Judging

CEO, Satellite Broadband Ireland

Kevin Ryan is the CEO of Satellite Broadband Ireland, a company that he co founded in 2008 with Sean Og Brennan, which provides a satellite solution for rural broadband in Ireland. Kevin created the company in 2008 in response to the serious lack of availability of a cost effective rural broadband solution and in 2009 he created a partnership with Eutelsat, the no 1 satellite company in Europe, to use their Tooway service in Ireland. Satellite Broadband Ireland has to date successfully installed their service in 24 counties across Ireland. Kevin is an active lobbyist to the Irish government in increasing the provision and service of broadband in Ireland and has submitted a green paper in conjunction with his rural partners to the Seanad on the topic. Prior to setting up Satellite Broadband Ireland Kevin worked with IBM Ireland where he held several senior roles within Operations and Strategic Outsourcing. Ryan firmly believes that we now have the opportunity to deliver a fast and reliable broadband solution to all areas of Ireland and their company is committed to delivering upon that promise.

Director of Marketing & Operations, ESET Ireland

With over 16 years experience in business and marketing, Louise joined ESET Ireland in 2001. In 2004 she was appointed Director of Marketing & Operations and has since driven the growth in market share of ESET Security products in Ireland led by its flagship product, the highly acclaimed, ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

Louise has a wide range of experience in commercial enterprise and has gained valuable knowledge both in Ireland and across EMEA. Responsible for all marketing activities at ESET Ireland, she has a focus on growing the online marketing channel which has become one of the cornerstones of the ESET success story.

Strategic Director & Co-Founder, Blueface

Feargal Brady is Co-Founder of Blueface, the pioneers in IP Telephony in Ireland and is the company's Strategic Director, with responsibility for business development, strategy and finance.

Feargal has considerable experience in international project management and commercial operations in the heavy engineering sector, having managed multi-disciplinary teams on projects around the world. He moved to the software sector in 2000, establishing the Asian sales office for an Irish software company, overseeing their marketing and sales efforts across South Asia. 

Feargal holds a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from DIT Bolton Street, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College Dublin, and an MBA from HEC Paris (2004). He co-founded Blueface in 2004.

www.blueface.ie

Director of Marketing & Strategy, Digital Hub Development Agency

Stephen is the Director of Marketing and Strategy of the Digital Hub Development Agency. Appointed in December 2003 he has responsibility for the growth and direction of the €250M Irish government Digital Hub initiative to create a leading knowledge community built around digital media. With both a commercial and academic background Stephen has a wide range of experience in enterprise, research and learning which reflects the diversity of the Digital Hub project. Stephen is part of a number of strategic Irish Government Initiatives and Irish industry bodies to develop a knowledge economy. He was awarded a PhD in physics by the University of Dublin, Trinity College in 1995.

Assistant Development Adviser, Enterprise Ireland

Annemarie Coogan has worked with Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for the development and promotion of Irish enterprise for the past 5 years, currently working with companies in the in the High Potential Start-up (HPSU) division which is responsible for the the stimulation, support and development of all new HPSU companies supported by Enterprise Ireland.

Over the last 5 years Annemarie has gained extensive experience working with promising early stage start-up companies with ambitious export plans, and is currently working with companies in the Communications, Digital Media and eLearning sectors, assisting with planning the business strategy and identifying how Enterprise Ireland's full range of financial and non-financial services can be implemented.

Prior to working in Enterprise Ireland Annemarie gained a broad range of experience working with a number of web development start-ups, one of which subsequently grew to become Europe's leading provider of web services to the construction Industry.

Head of the Dept. of Humanities, IT Carlow

Tracy Fahey is the Head of Department of Humanities in IT Carlow and Immediate Past President of the Institute of Designers in Ireland. She is the former head of Faculty of Design in Griffith College Dublin. Tracy has edited several design publications including Why Design? A Guide to Studying Design In Ireland (2007) and The Best of Irish Design (2008). Her research interests are contemporary Irish design and Gothic design, and she has presented papers on these topics in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark and Finland.

CEO, ECDL Ireland

Jim graduated from Queen's University, Canada with a degree in Science and Education in 1987. While living in Canada Jim was briefly involved with teaching before moving into sales and marketing with Merck Frosst Canada Inc.

In 1993 Jim moved to Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin with an MBA. In 1994 Jim joined Bioniche Canada Inc. as Business Development Manager and was stationed in Dublin with a brief to develop heir European business.

In 1997 Jim became Chief Executive of ECDL Ireland Ltd. (T/A ICS SKILLS) and has since established the ECDL as the leading computer literacy certification in Ireland.

In 2002 Jim was elected Chairman of the Board of the European Computer Driving Licence Foundation, the governing body for ECDL and ICDL worldwide.

In addition to ICS SKILLS and ECDL Foundation responsibilities in January 2004 Jim became the Chief Executive of the Irish Computer Society.  Jim served as President of the Ireland Canada Business Association from 1998 to 2000 and is a Member of the MBA Association and Institute of Directors

Head of Marketing & Operations, New Media Lottery Services

Irene Gahan is Head of Marketing & Operations for New Media Lottery Services in Ireland & the UK who operate and manage www.rehabbingo.com and www.rehabgames.com on behalf of Rehab Lotteries.

Previously she was previously CEO of the Irish Internet Association from 2003 - 2005.

She has been at the forefront of the Irish Internet Industry in Ireland since early 1995 and has acted as a judge and advisor for many Internet awards throughout her 13 years in the Industry.

She has written on Internet technology and marketing for both national and International media and often commentates on industry developments for Irish radio and TV.

CEO, doop

Brian is a Podcasting, Blogging & Social Media Consultant with many years experience in radio. With 23 years radio experience and 13 years web development experience with doop he began blogging in February 2003 and podcasting in March 2005. In November 2006 Brian wins the first major internet award for podcasting in Ireland when he is awarded the Net Visionary Podcaster of the year, he also won Net Visionary Web Designer of the year in 2004. In March 2007 Brian joined forces with TalkingVoices.com International Podcasting Agency producing podcasts and independent radio content for clients throughout Ireland. Brian's mix of Open Source scripting and Open Community background blends with the practical appliance of business requirements in an ever changing technology landscape.

Director of Online Sales and Operations, Google Ireland

As Director of Online Sales and Operations, Ronan drives Google's online sales and account management for advertisers across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).  Based at our EMEA headquarters in Dublin, Ronan joined Google in 2005 and has focused on growing the online sales channel for new and existing markets and also launched online operations for Google Checkout.    Ronan began his career by earning a degree in electronic engineering at University College Dublin, from where he was recruited by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to work at their Information Storage Products division in Japan.  He went on to spend 9 years in Japan working in consulting and technology, and returned to Ireland in 2001 to work in private equity before joining Google.

CEO, Lightbox

Tom is currently the CEO of Dublin based web agency Lightbox and leads the project development of this young and growing company. He has worked in the web development arena in a number of roles for the past 10 years in Dublin and Brussels and has considerable experience in the design and development of commercial web-based applications. Prior to starting Lightbox he worked as the web development manager for an online information company and as an in-house project manager in a publicly listed financial services company. He holds a Business Studies degree from Trinity and post graduate qualifications in new business development, sales management and project management.

Frank Keane - Partner, MKO Partners, Chartered Accountants

Frank is a founding Partner of MKO Partners, Chartered Accountants, one of Ireland’s leading boutique financial advisory firms. Frank specialises in providing advisory services to Financial Services multinationals operating or seeking to set up in Ireland.

Frank is a Chartered Accountant and a Qualified Financial Advisor. He is also an Affiliate Member of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), an Associate Member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisers and a member of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.

Frank has many years' experience as lecturer and external examiner in the Institute of Bankers in Ireland. He provides bespoke courses to Solicitors and Bankers under the general heading of "Accounting and/or Finance for non Specialists".

Frank has also written books and study guides on 'Financial Statement Analysis', 'Company Financial Statements', and 'Corporate Banking' - all published by the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.

Damien Mulley is a Cork based Communications Consultant and teaches organisations and enterprises how to communicate amongst themselves and with the greater world. He is also the organiser of the Irish Blog Awards and Irish Web Awards, wrote a technology column for the Sunday Tribune from Jan 07 to Jan 08 and is the former chairman of broadband lobby group IrelandOffline.

Project Manager, doop

Sinéad has over 17 years of business, marketing and media experience, and has spent the last nine years working specifically in the New Media Industry. Sinéad joined doop in 2005, focusing on project management and internet consulting. Prior to joining doop Sinéad was Project Manager for Continuum Technologies. Sinead joined Continuum from the Irish Internet Association where she was Operations Manager, overseeing the delivery of over 120 industry events nationally. Sinéad started her online career with The Irish Times New Media Division in 1999, where she worked on the launch, marketing and promotion of ireland.com. She studied Media Production in 1996 when she took a career break from AIB Investment Managers and went on to produce and present for Anna Livia Radio before making the switch to new media. Previously to this she completed the Graduateship in Marketing whilst employed by AIB Investment Managers.

Managing Director, Radical

Martin Murray is Managing Director of Dublin-based Online Marketing Agency, Radical, the leading provider of online marketing services in Ireland to clients such as Diageo, O2 and Autotrader.

Martin is a former Director of the Irish Internet Association and is regularly asked to speak at industry fora around the world on the subject of online marketing.

Eamon McGrane is a freelance media consultant, editor and journalist. He has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Daily Mail, Sunday Business Post, Sunday Tribune and Sunday Independent. In addition he has also contributed to specialist magazines such as Business Plus, Computerscope, Irish Computer and many others.

He has wide experience as an editor and has previously edited magazines such as Irish Computer and AMT for CPG (now Mediateam). Eamon also offers media consultancy services and has worked with companies such as Memory Bank and Logitech. He has also contributed to various TV and radio programmes.

Rachel O'Flanagan has worked in the Irish Film Industry for 12 years, initially with a production company, Treasure Films, and now on an independent basis. She is experienced in developing and script editing feature films, television series and single dramas.

Following an MA in Communication Studies (University of North London) she completed further professional training under the European MEDIA programmes North by Northwest and Arista.

She is currently attached to various television and feature drama projects in development with Irish, UK, Scandinavian and US based production companies and writers.

Produced Irish projects include Rasaí na Gaillimhe; The Running Mate; Showbands 1 & 2; The Clinic; On Home Ground; Home For Christmas.

Clients in Ireland include: Treasure Films, Parallel Films, Subotica Films, Great Western Films, Saffron Films, Wildfire Films, Newgrange Films, Rubicon Films.

Rachel has worked as a guest lecturer in Screenwriting, Film Development and Script Editing at the Huston Film School (NUI Galway: MA Screenwriting); Dun Laoghaire Film School (IADT: BA in Film & Television Production); Film Base (Film Institute of Ireland).

She is a script editor for MA Screenwriting students and occasional panel member for MA assessments at IADT.

She has been a reader for the Film Institute of Ireland Script Awards and for the North by Northwest MEDIA Training programme.

Managing Director, Newmedia

Cameron Ross entered the field of Multimedia and Internet development at the emergence of the industry. Having graduated with Honours in both Visual Communications and Production Design and having originally worked in these industries, he then co-founded Newmedia, a full service multimedia agency in 1996. Over the past 12 years Newmedia has developed countless multimedia solutions for clients such as Eircom, Toyota, Enterprise Ireland, Meteor, Allianz, FÁS, Independent News & Media, O2, RTÈ, Eirgrid and SONY.

Cameron has been the recipient of many industry awards including the Golden Spiders (Web Agency of the Year), the Institute of Creative Advertising & Design Awards, the IDI Awards, and the National Internet Business Awards.  He has also acted as a jury member for a number of events including the International Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition and the Digital Media Awards since 2007.

He is an active member of the design community having sat on Council for the Institute of Designers in Ireland for 8 years, recently as President. He is also a member of the Irish Internet Association, was Chairman of the all-Ireland IDI Awards for 5 years and is a former Board Member of Design Ireland.

Managing Director, Digital Audio Productions

Dusty Rhodes is a renowned radio DJ, having worked with 2FM, Atlantic 252 and many other radio stations since the 80'.

In 2002 Dusty saw an opening in the Irish market for a new radio venture and established Digital Audio Productions with a view to developing this business. Since then DAP has successfully created a niche producing high quality syndicated radio programmes.

The quality of the work has been noted at the PPI Radio Awards. In 2004, the Irish language chart show Top 40 Oifigiúil na hÉireann beat national and major regional competition to win the Music Programming Weekly Award. In 2005 DAP was the first independent company to be awarded a nomination for a commercial series on RTE “Net Nanny” which also went on to win accolades at the PPI Radio Awards.

The following year this success was consolidated with a PPI Radio Award win for “CGI: Computers Games Internet - another programme series for national broadcaster RTE. Dusty is currently Vice-Chairman of the Independent Radio Producers of Ireland, lectures for Éist, the Irish broadcast training organisation and most recently was named one of the Most Influential People in Irish Radio by leading newspaper the Sunday Tribune.

Emmet Ryan is a freelance journalist based in Dublin working with several media organisations including, the Irish Times and the Sunday Business Post. He has also recently set up Villa81.com an video-based online review website. Emmet holds a Bachelor of Commerce (International) degree from University College Dublin and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from Dublin City University. Since 2005 Emmet has worked in a wide range of media including online, broadcast and print journalism. He has written extensively about developments in the internet and how new media is changing our everyday lives and is a regular guest on several national and local radio stations. He is active in charity work having completed the Dublin City Marathon three times in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland. In August Emmet will walk the length of Ireland for this cause.

CEO Tender3D.com

Tender3D.com is a dedicated 3D modelling and animation marketspace, David is on the panel of Enterprise Ireland (EI) eBusiness consultants and works with a range of EI clients on planning and implementing their online strategies. David is one of the Directors and co-founders of Pixel Lab, a Cork-based online interactive 3D animation agency, and also Lectured at Cork Institute of Technology, where he put together the content for, and taught the 4th year BIS Enterprise Systems course. David holds an MBS (Management Accounting and MIS), and a BBS in Marketing, is a Graduate Member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and has had research published relating to the marketing of information systems. David is a participant in the 2009/2010 Endeavour programme and is a graduate of CIT’s Genesis Enterprise Programme.