The Business & Finance CIO 100 recognises the top 100 Chief Information Officers working across some of the largest corporates in Ireland. This year’s event coincides with the Dublin Tech Summit and will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin on the 18 April from 6–8pm, where a panel will discuss the topic of ‘Information Influx: the Challenges Facing CIOs’. Here is the final section of the four-section list.
Paul Hyland, Group Information Governance & Security Manager Glen Dimplex
Paul is Group Information Governance & Security Manager at Glen Dimplex. The company was established as Glen Electric by Martin Naughton in Newry in 1973, becoming a giant in electrical heater manufacturing by absorbing Dimplex in 1977. It expanded with the acquisition of brands such as Belling and Morphy Richards. Glen Dimplex Ireland distributes global brands like Braun and Oral-B.
Paul McCarthy, Chief Information Officer Liberty Insurance Ireland
Paul was Head of IT at Liberty Insurance Ireland before becoming CIO in May last year, joining Liberty in April 2015 as IT Service Strategy Manager. Paul was also Head of Change Services and Programme Manager – Business Process Outsourcing at Aviva Ireland as well as Programme Manager – Group Strategic Change and Project Manager – IT Applications & Business Change at Hibernian.
Paul Wright, Chief Information Officer BT Ireland
Paul has been CIO at BT Ireland since 2014. He was previously Global Head of Software Engineering & Centre of Excellence Site Head at the New York Stock Exchange for over two years, prior to which he was SVP – Global Data and Operations Services Technology at Citi. He has also served in senior roles at Pramerica, Bear Stearns and Aviva.
Peter Cosgrove, Director Cpl Resources
Peter is a Director at Cpl Resources, the Irish resourcing/placement company. He is also Founder of the Future of Work Institute Ireland, which looks at workplace trends and the future of the workplace. Peter was a keynote speaker at the CIO Summit 2017, held at the Aviva Stadium, discussing emerging trends around technology in the workplace.
Philip Kilmartin, Chief Operations Officer Friends First
Philip’s Friends First career began in 1997 as IT Development Project Manager before moving up the ranks to Head of Friends First International, CIO at the Friends First Group, Operations Director at Friends First Finance, Company Programme Manager at Friends First Life Assurance and finally to his current COO role. He holds an MBA from the prestigious Henley Business College.
Phillip Fischer, Chief Information Officer & Project Management Office Europe Amarak
Aramark is headquartered in Philadelphia, USA and operates in 22 countries around the world. Phillip has worked closely with the broader organisation and business units to develop long-term ICT strategies and effective ICT services models in support of the organisational goals. He is also currently CIO at University College Dublin, responsible for university-wide ICT delivery ahead of IT Strategy 2020.
Ray Snowdon, Global Business Intelligence & Analytics Manager Microsoft Ireland
Beginning as a Management Consultant at PwC, IBM and then Accenture, Ray’s Microsoft journey began in 2006 as Global IT Operations Manager, moving his way up through the ranks in customer experience, operations, risk and compliance, advertising and now to his current role in business intelligence. Initially his path was in engineering, having obtained a BE and MEngSc from UCD.
Richard Harpur, Group IT Risk Management FEXCO
Richard is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM); former CIO of Aspen Grove, an independent software vendor (ISV) and former CEO of Mindsted Technologies, a technology consulting firm. In addition to being responsible for IT risk management within FEXCO, Richard has also authored several training courses around cybersecurity, including ransomware, incident response and ISO27001 with Pluralsight.
Richard Waghorn, Director of Transformation and Technology RTÉ
Richard began his media career at the BBC as a Presentation Assistant for Radio 4 in September 1994, before taking on numerous senior management roles, finishing as Controller of Distribution. In between this he was Development Manager for Essex Radio Group. Before joining RTÉ in April 2012 as CTO, Richard was CTO for the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Ronan McGuinness, Global Chief Information Officer – Managing Director PineBridge Investments
Ronan has been CIO, Managing Director and Global CIO of PineBridge Investments since 2012, having joined the firm in 2008. He was previously at AIG and has also worked at Lotus Development. A member of the senior management team, Ronan’s role involves driving out costs through operational efficiencies and process re-engineering, and delivering practical IT solutions that meet business needs.
Ronan Murphy, Chief Executive Officer Smarttech
Ronan has been CEO of Smarttech since founding it in 2003. He is also Director of the it@cork European Technology Cluster. A business and IT graduate, Ronan has also worked at Worldport and MCI Worldcom. He describes Smarttech as the world’s most sophisticated cybersecurity operation centre and the first facility in Europe to implement IBM Watson in driving operational efficiency.
Rory Delahunty, Chief Information Officer Ronan Daly Jermyn
Rory is CIO at prominent law firm Ronan Daly Jermyn (RDJ). He previously served in senior positions at the Lisheen Mine in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, as well as Green Isle Foods and Ulster Bank. Ronan Daly Jermyn has offices in Cork, Dublin, Galway and London and employs over 240 people serving clients in a wide variety of sectors.
Sean Croston, Chief Operating Officer/Head of Technology Goodbody
Sean Croston is Chief Operating Officer at prominent stockbrokers Goodbody. A DCU graduate in Applied Mathematics, Croston has experience as Head of Technology with the company, which has offices in Dublin, London, Cork, Galway and Tralee. The Goodbody business name has been in existence for centuries; the family’s original ventures were in milling, tobacco and manufacturing.
Shane founded SL Controls in 2002 and the company has offices in Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Birmingham, alongside its HQ in Sligo. He previously worked at Lotus Automation, Quinn Glass, Intel and Tarkett as well as lectured at IT Sligo. A Coventry University graduate, Shane also has a MEng from IT Sligo and a Ph.D. from DIT.
Shaun O’Shea, IT Manager/Business Systems Analyst Pure Telecom
Shaun is IT Manager and Business Systems Analyst at Pure Telecom, which he joined in 2009. He previously served in senior roles at Misys Banking Systems, Cadence Design Systems and Sun Microsystems. He is a UCD Electronic Engineering graduate. The Citywest-headquartered, Irish-owned company was founded in 2002 and now has over 100 staff in sales, customer care and technical support.
Stephen Reidy, Chief Information Officer Three Ireland
Stephen is CIO at Three Ireland, which he joined in July 2014. He was previously Head of Strategy & Consulting at O2 Ireland for three years before it was acquired by Three’s parent company and worked in several senior roles at UK telecoms provider Orange between 2002 and 2011 in IT and programme management. Stephen is a UL Electronics graduate.
Steve Kelly, Chief Information Officer/IT Director RSA Insurance Ireland
Steve Kelly is CIO and IT Director of Dublin-based RSA Insurance Ireland, with responsibility for IT strategy, service, run, change, business projects and partner management. He has previously served in senior roles in Ireland, the UK and the US with organisations such as Deutsche Bank, TORI Global, HP, TESM and Bank of Ireland. Steve is a UCD Civil Engineering graduate.
Suresh Ramaswamy, Global IT Information Governance Manager Novartis
Suresh’s career has taken him around the world to India, Switzerland and Ireland, working for the likes of Premier Computer Consultants Ltd, Blue Chip Computer Consultant Pvt. Ltd, Motorola, Adea Solutions, Wipro and Novartis. He joined Novarits in October 2010 as IT Risk, Quality and Compliance Manager (External Consultant), based in Switzerland, before assuming his role in Ireland last year.
Thora Mackey, Chief Operating Officer Institute of Directors (IoD) Ireland
Thora joined the Institute of Directors (IoD) in 2008 as Business Development Manager and was appointed COO in 2011. She is responsible for coordinating the operational activities and is also Head of the IoD’s Boardroom Centre, a dedicated and independent source of non-executive directors and chairpersons in Ireland. Before joining the IoD, Thora was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland.
Tim Hynes, Chief Information Officer AIB
Tim started his career with British American Tobacco where he held a number of key positions. He then spent a number of years with Microsoft, his most recent positions being Global Lead for Site Infrastructure & Services and Head of IT for EMEA. He joined AIB in 2015. Tim is part of the Irish Computer Society’s CIO Advisory Board.
Tom O’Sullivan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Irish Computer Society (ICS)
Tom is Deputy CEO of the Irish Computer Society and ICS Skills, having joined in 2004. He was previously Product Marketing Manager at Headway Software and held numerous senior roles at Cyrano, Scottish Amicable and Sybase Ireland. He is a Griffith College Dublin and DCU graduate. The ICS was founded in 1967 as a national body for ICT professionals.
Tomás Meehan, Chief Information Officer GAA
Tomás Meehan is the GAA’s first Chief Information Officer. A Galwegian, he is a DCU and TCD graduate, having previously worked for PwC and AIB. He is an All-Ireland Senior Championship winner with Galway and Caltra. Meehan is responsible for the development, implementation and operation of the GAA’s IT strategy and oversees all information systems infrastructure within the organisation.
Tony Bolton, Chief Information Officer/Chief Technology Officer Global Telecommunications & Immersive Technology Engineering & Software Development General Motors
Tony Bolton is CIO global communications, contact centre, mobility and visual technology development and engineering at General Motors, based in Dublin. He previously served as VP of Information Technology at HP, where he worked between April 2006 and October 2012. Prior to joining HP he held several senior roles at Dell, including IT Director, Global End User Services, among others.
Tracy Costello, Chief Information Officer Greencore
Tracy held senior positions early in her career, including Senior IS Manager at Quaker Oats and Business Unit Director at Motherwell Information Systems. A five-year consultancy stint at PwC/IBM saw Tracy become CIO of Brakes in 2003. As well as being Greencore’s CIO, the manufacturer of convenience foods, Tracy is also CIO & Company Director of Insure the Box.
Yvonne Goff, Chief Clinical Information Officer Health Service Executive (HSE)
Yvonne joined the HSE as a radiographer in June 1999 at Waterford Regional Hospital before becoming National Project Manager (and later RMS/Senior Project Manager and Services Lead) for the National Integrated Medical Imaging System (NIMIS) in 2010. In 2016 she became Clinical CIO and in that same year she won IT Professional of the Year at the Tech Excellence Awards.
