Aisling is Head of HR for Accenture in Ireland. Aisling has been with Accenture for 10 years and oversees all aspects of Accenture in Ireland's People and Talent Strategy. She holds a Primary Degree in Psychology from Queen's University Belfast and a Masters in Occupational Psychology from the University of Leicester. She is also a qualified Executive Coach with particular interest in neuroscience. She is a member of the Worker and Employer Advisory Council (WEAC) with Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and Labour Market & Skills Council Employer Engagement Subgroup with the Department of Social Protection.
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Alasdair is well known as an advocate of purpose-led business, believing that the best and most sustainable financial results are achieved when the things we build add value to society. He holds sustainability, safety, quality, inclusion, and collaboration as key tenets of what makes a good business and is delighted that he sees all these things, daily at BAM.
Alasdair is actively involved in policy development in the industry and is a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a fellow of the Institute of Quarrying. He is also a visiting Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, with active research interests in low-carbon alternatives in construction.
Alice is a global expert in sustainable urban planning, urban regeneration, city design and housing. With more than 20 years’ experience spanning government policy, strategy, and design, she has worked with international organisations, governments, and the private sector to shape cities that are inclusive, resilient, and future-ready.
As Director for Cities, Planning and Design at Arup, she focuses on cross cutting urban strategies addressing sustainability, climate change, resilience, mobility and affordability. She also focuses on the delivery of housing and urban regeneration projects globally.
She is responsible for directing and strategically building Arup’s relationship with the EBRD, a Member of the Core Executive Team for the European Union, focused on our relationship with the European Commission and its Agencies, European Parliament and critical cities and housing related organisations and development agencies in Europe and she is a Member of the Core Executive Team for Ukraine focused on delivering our project pipeline in the country.
She also leads strategic collaborations with the UN Global Compact and the World Economic Forum and has been delivering global cities, climate, housing and urban regeneration work with the Earthshot Prize and C40. Her work focuses on advancing climate action, sustainable real estate, and innovative urban solutions that improves the quality of life for communities.
She is also a member of the Holcim Foundation, which is a global non-profit organisation founded by Holcim. It focuses on accelerating the implementation of design excellence in cities - translating bold ideas into built impact, beginning with a new partnership with C40 Cities.
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Barbara is responsible for the company's learning and performance development strategy to support overall strategic objectives and enable its people to build long and rewarding careers in a changing and fast-paced industry. She leads this across a business of over 20 active construction sites, head office, and two NUA manufacturing facilities.
She believes in building a culture where people and organisations can grow and adapt, through coaching, engagement and lifelong learning.
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David Howard is the Director of the Property Industry Group in Ibec, including Property Industry Ireland (PII), and the Building Materials Federation and its affiliated associations since February 2025. David joined Ibec in 2013 initially as Policy Executive for PII and then later served as Senior Property Policy Executive. During this period David also served two secondments with Ibec’s Financial Services Ireland trade association, firstly as Senior Regulatory Affairs Executive and later as FSI Deputy Director.
Prior to joining Ibec David worked for several trade associations in Brussels including in the automotive battery, candle, plant hire and gas industries. David is a native of Galway and holds B Comm and LLB degrees from University of Galway.
Deirdre is responsible for strategically driving fund management performance and asset management initiatives across the entire property portfolio enhancing income and capital value through a number of initiatives including leasing , major development and refurbishment projects both in Ireland and by directly investing in property across Europe.
Deirdre has championed ILIM’s responsible investment strategy in real estate, embedding ESG in investment decision making with the objective of delivering longer term sustainable returns.
She is a general practice chartered surveyor with over 25 years experience in commercial property.
Prior to joining Irish Life, Deirdre was Managing Director of Aramark property and a board member of Aramark Northern Europe where she was responsible for the management and development of the business, enhancing service delivery and driving change strategies. Prior to joining Aramark, Deirdre was a founding partner of HT Meagher O Reilly (now Knight Frank).
Deirdre holds a BSc (Surveying) from Trinity College, Dublin and a Diploma in Property Economics from the Dublin Institute of Technology. She is a member of Society of Chartered Surveyor Ireland and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
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Graham Doyle is Secretary General of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
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Jack Chambers is Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
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John Cummins is Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
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John is a Divisional Director in Knight Frank's Dublin Capital Markets team. He has ten years' experience in Irish commercial real estate investment transactions across the office, industrial and logistics, retail, living and mixed-use sectors. He advises institutional and private clients on acquisitions, disposals and asset strategy, working alongside investors, developers and lenders active in the Irish market.
His transactional experience with ESG sits across the cost, regulatory and performance dynamics now shaping how Irish commercial assets are priced, repositioned and traded.
John holds an MSc in Real Estate from Technological University Dublin and a Bachelor of Business Studies from Dublin City University. He is a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Kirstie Jones is the Group Design Manager at Collen AB, where she leads the development and governance of the Design function across the business. With a background in architecture and design management, she brings a strong foundation in project delivery and technical coordination into her leadership role.
Since joining Collen in 2019, she has played a key role in establishing robust design management processes, strengthening project controls, and driving consistency across a growing portfolio of hyperscale data centre projects.
She oversees multiple live projects across Ireland, the UK, and Europe, working closely with project leadership teams to manage design risk, ensure regulatory compliance, control costs, and maintain delivery quality. Kirstie also leads a growing team of Design Coordinators, Design Managers, and Document Controllers, focusing on capability development, resourcing, and effective cross-project coordination.
Her responsibilities include management of Contractor Design Portions (CDP), design change control, risk tracking, reporting to senior leadership, and ensuring alignment of design delivery across all projects. She has been instrumental in successfully delivering major data centre projects in the Nordics and is currently overseeing a significant portfolio of ongoing developments in Ireland and the UK. Kirstie is recognised for her structured approach to design governance, strong stakeholder management, and ability to embed processes that improve efficiency, accountability, and project performance at scale.
Paul joined the business in March 2021. A chartered engineer, Paul has over 20 years’ experience in senior project delivery roles working on complex infrastructure projects and programmes including the inaugural Luas Red and Green Line, ESB Network renewals, Luas Red and Green Line extensions, Manchester Metrolink Phase 3 expansion, Heathrow Terminal 2, Luas Cross City, and the Grange Gorman TU Dublin PPP Campus. During that time, he held roles with TII (formerly RPA), Laing O’ Rourke, Sisk, and Macquarie.
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Ronan Columb is the Group Managing Director of Castlethorn, one of Ireland’s leading residential property developers. Appointed to the role in 2023, Ronan brings over two decades of leadership experience in construction and development, with a career spanning more than 30 years in the industry.
Since joining Castlethorn in 2004, Ronan has been a driving force behind the company’s growth, first as Construction Manager and later as Construction Director, where he led all construction and quantity surveying operations. Under his leadership, Castlethorn has delivered landmark residential communities known for their design quality, sustainability, and community integration.
Prior to Castlethorn, Ronan spent 14 years with Walls Construction, rising to Divisional Director and gaining extensive experience in large-scale project delivery. As Group MD, he now leads Castlethorn’s strategic direction, championing innovation, operational excellence, and long-term value creation across the organisation.
Sarah Carey is a popular columnist for The Irish Independent and frequent contributor to Irish and International broadcast media. She has previously written for The Irish Times and The Sunday Times on everything from economics to politics, technology and media.
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Sean Laffey joined Uisce Éireann (then Irish Water) in 2013 and is Director of Asset Management & Sustainability. He is a Chartered Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in engineering services including roles in the public and private sector. Prior to his current role, he was Head of Asset Management at Irish Water. He brought with him a wealth of experience in Engineering and Water Services from his time in Local Authorities and was also part of the Water Services Transition Office preparing to transition water services from 31 Local Authorities to Uisce Éireann. Previously, Sean held positions in both contracting and consulting businesses in Ireland and abroad. He has First Class Honours degrees in Civil Engineering and Law, as well as an MBA from Warwick University.
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Businessman Sean O’Driscoll is Chair of the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Governing Authority of University College Cork, a member of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
He is a former, Chairman and CEO of the Glen Dimplex Group, Partner in KPMG, Director of AIB, member of the Trilateral Commission, National Competitiveness Council, Ireland 2040 Delivery Board, Action Plan for Jobs and other Government advisory Groups.
He is the recipient of an OBE and Legion d’honneur.
Tomás Cowman is the Senior Director for Real Estate in Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland. Having first joined Lidl in 2014, he has held a number of roles across the Real Estate Department beginning with construction project manager, Director of Construction and Energy, Director of Property and Senior Director of Central Services.
A Carlow native, Tomás first trained as a quantity surveyor at the South East Technological University in Waterford before completing a master's in Business Management at the UCD Smurfit School of Business.