The Business & Finance CIO 100 Index 2023, in association with Equinix, recognises the top 100 Digital Leaders working across some of the most innovative companies in Ireland today.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
The full list is available to download here
Lidia Fonseca, Chief Digital & Technology Officer — Executive Vice President,
Pfizer
Lidia Fonseca is the Chief Digital and Technology Officer — Executive Vice President at Pfizer. She is responsible for the enterprise-wide digital strategy. Fonseca leads all digital, data and technology products and solutions across the company, including digitising drug discovery, clinical development, manufacturing, distribution and commercial.
Fonseca is spearheading the effort to improve patient health outcomes through innovative digital health, medicines and diagnostics products at the firm. Under her leadership, Pfizer launched the Digital Companion™, a suite of digital products and solutions to deepen engagement between patients and physicians. She is also leading the effort to introduce AI-powered predictive algorithms to help disease suspicion, treatment optimization and adherence.
She led Pfizer’s digital team in their critical efforts to help accelerate the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Fonseca has over twenty years of experience in the healthcare industry. In her prior role, Lidia was the Senior Vice President and CIO at Quest Diagnostics.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), Tegna, Inc. (NYSE: TGNA), and the US-Japan Business Council. She was previously a member of the Board of Directors of Gannet, Inc. (NYSE: GCI) from 2014–2017 and Q2 Solutions, a joint venture between Quest Diagnostics and IQVIA, from 2016–2018.
Jacky Fox, Senior Managing Director — Security,
Accenture
She is an active researcher and public speaker and was awarded security champion of the year 2018 in Ireland. Fox was also named in the EMEA SC 50 women of influence in cyber.
Carlos Freesz, Group Head of Information & Communications Technology,
Kenmare Resources plc
Carlos Freesz joined Kenmare Resources plc as Group Head of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) in March 2022. He is an IT expert with a wealth of experience in the industry. He previously held positions at Deloitte, Plaut, IBM, SAP, Mars and Accenture.
Paul French, Chief Information Officer,
Aviva
Photo: City Headshots Dublin
Paul French was appointed Chief Information Officer at Aviva Ireland in October 2018 and is responsible for all aspects of the IT and Digital strategies across both of Aviva’s regulated businesses in Ireland.
French has extensive experience across a number of different industries and, prior to joining Aviva, was Head of Trading Technology at Paddy Power Betfair where he held a number of senior positions leading large engineering teams for the group. He holds a BSc in Computing and an MBA from IE Business School, Madrid.
Catherine Gardiner, Group Chief Information Officer & Customer Solutions Chief Operating Officer,
Energia
Catherine Gardiner was appointed Group Chief Information Officer of Energia in 2011 with responsibility for technology, data and digital across the business from a strategy, delivery and run perspective. In 2023, her role was expanded to include operational responsibility for the Power NI and Energia Customer Solutions businesses.
Prior to this, Gardiner was Head of Operations for Energia and has held several other management positions within the Group since joining in 2000.
Colm Gartlan, IT Director,
Norbrook Laboratories Ltd.
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.
Stuart Halford, Chief Information Officer,
Goodbody
He is responsible for Goodbody’s technology strategy, solutions architecture and information security in addition to leading the delivery of key technology change and operational management of the firm’s technology services and outsourced/managed service providers.
Halford has a track record of successfully delivering innovative technology solutions and strategic transformation initiatives supporting the firm’s overall business strategy whilst ensuring regulatory compliance, risk management, security and resilience. He holds a B.Eng from UCD.
John Hampson, Chief Information Officer,
Ardagh Group
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.
Simon Hanratty, Director of Technology,
Irish Life
Photo: Joan Shannon Photography
Simon Hanratty began working at Irish Life in 2004 and became Director of Technology at the firm in 2019. Hanratty also worked in various roles at O2 Ireland such as Development Manager, Head of IT and Head of Products and Services.
His roles in IT, Operations and Strategy across multiple industries have allowed Hanratty to learn more about how change can be driven, designed, facilitated and even reversed.
Deborah Harrington, Group IT Director,
Dairygold Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Tom Hayes, Chief Technology Officer,
Permanent TSB
Hayes has held various senior technology leadership roles including: Head of Customer Engagement Technology, AIB Digital and Group Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations.
Group Technology has responsibility for the development and implementation of Permanent TSB’s Technology strategy, the implementation of the Digital Transformation roadmap and the full portfolio of IT Change Delivery. This involves close collaboration with the Retail Banking and Group Operations teams to design and deliver on the Bank’s Digital Transformation. The Division also has responsibility for the day-to-day critical operations and protection of technology-enabled customer services.
Robert Hickey, Chief Technology Officer,
SoftCo
Robert Hickey is the CTO of SoftCo and has been at the firm for almost thirty years having joined in 1993. Hickey was made CTO of the firm in August 2019. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computing Mathematics and Executive MBA from University College Dublin.
John Hurley, Chief Technology Officer,
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.
Tim Hynes, Chief Innovation Officer,
AIB
During his career, Hynes 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.
Dr Eamon Hynes, Chief Technology Officer,
AMCS Group
Dr Eamon Hynes joined AMCS Group in February 2007 and leads AMCS’ Technology Development. Prior to joining AMCS, Dr Hynes spent twenty years in the Electronics Industry where he held a wide variety of Product Development, Engineering Management and Project Leadership roles in the United States, Ireland, Japan and Taiwan.
He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Trinity College Dublin along with an MS and PhD in Electronics and Sensor Technology from University College Cork. Dr Hynes is an inventor on fourteen granted patents in the US and Europe.
Adrian Jordan, IT Operations Manager/Infrastructure Architect,
Matheson
Jordan has excellent knowledge and a deep understanding of technology infrastructure architecture, specifically in the areas 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.
Michelle Kearns, Head of IT,
Boots Ireland
Kearns was a founding member of the Council of Clinical Information Officers and spent time as an adviser to the World Health Organisation. She is the founding director of One HealthTech Ireland which is part of a global, grassroots community that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion in HealthTech.
As Head of IT at Boots Ireland, Kearns is a strategic leader to ensure that Boots in Ireland has all its needs to offer the customers of Ireland the best possible Boots experience. The continued transformation and evolution of Boots happens with digital as a foundation to support customers.
Susan Kemp, IT Director,
A&L Goodbody
Kemp was awarded a BA in Computer Science from Trinity College (TCD). She previously served in technology positions at TCD/St James Hospital Medical Informatics Unit, AIB and Deutsche Bank.
Colin Kennedy, Executive Director & Chief Information Officer,
DPD
With over thirty years’ experience in the digital space, Kennedy has been leading and inspiring teams to deliver brilliant products across both B2B and B2C environments. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
Tony Kennedy, VP — ICT Strategy Architecture & Design,
Elavon
Tony Kennedy has been VP — ICT Architecture Strategy and Design at Elavon for over twenty years. Elavon Inc. (formerly NOVA) is a processor of credit card transactions and a subsidiary of US Bancorp. Elavon offers merchant processing in more than thirty countries and supports the payment needs of more than 1,000,000 merchant locations across the globe.
Brona Kernan, IT Director,
Zurich Ireland
From 1994–2006, Kernan was IT Director at Ryanair where she was in charge of building and developing the company’s essential computing and communications infrastructure as it took its first steps into online booking.
Rashmi Kumar, SVP & Chief Information Officer,
Medtronic
Focused on operational excellence, strategic project execution and growing IT as digital business partner, Kumar is also very passionate about building a strong IT leadership team and facilitating her team members’ growth while enabling them to maximise their potential.
A seasoned turnaround and growth-oriented CIO, Kumar has a multifunctional background and extensive ERP, cloud transformation, data analytics, operations, board-facing and cybersecurity expertise. With more than thirty years of proven experience, her primary areas of focus include digital transformation, AI/ML, data and analytics, strategic planning, digital business model development and large-scale business process transformations.
Prior to Medtronic, she led the global IT team at Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE), and was the company’s Senior Vice President and CIO, responsible for global implementation of the company’s digital transformation programs. She served as CIO and CTO for many Fortune 50 companies including McKesson, Southern California Edison, Toyota, HPE and Tata Steel.
Kumar is also a member of the Board of Directors for Myriad Genetics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from BIT Sindri in India and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.
Enda Kyne, Chief Technology & Operations Officer,
FBD Insurance plc
He is responsible for all aspects of IT and Back Office Operations, including IT Security and GDPR. Kyne is a member of the FBD Insurance plc Executive Leadership Team. 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. Kyne holds a BSc in Information Technology from Dublin City University.
John Lenihan, Chief Information Officer & Head of IT,
KPMG Ireland
Sue Liderth, Chief Information Officer EMEA,
Coca Cola
She is also accountable for global Commercial Product Supply IT, supporting Manufacturing and Supply Chain transformation at the firm.
Business & Finance CIO 100 (alphabetical by surname):
View part one (B–F)
View part two (F–L)
View part three (L–O)
View part four (O–W)
