By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance is proud to release the annual CMO 100 Index in association with Cvent. The CMO 100 recognises the top marketing professionals operating in Ireland in 2023.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
The full list is available to download here
Siobhan O’Dwyer, Global Head of Marketing,
Kingspan
With a background in Marketing and Business Management, Siobhan O’Dwyer created her own company called Threesixty, an award-winning specialist B2B marketing and branding consultancy that has evolved to become a B2B agency with a focus on food, cleantech and science.
21 years later she is the Global Head of Marketing from Kingspan Group and feels very fortunate to enjoy the rich experience of working in diverse, multi-cultural teams.
Anne O’Hagan, EMEA Marketing Director,
Oracle
Anne O’Hagan is a digital marketing director in the B2B technology industry, driving and measuring demand generation campaigns across multiple channels and audiences to generate inbound sourced pipeline and opportunities.
Her current role is as EMEA Marketing Manager with Oracle. She has been with the organisation for over two years and has been in the world of marketing since 1989 with Acer International based in Taiwan and France and the UK.
Sinead O’Neill, Senior Marketing Manager,
TransferMate Global Payments
Sinead O’Neill is a Senior Marketer with 15 years’ experience across a broad range of industries, including Telco, Airline, Retail, Entertainment and Financial Services.
She has extensive experience accumulated across B2C and B2B including brand development, media optimisation, agency management, P&L management, product launches, project management, managing stakeholders and relationship building.
Prior to taking up her role at TransferMate Global Payments, she held positions at Aer Lingus and Conduit Global.
Brian O’Neill, Head of Communications, Brand, Sponsorship, Sustainability,
Aviva
Brian O’Neill joined Aviva in August 2018 after 12 years with Friends First Group, most recently as Strategic Marketing Director since 2012, and Head of Investor Relations from 2010 to 2012.
Prior to this, he was Product & Market Development Director with Prudential Europe. He began his career with Bank of Ireland Lifetime Assurance. O’Neill’s key responsibilities include Sustainability and Climate Change Delivery, Communications and Public Policy, and Sponsorship including the Aviva Stadium.
Catherine O’Toole, Head of Marketing,
Very
Catherine O’Toole is a highly creative, customer centric marketing professional with 13 years’ experience within retail, FMCG and ecommerce industries.
In her role as Head of Marketing at Very, she leads a high performing team and oversees the marketing strategy and its implementation for Ireland’s largest pure play online retailer.
She holds an Msc in Marketing Practice from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and has recently completed Marketing Week’s Mini MBA.
Stefano Pappalardo, Head of Digital, Marketing & Development,
GCN
Stefano Pappalardo is the Head of Digital, Marketing & Development for GCN, Ireland’s national LGBTQ+ press.
He joined ahead of its 2017 relaunch and has been instrumental in developing and growing GCN’s digital presence and offering, for which GCN was awarded 2022’s Emerging Stronger – Digital for Good Spider Award.
Pappalardo is responsible for leading and overseeing all areas of digital, implementing processes and strategies, creating and planning high-value content, campaigns and initiatives, such as the award-winning digital festival “In & Out’’.
He successfully drives content delivery across all digital platforms through strategic marketing plans, operating closely with the editorial, commercial and events teams.
Pappalardo manages GCN’s website, ensuring its optimisation to deliver a seamless experience for readers and advertisers alike. He oversees all aspects of GCN’s merchandise and online store. He has also worked on Dublin Pride’s social media strategies.
Áine Plunkett, Head of Brand, Advertising & Sponsorship — SSE Energy Customer Solutions — Great Britain & Ireland,
SSE Airtricity
Áine Plunkett was appointed Head of Brand, Advertising & Sponsorship at SSE Airtricity in 2021 and has held a number of key positions within the Marketing Directorate over the last 16 years in SSE.
She has developed the SSE Airtricity brand story in Ireland through the “This is Generation Green” campaign and through a strong portfolio of sponsorship assets; including partnerships with Dublin Zoo, FAI SSE Airtricity National leagues & The SSE Arena, Belfast, allowing SSE Airtricity position themselves as a unique point of difference in the energy market.
Plunkett is a results driven leader with interpersonal skills and is an expert team builder. She thrives in a high-performing and creative work environment.
Gideon Pridor, CMO,
Workvivo
Gideon Pridor is the CMO of Workvivo. Pridor has a demonstrated record in international business development and demand generation for both B2B and B2C segments. He has enjoyed success as a high-tech marketing operations lead. Prior became CMO of Workvivo in 2020 having held a number of roles in companies such as Travel Perk and Perfecto Mobile.
Kevin Quinn, Head of Commercial & Marketing,
Leinster Rugby
Kevin Quinn joined Leinster Rugby as Head of Commercial & Marketing in September 2017, just prior to a period of success for the club. He helped negotiate sponsorship deals with Bank of Ireland and a multi-year naming rights partnership with Energia, for Energia Park in Donnybrook.
This was parallel to the team’s success on the pitch where they enjoyed domestic and European success. Quinn, along with Leinster Rugby, have gone from strength-to-strength since.
He navigated vital deals for the club which saw Adidas and Bearing Point come on as Premium Partners while others signed contract extensions. Quinn also successfully navigated the pandemic to ensure the club kept progressing at a difficult time.
Hilary Quinn, Marketing Director,
Diageo Ireland
Hilary Quinn is the Marketing Director for Diageo Ireland having been appointed in 2020. She is responsible for a portfolio of brands including Guinness, Rockshore and Smithwick’s. She previously worked as Marketing Director for Flavours and Adult Brands in Coca-Cola Western Europe.
During her 20-year tenure at Coca-Cola, Quinn drove the growth of a vast portfolio which included an array of premium brands across Western Europe.
Prior to joining the soft drink giant, Quinn spent four years at Unilever’s Personal Care Division. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Marketing, Economics and Business from Technological University Dublin.
Linda Quinn, Global Marketing Director,
Keyword Studios
Linda Quinn is Global Marketing Director at Keyword Studios. She became Global Marketing Manager at the firm in 2017 before assuming her current position in 2020.
Quinn previously held roles at MCI Worldcom and Verizon Enterprise Solutions. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Economics and Social Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
Suzanne Quinn, Chief Commercial Officer,
Woodie’s
Suzanne Quinn, Marketing and Digital Director for Woodie’s, the number one garden, home and DIY retailer in Ireland has been with Woodie’s since November 2019.
Prior to taking this position, she worked with Tesco Ireland as Head of Brand Propositions. With a Masters in Marketing Practice from UCD Michael Smurfit graduate business school she has worked in a number of various marketing roles over her professional career. These include Dunnes and Superquinn.
Claire Reynolds, Head of Consumer Marketing Segments,
Vodafone Ireland
Claire Reynolds is Head of Consumer Marketing Segments at Vodafone Ireland. Having worked her way up through the ranks from National Sales Account & Operations Manager to Head of Business Sales and more recently Director of Sales, Reynolds has dedicated 21 years across EMEA, Americas & APAC, in a fast-paced and transforming industry.
She is a highly skilled people and cultural leader with a proven track record of using data to inform decision making. She has delivered strong business results, developing new business, expanding existing and retaining critical customers in a complex matrixed organisation all withIn a highly competitive communications market.
John Ryan, Marketing Director,
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
John Ryan is Marketing Director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Ryan joined the company in 2009. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has over 600 staff in Ireland across sites in Leixlip, Galway and Cork.
Kevin Sammon, Director of Global Corporate Communications & Marketing,
IDA Ireland
Kevin Sammon leads IDA’s engagement with international media and shaping Ireland’s business reputation in target markets across the world. He is member of IDA Ireland’s Executive Leadership Team and handles a diverse portfolio of areas for IDA Ireland including: corporate communications, brand, reputation, political communications, events, crisis and internal communications.
Kathleen Schneider, CMO,
FD Technologies
Kathleen Schneider is the CMO of FD Technologies. She was appointed to the role in 2020 and holds responsibility for the firm’s marketing strategy, including brand, demand generation and communications.
Schneider helps drive the company’s global go-to-market approach and brand strategy. Before joining the company, Schneider was global CMO at Sungard Availability Services.
Previous roles include: Senior Vice President, Product and Marketing for EMEA at Level 3 Communications and Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Criteo. She also previously worked at tech giant, Dell. While at Dell, Schneider led various marketing functions at a country, regional and global level.
Etain Seymour, Head of Marketing & Communications,
Accenture
Etain Seymour leads Accenture in Ireland’s marketing and communications function, shaping Accenture’s brand strategy in Ireland, strengthening its position as an innovation-led organisation, and both enhancing and increasing employee engagement.Rebecca Silver, SVP Marketing,
LetsGetChecked
Rebecca Silver was appointed Senior Vice President of Marketing at LetsGetChecked in 2021. She oversees the company’s marketing strategies as well as partnerships.
Silver is a founding member of Kindbody and previously led marketing and business development GenePeeks.
David Slattery, Head of Marketing & Communications,
Pinergy
David Slattery has significant marketing, digital & communications experience from leadership roles across Financial Services, Wealth Management & Energy sectors.
In 2017, Slattery joined clean energy supplier & solutions business Pinergy leading the brand, marketing & communications programme including significant re-positioning of the brand. David is a Commerce graduate of UCD, is a Qualified Marketer (Marketing Institute of Ireland), is a member of Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.
Siobhán Smith, Senior Global Marketing Manager,
Expleo
As Senior Global Marketing Manager for Expleo, a world-wide technology and engineering consulting firm, Siobhán Smith is responsible for driving growth in its key sectors.
She leads an award-winning marketing team across Expleo’s strategic countries, driving commercial and business targets for their development and growth.
Smith holds a Postgraduate Degree in Marketing and Management from TU Dublin. She was also awarded the Gold Medal for achieving a first place on the Master of Science in Management and Marketing from the Dublin Institute of Technology, class of 2018.
Liz Smyth, VP of Global Field Marketing,
Slack
Liz Smyth is a Marketing executive who specializes in international expansion for fast-growing companies. She has spent over twenty years helping companies in the technology industry scale, across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
Smyth is currently Vice President of Global Field Marketing at Slack, the messaging app for businesses around the world. Prior to joining Slack, she worked at Marketo where she led the go-to-market strategy for Europe and APAC.
Smyth previously held a variety of roles at Salesforce in Dublin. Liz holds a BA in International Business from The University of Ulster.
Michelle Spillane, Marketing & Brand Director,
PaddyPower Betfair
Claire Sweeney, CMO,
Flipdish
Niall Tracey, Director of Marketing,
Fáílte Ireland
Niall Tracey is Director of Marketing for Fáilte Ireland. He is also responsible for the brands like Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East and oversees research and insight, and domestic marketing activity encouraging 10.5 million domestic visitors to stay in Ireland for a holiday in 2017.
Prior to Failte Ireland, Tracey worked with major players in Ireland including Aldi, Kerrygold, Aviva, SuperValu and Diageo.
Sarah-Jane Willoughby, Head of Marketing & Sponsorship,
Ibec
Sarah-Jane Willoughby is an experienced senior marketing leader with strong leadership, problem-solving, strategic planning and analytical skills.
She has been the Head of Marketing and Sponsorship at Ibec since 2014, and is responsible for the organisation’s brand strategy and management including the creation of new brands and revamping and scaling of existing brands into new and existing markets for stronger competitive positions and commercial impact.
She was previously Marketing Communications Manager at Deloitte Ireland and has also served in senior marketing roles at Microsoft, Verizon Business and MCI-WorldCom.
Business & Finance CMO 100 Index 2023 (alphabetical by surname):
View part one (B–D)
View part two (D–K)
View part three (K–O)
View part four (O–W)
