast forward 18 years, The Happy Pear now consists of over 60 food products, a suite of online courses, two wholefood retail cafes & shops, a range of international bestselling cookbooks, a farm, a roastery, a community of over 1 million people on social media living healthier happier lives and over 40 million views on YouTube. We work with a range of medical professionals including a cardiologist, gastroenterologist, dietician and other expert practitioners. With these expert partners, we have developed our suite of online courses that have helped over 60,000 people worldwide improve their health.
Steve and Dave have a wealth of experience in providing health & wellness talks and cooking demonstrations across Ireland, the UK, Europe, and USA and have been key speakers in BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver and Wellfest to name just a few.
On July 23 2018 Zoe Holohan and her husband of four days Brian O’Callaghan Westropp, were caught up in the Greek wildfire disaster that was eventually responsible for 102 deaths. Tragically that toll included Zoe's beloved Brian. What unfolded was a life-altering year during which Zoe found herself not only fighting for her life, having sustained third degree burns all over her face and body, but also struggling to cope with the devastating loss of both her soul-mate and her father, who passed away three weeks after the fire. In an attempt to make sense of it all, she wrote a deeply revealing memoir 'As the Smoke Clears'. Her story of survival, conquering immense challenges and discovering a path to renewal, received rave reviews and went straight to Number one in the Nielson book charts.
Today Zoe considers herself extremely lucky to be alive. She has chosen to use her tragic experiences to inspire and motivate people at a time when the world is in a constant state of flux and many are suffering from loss or sudden changes in circumstances. Her story is remarkable, commencing with her rescue from the boot of a burning car seconds from death, to her recovery battle, enduring painful skin grafts and learning how to walk, talk and use her limbs once more. Further medical complications followed when she contracted a rare form of sepsis, which caused multiple organ failure, internal injuries, additional scarring, hair loss and near death. Yet she persevered with admirable resilience and survived.
Zoe tailors her presentations according to each forum, focussing in particular on: motivation, overcoming obstacles, bereavement, mental health issues and restarting life after enduring a tragedy or a major life change. With painstaking honesty she uses her own life lessons to demonstrate how she learned to live with grief and how she still manages her PTSD whilst juggling therapy appointments and ongoing medical treatments for her injuries and scars.
Speaking with enthusiasm, humour and a zeal for life, Zoe shares a special energy that is infectious. Her talks are both thought provoking and inspirational. She displays a unique perspective on how to make the most of a bad situation, cope with a crisis or carve out a new path when your old life becomes unstuck, showing that you can re-build your world one step at a time. She embraces every day, expresses immense gratitude to the medical community for saving her life and reminds us to appreciate the good stuff and never take life for granted.
Zoe has been interviewed on numerous TV and radio programmes: The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy, Ireland AM with Alan Hughes, The Elaine Show, Pat Kenny on Newstalk, Matt Cooper’s The Last Word, as well as many regional radio stations. ‘As the Smoke Clears’ received extensive glowing coverage in the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World, VIP, Irish Country Living, The Mirror, Belfast Telegraph and on independent.ie, evoke.ie etc. Zoe has recorded podcasts on the topic of grief with Brian Dowling’s ‘Death Becomes Him’ and rebuilding life after tragedy in Sile Seoige’s ‘Ready to be Real’. She also narrated and recorded the Audible edition of her book.
Specialist Subjects: Resilience, Motivation, Grief, Overcoming Obstacles & Mental Health Issues