CIPD Ireland Wellbeing Conference 2024

Dr. Mark Rowe

Founder and family physician - certified diplomate lifestyle medicine

International thought leader on burnout prevention and wellbeing

Physician, author, podcaster, and keynote speaker, Dr. Mark Rowe presents valuable insights on addressing today’s wellbeing challenges and how to leverage 'micro moments’ to drive meaningful solutions. 

Dr. Sinéad Brennan

Chief People Officer, Grant Thornton Ireland

Dr. Sinéad Brennan is an experienced Chief People and Culture Officer with a demonstrated history of working across a range of industry sectors, including financial services, professional services, and software. She is skilled in setting HR strategies that focus on developing and changing organisational culture, engaging employees, and developing leadership talent that enables businesses to achieve their strategic objectives. 

Sinéad’s professional passion is to create work cultures where people can thrive, develop and bring their authentic selves to work. She holds a PhD from Dublin City University (DCU) and she was announced as the 2019 Pearse Walsh Medal Award winner for her research on leadership development. Sinéad also holds a Masters in Business Studies from DCU. Sinéad is a Non-Executive Director of Aware, the mental health charity and is a passionate advocate for mental health and inclusion and diversity. 

Elaine Clarke

People and Culture Partner, Tayto Snacks

Elaine joined Tayto Snacks as People and Culture Partner in 2022. She has worked in the HR profession for over 15 years, with extensive experience in the food and drink industry including senior HR roles in Irish Distillers Pernod Richard and Hilton Foods. She has a wealth of experience creating and implementing programmes that unlock potential and drive organisational success with specialisms in talent development and graduate recruitment. Over the course of her career, Elaine has been instrumental in driving employee engagement, leadership development, and fostering a positive workplace culture that supports growth and innovation.

Mary Connaughton

Director, CIPD Ireland

Mary Connaughton is passionate about developing people and workplaces to be at their best.  

Mary leads the growth, development and contribution of the people profession in Ireland.  She pushes forward the CIPD agenda of people, wellbeing, inclusion and flexible working through research, policy and member engagement.  She has a wealth of HR experience, supporting individuals and companies on the strategic people agenda, HR practice and organisation development. Previously she headed up HR Development at employers’ group Ibec, consulted widely across the public and private sector and held organisation development roles in the financial and consulting sectors.

Mary is on the Boards of the Public Appointments Service and the Retirement Planning Council and represents the people profession in Ireland at the European Association of People Management.

Meg Dunphy

HR Policy and Engagement, CIPD

Meg is an experienced HR professional, previously working in HRBP roles for Irish public sector and global enterprises.  She has a passion for showing the impact of the people profession through creating positive workplace culture.  She is qualified to masters level and is a lifelong learner in the field of people management.    

David D’Souza

Director of Profession, CIPD

David is the Director of Profession for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. He is responsible for ensuring the CIPD effectively supports and leads the profession. Prior to joining the CIPD he worked as an independent consultant, following roles across a range of financial services and retail organisations.

David is a respected and in-demand speaker and writer on progressive HR and business practice, with his commentary regularly featuring in national media. He has expertise in a wide range of areas, including organisational development and culture, learning and development, corporate ethics and the future of work.

David is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of AHRI (the Australian HR Institute), a Fellow of the Centre for Evidence Based Management and a Fellow and Trustee Board Member of the Royal Society of Arts.

Professor Brian Harney

Professor of Work, Psychology and Strategy, Dublin City University

Associate Editor, Human Resource Management 

Prof. Brian Harney BA (Hons), MBS, PhD (Cambridge), MCIPD is Professor of Strategy and HRM and head of the Work, Psychology and Strategy group at Dublin City University Business School. Brian researches the intersection of strategy, HRM and employee experiences of work with a particular focus on SMEs, scaling, and knowledge-intensive sectors. He is the author of several books including recent edited collections The Global HR Case Book (Routledge), Reframing HRM in SMEs (Palgrave Macmillan) and Protecting the Future of Work (Emerald).

Sarah Horne

Executive Director, HR transformation EMEA HR domain lead, Oracle

Sarah is a HR transformation specialist who works with organisations across Europe and the Nordics, the UK, Middle East and Africa, to enable their HR transformation goals through the use of Oracle Cloud HCM; and also to realise their people analytics ambitions. She is experienced in developing and implementing HR strategies and technologies to drive organisational effectiveness; and to enable the strategic change agendas of large global and matrixed organisations – and ensure the optimum employee experience.

Sarah is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and before joining Oracle, gained deep and varied experience in a range of sectors including global financial services companies and the not-for-profit sector in the UK, Europe and AsiaPac, following an earlier career in international retail - having held leadership and change roles for The Body Shop and Gap Inc.

Nick Lawlor

Managing Director, Employee Financial Wellness

Employee Financial Wellness is Ireland’s leading provider of financial education programmes to private and public sector employers and employees. Nick is a Certified Financial Planner, a Specialist Investment Adviser and Pension Trustee Practitioner. 

Nick frequently speaks to audiences across Ireland and the UK on how education is the key to improving their financial literacy levels at all stages of their careers. He believes in educating employees on how to make the most of their current financial situation, prepare for their financial future and overcome personal financial challenges.

Ten years ago, the term ‘Financial Wellness’ was relatively unknown but now, employers increasingly recognise that the financial health of their employees must be part of their overall wellbeing strategy and Nick and the team provide the support and expertise needed by both employers and employees to create lasting, positive change in workplace wellbeing.

Annamarie O’Connor

People and Culture Director, Tayto Snacks

Annamarie joined Tayto Snacks as People and Culture Director in 2019. She has over 25 years’ experience working in the people and culture space, across a variety of industries including FMCG, finance, higher education, health, and media both in Ireland and the UK. Prior to joining Tayto Snacks, she headed the HR function at GAM Fund Management Ltd and held senior HR roles in RCSI, UK Dept of Health and Capital FM.

During her career she led organisational change and cultural development initiatives, leadership and talent development programmes and change management projects and has served on the Irish Funds Industry Association - HR and Training Committee. She is passionate about achieving organisational success through employee engagement and was awarded Great Place to Work Ambassador in 2022. Annamarie holds a Masters in Organisational Analysis and Behaviour, an Honours Degree in Applied Psychology and is a Chartered Member of CIPD.

Professor Deirdre O'Shea, C.Psychol.Ps.S.I., F.Ps.S.I

Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology, University of Limerick.

Deirdre is a chartered psychologist and Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She has an international reputation for award-winning research investigating work motivation, workplace wellbeing and the evaluation of workplace interventions. As such, she operates at the intersection of research and practice to develop evidence-based solutions for employees, teams and organisations. She has published her research in top academic journals and is a regular contributor to national and international media outlets. Her research has been supported by grants from the European Union, Irish Research Council, and Health Research Board, amongst others. 

Ger Perdisatt

CEO, Lua Healthcare

Ger is a vastly experienced technology leader and non-executive director. Currently CEO of Lua Health, Ger was previously Microsoft’s Enterprise segment COO for Western Europe. During his 15-year Microsoft tenure, he also led the technology strategy teams that advise Microsoft’s largest enterprise customers on their business and technology transformations; ran Microsoft’s Enterprise business in Ireland and held other leadership roles in Microsoft’s European organisations over the last decade.   

Ger is an independent Non-Executive Director of DAA plc, and on both it’s Audit and Risk and Strategic Investment committees. He is also on UCD’s Finance, Remuneration and Asset Management committee, reporting to the UCD Board.  

Ger holds a Masters in Business Administration from UCD Smurfit, Bachelor of Arts from UCD, and post-graduate ACCA (Dip FM) and HDip IT qualifications. Ger is a passionate technology optimist, and focusses on the impact of technology on how we work and live. He lives in Kildare, Ireland with his wife, two children, and an ever expanding menagerie of animals. 

Nicola Byrne

CEO, Shine

Nicola Byrne is the CEO of Shine, a national organisation that provides information and support for people affected by mental health difficulties in Ireland. She is also a registered Social Worker with over 25 years of experience in the mental health sector, working in various roles such as practice, policy, research, advocacy, change management, operations, strategy and service delivery.  

She is passionate about promoting individual and family recovery, challenging stigma and discrimination, and influencing positive change in mental health policy and practice. Nicola is an experienced leader who strives to make Shine a voice for mental health in Ireland. 

Under her leadership, the charity Shine operates frontline services for people with lived experience and their supporters, and delivers several important national programmes including the national stigma reduction programme and Ireland’s national programme for responsible reporting and representation of mental health in the media. 

Tobba Vigfusdottir

CEO, Kara Connect

Tobba (Thorbjorg) Vigfusdottir, is the founder and CEO of Kara Connect (est. 2015), a customised mental and wellbeing platform for employees. Tobba has an M.Ed in Educational Psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle and a B.Ed. from the University of Iceland; both focused on cognitive psychology. 

Tobba has, throughout her career, focused on the problem of access to help and support. Her experience as a local politician brought forward the systemic problems people face in getting the proper support to get better. Tobba established an online speech therapy company before establishing Kara Connect. She sits on the National Theatre board and the Science and Technology board appointed by the Minister of Innovation. Before entrepreneurship, Tobba was an elected city councillor in Reykjavík for 12 years, a political advisor to the Minister of Education and a project manager for a women’s entrepreneurial program.

Alison Hodgson

Partner, Transformation, HR and Change at RSM Ireland

Alison is an International HR Director with specific expertise in aligning HR strategies to business goals, transformation change journeys and delivering quantifiable commercial value. 

Alison has enjoyed a progressive career across technology, retail, hospitality, banking, telecoms and professional services. She is currently Partner, Transformation, HR and Change at RSM Ireland. She is a fellow of CIPD, is on the National Committee, and is incoming Chair of the new CIPD Ireland Ltd company.   

Anna Geary

Radio and TV Broadcaster, All Ireland Winning Captain, Performance Coach and Author 

Anna Geary is a Radio and TV Broadcaster, an All Ireland Winning Camogie Captain, Performance Coach and number one best-belling author. Since retiring from Camogie, the Cork native has been carving out a successful broadcasting career. Anna regularly presents her own weekly health and wellbeing radio show called 'Supercharged with Anna Geary', Sundays on RTÉ Radio One. She also works with a variety of companies, teams and on a one-to-one basis as a coach. 

In March 2024, Anna released her first book, 'Anna’s Game Plan'. In this best-selling book, Anna shares the powerful ways that managing your mindset can be life-changing. Based on her extensive experience in nurturing healthy attitudes towards mind and body, Anna lays out five practical tactics - Acceptance, Purpose, Consistency, Challenge and Kindness - that can equip you with a practical toolkit to banish overwhelm and focus on what's really important. 

Lorraine O'Carroll

Human Resources Director, Grant Thornton Ireland 

Senior HR professional with over 15 years’ experience gained in large Professional Services firms. Skilled in developing people policies and practices that positively impact employee engagement, deliver meaningful change and ultimately drive and enable business performance. Lorraine's current role is focussed on leading a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the People Experience across Grant Thornton. Lorraine is also a Member of Grant Thornton’s EMBRACE Steering Committee with responsibility for shaping and influencing our ED&I strategy. 

Catherine Fitzgibbon

Human Resources Director, Core 

Catherine is Human Resources Director at Core, specialising in creating high-performance cultures and driving organisational success. Catherine has been at the helm of Core, Irelands largest marketing and communications company for nearly 17 years. In that time, she has played a pivotal role in maintaining the company’s high-trust culture and employee engagement. Her leadership has helped shape a thriving progressive work environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and employee well-being. 

Catherine’s empathetic approach and strategic mindset, has successfully helped lead Core through several large HR transformations, ensuring alignment with business goals while nurturing an inclusive and supportive workplace. 

Her commitment to continuous improvement and people-centric leadership has helped Core maintain its GPTW status for over 15 years. Some other achievements from Core this year include Autism Friendly Employer from AsIAm, GPTW for Women and Well-Being, an ESG award for wellbeing in relation to Core’s ‘Working with Cancer & Menopause policies as well as maintaining its Gold Standard accreditation from Investors in Diversity for a third year. 

Cathal Divilly

CEO, Great Place to Work® Ireland

Cathal Divilly is the CEO of the Great Place to Work® Institute and has been with the organisation since it first launched into the Irish market over twenty years ago.  

Cathal has been fortunate enough to work with many different leaders from a multiplicity of industries in supporting them in building and sustaining a high-trust workplace.  

He spends a lot of his time out with leadership teams advising them on how to make improvements to their culture and attract the best talent. 

Part of his role is also building partnerships for his organisation along with growing a community of practice and developing a knowledge exchange between clients. 

Shane Keenan

HR Business Partner at Grant Thornton  

With a dual academic background in Law and Human Resource Management, Shane brings over a decade of expertise in human resources across diverse variety of industries including, Accountancy professional services, IT, Security and the entertainment industry.

As an accomplished HR Business Partner at Grant Thornton, Shane also leads the Firm’s BeWell initiative. In this role, Shane drives innovative programs that promote a holistic approach to wellbeing, focusing on the importance of physical, financial and emotional wellbeing enabling employees to thrive both personally and professionally.