CIO 100 Index 2021 in association with Equinix – Part 2

The Business & Finance CIO 100 Index 2021, in association with Equinix, recognises the top 100 Chief Information Officers working across some of the most innovative companies in Ireland today.

The list was launched today at the CIO 100 Index 2021 webinar, where Maurice Mortell, Managing Director of Equinix, spoke about the importance of the CIO 100 Index and moderated an interactive discussion on the theme, ‘Digital Leaders – Driving Transformation’.

Joining the discussion were some of Ireland’s leading IT professionals, including: Ashling Cunningham, CIO, Ervia, Dermot Hennessy, Director of Infrastructure, Flutter Entertainment and Louise O’Conor, Founding Partner, Beta Digital.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Jacky Fox, Managing Director Accenture Security Ireland and Global Chief Technology Officer Accenture Security,
Accenture

Jacky Fox leads Accenture’s security practice in Ireland and also serves on the global Accenture security leadership team as CTO. She has 20+ years’ experience in technology and cyber security consulting. Fox holds an MSc in Digital investigations and Forensic computing, a GCFA and a GICSP. She has worked across multiple industry sectors including public sector and financial services. Fox specialises in treating cyber risk and has had the experience of investigating many national and international breaches. She is also Vice-chair on the board of CyberIreland and is an adjunct lecturer for UCD on their MSc in forensics and security. She is a frequent public speaker, contributing to the World Economic Forum, Interpol and the UN. In 2018, she was awarded ‘Security Champion of the Year’ in Ireland for her contribution to the Irish security industry and her mentorship and encouragement of women in security.

Colm Gartlan, IT Director,
Norbrook Laboratories Ltd

Colm Gartlan, the current IT Director at Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, is an experienced executive with global operations experience and a proven track record in business transformation, business process re-engineering and optimisation, strategy development and execution, software applications development and support, project management, risk management, operations excellence and leadership development. His specialties include Business Relationship Management; Strategy Development & Execution; Enterprise Architecture; Program & Project Management; Infrastructure & Applications Service Delivery; Supplier Relationship Management; People Management & Leadership Development; Risk Management & Compliance; Financial Management & Control; and IT Operations Excellence. Previous positions include Vice President, Information Management at Xerox Corporation and Computer Integrated Manufacturing & Information Technology at Motorola.

Helene Graham, Chief Information Officer,
Dunnes Stores

Helene Graham is the CIO of Dunnes Stores. She is committed towards organisational success through technology development and innovation with a clear customer focus. She is analytical, structured and a strong communicator who can contextualise technology, prioritise opportunities and assess risks. Graham has 25+ years experience in the Telco and media sector with roles spanning Networks and IT, operations, design, architecture and strategy. She has a strong international network and experience working with all stages from start-up to maturity and modernisation. Her specialties include, identifying future trends, areas where customer requirements or technology are likely to pivot, organisational impact, valuation, M&A, strategy, architecture, planning, road mapping, vendor identification and selection, change management, business transformation, building and mentoring teams and identifying skills for the future.

Tom Grealis, Technology Director,
Bord Gáis Energy

Tom Grealis leads the development and execution of the company’s technology strategy. Prior to joining Bord Gáis Energy in January 2019, Tom had a 16-year career with RTÉ, and led the design and development of its digital services as Director of Production & Operations in RTÉ Digital. He has also acted as a consultant to the GAA. Tom holds a B.A. in Economics and English and a Higher Diploma in Applied Communications, both from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Barry Guiney, Partner & Head of Technology Practice,
Odgers Berndston

Barry Guiney is Head of the Technology practice in Ireland for Odgers Berndtson, the global executive search firm. A leader in multinational and start-up environments, his skill-set is being someone who can interact with specialist functions in IT, data science, engineering, R&D and commercial. Guiney believes the continuous shifts in the marketplace and the working world present an immense opportunity for CIOs to lead their organisations. The CIO’s he works with are extremely talented individuals awash with implicit technology knowledge and possessing great leadership and communication skills required to lead teams and articulate a vision.

James Hallam, Head of IT,
CityJet

James Hallam is the current Head of IT at CityJet and has full responsibility for Cityjet’s IT Department; developing and implementing a coherent strategy across their technology portfolio to serve the evolving needs of the company; developing team skills and competencies for evolving roles; budget oversight. Hallam is adept at adapting to changing business requirements by implementing, improving and optimising existing services and identifying products to fulfil new and existing business requirements. His is particularly adept at identifying where technology sits best within an organisation to deliver greater efficiency and cost savings.

John Hampson, Chief Information Officer,
Ardagh Group

John Hampson joined Ardagh Group as Chief Information Officer in 2009. Ardagh​​ Group is a global supplier of sustainable, infinitely recyclable, metal and glass packaging and operates 57 production facilities in 12 countries, employing 16,000+ people with sales of approximately $7bn. Prior to joining Ardagh, Hampson held a number of senior IT management positions in the financial services sector in Ireland, including roles as Chief Technical Architect in a major Irish bank and as Chief Technical Officer of Altamedius, a mobile payments start-up company. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) degree in Electronic Systems from the University of Ulster and is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society.

Deborah Harrington, Group IT Director,
Dairygold Co-operative Society Ltd

Deborah Harrington has been Group IT Director at Dairygold Co-operative Society LTD since December 2018. Prior to her appointment to the role, she was Dairygold’s Business Solutions Manager.

Dermot Hennessy, Director of Infrastructure,
Flutter Entertainment Plc

Dermot Hennessy is Director of Infrastructure, Flutter UKI, with responsibility for hosting all of the platforms underpinning Paddy Power, Betfair, and Skybet. A graduate of UL and UCD, Hennessy joined Paddy Power in 2012, having been a consultant to that company from Accenture. Prior to this, Hennessy had a varied background in development and project management across sectors such as Telecoms, Travel, Automotive, Healthcare, Insurance and Banking.

Adam Hoffman, IT Infrastructure Manager,
Mercury Engineering

Adam Hoffman is the IT Infrastructure Manager for Mercury Engineering. Previous positions for the company include IT systems analyst, IT systems administrator, and IT help-desk administrator. He previously worked as a Technical consultant at TerraAlto Ltd. He is a AWS Certified Cloud Architect, as he is able to provide flexible, functional and cost effective off-premise IT infrastructure. He holds a B.Sc. in management and industrial engineering from University of Bielsko-Biala. Hoffman is also a PRINCE2 registered practitioner. His skills include Microsoft exchange, windows server, and active directory.

John Hurley, Chief Technology Officer,
Ryanair

John Hurley is a senior executive with over 16 years experience in the IT industry. He has proven leadership skills including growing, developing and motivating teams. His current role is Chief Technology Officer at Ryanair. Hurley is a flexible and self-motivated individual with proven analytical, design and problem solving skills. He has a strong mix of software development experience combined with planning and delivery of complex technical projects in a demanding environment. Hurley currently leads a team of 50+ onshore and 250+ offshore developers.

Jonathan Hyland, Chief Technology Officer,
Workhuman

Hyland is the CTO and technical force behind Workhuman. For the past 20 years, he has evolved Workhuman’s technology to become the world’s leading provider of Employee Recognition solutions, resulting in many industry awards. 5 million employees of Fortune 500 companies use Workhuman’s Cloud solutions. He leads a dynamic and innovative technical team in Dublin, Ireland.
Prior to Workhuman, he held IT management and consulting roles in technology companies such as Versatel (Netherlands) and Esat Telecom. Hyland holds a Master’s and First Class B.Sc(Eng) degree in Electronic Engineering from Trinity College Dublin.
He is very active in technology thought leadership in Ireland and is a former Chair of Technology Ireland and an active member of IBEC’s National Council.

Tim Hynes, Chief Innovation Officer,
Allied Irish Bank

Tim has enjoyed a multifaceted 35 year career in Regional and Global leadership positions in blue-chip multinationals and has led large teams spread over more than 40 countries. His corporate roles have included Global lead for Microsoft’s Site Infrastructure, Head of IT (EMEA) for Microsoft, and now Group CIO for Allied Irish Bank.
During his career, Tim has led teams located in all parts of the world, including emerging markets in India, Brazil, and China and on the African continent. He has leadership experience in creating strategies and inspiring people of different cultures and backgrounds to work together to deliver successfully.

Adrian Jordan, IT Operations Manager/Infrastructure Architect,
Matheson

Adrian Jordan is the IT Operations Manager / Infrastructure Architect at Matheson. He has over 15 years’ experience in IT Infrastructure Operations, Technology Infrastructure Projects and Security Projects and more than 20 years working in professional services firms. He has excellent knowledge and a deep understanding of technology infrastructure architecture, specifically in the area of virtualisation, storage, networking, security, email systems, database systems, server / client operating systems and mobile devices, both on premises and in cloud environments. Jordan’s IT Infrastructure and Operations duties include ensuring the stability and resilience of IT Infrastructure (networks, storage, server, virtualisation and security systems). He also ensures that relevant IT policies and procedures are in place, and over time become part of day-to-day operations for the IT Department.

Mark Jordan, Chief Technologist,
Skillnet Ireland

Mark Jordan is the Chief Technologist at Skillnet Ireland. Having worked in the UK, US, Switzerland & Ireland, he is an experienced and innovative leader possessing expertise in business strategy, commercial partnerships, technology deployment, operational management, system transformation and regulatory compliance.

At Skillnet Ireland, Jordan is leading the skills investment and partner strategy. He is engaged with the European commission, higher education, government departments, business representative groups, enterprise agencies and both international and indigenous companies operating across all major business sectors – all with a focus on supporting the competitiveness of business in Ireland, and readying companies for future world of work.

Michelle Kearns, IT Leader,
Boots Ireland

Michelle has a background in health informatics and has spent her career working with numerous healthcare organisations. Before moving to the Boots team as Head of IT for Ireland, Michelle was the CIO of Caredoc, a GP cooperative providing healthcare services throughout Ireland. Michelle was seconded to the HSE as a founding member of the Council of Clinical Information Officers, and spent time as an adviser to the World Health Organisation. Michelle is the founding director of One HealthTech Ireland, a global, grassroots community that supports and promotes openness, inclusion, kindness and diversity in health tech innovation.

Susan Kemp, IT Director,
A&L Goodbody

Susan Kemp is the IT Director at A&L Goodbody. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s IT strategy. She manages a multidisciplinary team which has responsibility for IT support, information security, DevOps and Infrastructure globally. Susan was awarded a BA in Computer Science from Trinity College. She previously served in technology positions at TCD/St James Hospital Medical Informatics Unit, AIB and Deutsche Bank.

Brian Kennedy, Head of Digital & Innovation Services,
Expleo

With over 28 years of experience in applying technology solutions to boost business performance, Brian Kennedy is responsible for spearheading enterprises’ digital transformation programmes. Kennedy’s specialist areas include business and IT strategy development; unlocking creativity, driving innovation, workforce empowerment and enablement; maturing the IT organisation; adaptive sourcing strategies and risk mitigation.
He has a 1st class BA (Mgt) Hons in Business Management from the IMI and studied Electronic Engineering in Technological University Dublin. He also holds Digital Strategies, Executive Coaching and Agile certifications and is currently studying for a postgraduate diploma in Design Thinking and Innovation.

Shaymus Kennedy, Group Chief Information Officer and CEO Athora Ireland, Chief Transformation Officer,
Athora 

Shaymus Kennedy is an accomplished senior executive leader with responsibility for creating and implementing Athora’s Information Technology strategy in alignment to business vision and goals. With the European-focused insurance and reinsurance group from its outset, he oversees the people, processes and technologies within the Athora IT organisation while being the primary interface with Athora’s strategic objectives and technology solutions. He has a proven record of delivering complex multinational transformation and migration programmes to time and budget. With a structured and concise style to maximise impact, he is an innovative and results orientated IT Executive skilled in delivering complex transformational change, innovation and optimisation on time and on budget across globally diverse and complex environments. Kennedy is goal -orientated and emphatic about the delivery of improved customer experience and service for Athora’s customers. He demonstrates a strong bias to collaboration and seeks to build strong and wide-ranging relationships of trust.

Brona Kernan, IT Director,
Zurich Ireland

Currently IT Director at Zurich Ireland, Brona was previously CIO at The Irish Times from 2009–2015. Prior to that she was IT Director for CPL. From 1994–2006, Brona was IT Director at Ryanair where she was incharge of building and developing the company’s essential computing and communications infrastructure as it took its first steps into online booking.

Keith Kiernan, Group Chief Information Officer,
Bank of Ireland

Keith Kiernan is Group Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Bank of Ireland. He has responsibility for Group IT strategy and deployment, operational systems management, and the adoption of technologies to support the delivery of strategic business change programmes. Prior to joining Bank of Ireland Keith as worked in various executive roles in the Finance and Telecommunications sector both in Ireland and internationally.

Rashmi Kumar, SVP and Chief Information Officer,
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Rashmi Kumar is an energetic leader with proven success in creating technology-empowered business plans. A visionary strategist with a focus on emerging technologies and extensive experience in large scale transformation, Rashmi was appointed SVP and CIO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in January 2020, where she is enabling HPE’s digital transformation to be the edge-to-cloud platform as-a-service company. She has the ability to lead organizations through both the exploration and then exploitation stages of ideas, while managing the change and taking the rest of the organization along for the journey.

Enda Kyne, Chief Technology & Operations Officer,
FBD Insurance

Enda Kyne is Chief Technology and Operations Officer in FBD Insurance. He previously held the positions of Director of IT and Technology Transformation with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Interim CIO with Dairygold Co-Operative Society, and Head of Operations Enablement and Programme Director with Bank of Ireland. He was appointed to the e-Health Ireland Committee by the HSE Directorate in 2015. He was also appointed to the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland Business Transformation Programme Board in January 2019. Enda holds a BSc in Information Technology from Dublin City University, and a Diploma in Advanced Computer Programming from Trinity College Dublin.

Stephen Lacey, VP of Information Systems,
Northern Trust

Stephen Lacey is Vice President of Information systems at Northern Trust. He is an experienced IT professional, working in the industry for 25 years and has wide exposure to a variety of technologies and programming languages. He has strong communication skills and a great work ethic and ownership. He is described as a great mentor who is humble. Lacey has a proven ability to deliver bespoke workflow categorisation applications. His skills include Microsoft SQL Server, software development and software project management.

John Lenihan, Chief Information Officer, Head of IT,
KPMG Ireland

With KPMG since 2001, John previously worked as IT Manager with Motorola BV and Software Engineer at Digital Equipment Corporation. He holds an M.Eng.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from NUI Galway. John is responsible for IT support, systems and infrastructure for KPMG’s Irish business and leads the development of IT planning and strategy to support the operation.

Business & Finance CIO 100 (alphabetical by surname):

View part one (A-F)

View part two (F-L)

View part three (L-O)

View part four (O-W)