By Business & Finance 
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.
Here is section one of the four-section list.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Nick Atkinson, Chief Officer, Technology Operations, Europe/Director of Solutions, Architecture and Technology/Lead Architect,
Visa
Nick has over twenty years’ experience in technology. Within Visa he has led the development of architecture and design across all of Visa European systems and has played a wider role developing the IT team. A former consultant for Accenture and IBM, Nick has worked with a number of blue-chip organisations, including the London Stock Exchange, Lloyds Bank and Visa.
Roy Baker, Director of Transformation & Change,
SSE Airtricity
Roy Baker is Director of Transformation & Change at SSE Airtricity. He is an experienced and highly effective cross-functional leader with significant corporate, operations, business development and IT Digital transformation expertise. He was part of the senior management team which took Airtricity from a customer base of 36k B2B to a high of 860k customers B2B and B2C on the island of Ireland. Within the last ten years, he has had a combination of leadership roles within SSE/Airtricity, UK and Ireland, focusing on customer experience, operational excellence/efficiency, and in the last four years has employed company wide transformation by defining, designing and delivering a long term sustainable business model.
Alan Bambury, Senior Technology & Team Leader,
Kerry Group Plc
Responsible for application strategy, information security and software compliance as Chief Information Security Officer, Alan previously held roles as SAP Solution Architect, SAP Development Lead and SAP Finance Lead in Kerry Group after joining originally as IT Manager before moving to Kerry Ingredients and Flavours as IT Director. Alan holds a BA from University College Cork.
Nathan Bishop, Group Information Technology Director,
Grafton Group Plc
Nathan is the current Group Information Technology Director at Grafton Group plc
Previous positions include Director of Enterprise Architecture at Homeserve and Head of Information Technology Services and Architecture at E.ON. He has a BSc in Computer Science from Middlesex University.
Phil Blackwell, Chief Information Officer,
The Irish Times
Phil hashad an impressive 15+ year experience in data communications and engineering & operations of large scale technology infrastructures, including the commissioning and management of government regulated, high volume secure transactional environments and highly available defence installations. Those 15+ years experience predominantly within technology services and driving transformational change programs in international complex organisations and have delivered cost reductions via Service Improvements. Blend of experience in business management and operational change management. He is a creative team player who is highly self motivated and passionate about rapid change implementation/benefit delivery working with, and working with motivating teams across dispersed locations. Significant experience gained with senior and executive stakeholder management with a proven ability to work well and deliver when under pressure.
Jonathan Boylan, Chief Technology Officer,
FINEOS
Jonathan Boylan drives the FINEOS technology strategy and keeps FINEOS up to date with this fast changing landscape. In previous roles, Jonathan was responsible for product development and engineering. Jonathan focuses on keeping FINEOS ahead of the competition and abreast of customers’ ever-changing technology needs.
As Chief Technology Officer, Jonathan is focused on representing FINEOS as our spokesperson on technology and platform and helps to increase the business value of the FINEOS Platform to our prospects and customers. A strong understanding of insurance and the creative application of new technology and software design to insurance distinguish his 30-plus year career.
Jonathan joined FINEOS in 1995 to direct product design, authoring several FINEOS patents. In the early 2000s, he led the strategic redevelopment of the FINEOS product to Java. He has held key positions in the management of application design, technology architecture and product development.
As a member of the FINEOS Leadership Team, Jonathan helps define and execute strategy at FINEOS. He is responsible for the FINEOS Pre-Sales team and plays a key role in the direction of the FINEOS R&D program.
Wayne Bursey, Industrial Cyber Security Lead,
Siemens Ltd
Wayne Bursey is the Industrial Cyber Security Lead with Siemens Ltd., Dublin, responsible for the security of Operational Technology (OT) Networks and systems including Industrial Control and Safety Systems across a vast range of Manufacturing Environments and infrastructure companies, many critical to the supply of products and services like water, energy, and food. Bursey has worked with Siemens for 21 years within the industrial sector and has a background in Control Systems and Electronics, more recently in OT Security Technologies.
Felipe Campos, Chief Technical Officer,
Avolon Ireland
Felipe Campos is the current Chief Technical Officer at Avolon. He was appointed to the position in April 2021. He has experience in cross border interests with great cultural differences, working to achieve goals respecting very strict timing restrictions while managing people, processes and changes. He has both a technical and a finance background with great international exposure.
Campos previously worked as Head of Latin American and Vice President of Marketing in Avolon, while living in Brazil.
Noel Carroll, Chief Information Officer,
McCann FitzGerald
Noel Carroll has a technical background in software engineering where he developed customised solutions for public and private sector organisations. He has worked in CIO roles for the past thirty years across many business sectors, including consultancy, supply chain, financial and legal. Carroll holds IT related masters’ degrees from TCD and UCC and is a fellow of the Irish Computer Society.
Jared Carstensen, Chief Information Security Officer,
CRH Plc
Jared Carstensen is an internationally recognised information and cyber security professional with extensive experience in the design, implementation, and governance of security controls, business strategies, and frameworks across global organisations spanning multiple sectors. Over the past 18 years’ Carstensen has been advising Fortune 500, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, government and state departments, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, utilities and financial services entities on all areas of information and cyber security. He combines years of international experience with a breadth of in-depth business and industry awareness to ensure that security acts as a business enabler while being a valuable business partner.
He has contributed and led various projects across the EMEA, Americas and APAC regions and is currently listed as a member of the IT Governance Institute Expert Panel (on 10+ Information Security and related domains). He is a member of the Standards.org advisory panel on ISO 27001, ISO 38500 along with best practice frameworks and standards.
Brian Chapman, Chief Information Officer,
Eir Ireland
In May 2018, Brian Chapman was appointed as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of eir. Brian joined eir through the purchase of Meteor in 2005 and has held a number of senior IT roles throughout the years. His role as CIO encompasses IT Strategy, Security, Transformation, Architecture, Development and IT Operations functions. Brian holds a BEng in Telecommunications Engineering from Dublin City University, and a BA in Technology Management from the Institute of Technology.
Paul Clarke, Chief Technology Officer,
SL Controls
Paul has over 20 years’ experience in manufacturing Controls and OT systems delivery. He has delivered multiple manufacturing system designs for many SL Controls customers, utilising this knowledge to create and enhance service and custom software development offerings. He has significant experience designing, developing, and implementing solutions in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food and beverage sectors. He plays a key role in researching and developing SL Controls’ industry-leading range of services and bespoke customer solutions – solutions that reduce customers’ operational costs and improve efficiency.
Paul supports SL Controls’ development in controls and site systems such as MES, OEE, and ERP integration, and he continues to build expertise in cloud systems to create turnkey solutions from controls to cloud. His experience as part of the management team gives insight into areas like introducing new skills and technologies, and growing the capabilities of the SL Controls’ engineering teams.
Brian Cooke, Chief Information Security Officer,
Permanent TSB
Brian Cooke is Chief Information Security Officer at Permanent TSB and is a Board member with the Institute of Banking. In his role as CISO, Cooke is committed to enabling and supporting the Bank’s transformation journey. Leading the technology risk and cyber resilience agenda, he works closely with the rest of the leadership team to protect the Bank and its customers. Cooke has over 20 years’ domestic and international experience in information and cyber security within financial services. He holds a Master’s degree in Information Security from Royal Holloway, University of London and is a Certified Information System’s Security Professional (CISSP).
Robert Cobert, Head of Technology & Innovation Group,
Arthur Cox
Robert Cobert is Head of Technology & Innovation Group at Arthur Cox, since 2013. He is also a Community Trade Mark Attorney since 2000. Cobert has been a Solicitor since 1999 and a Partner at Arthur Cox since 2005. Previously he has been Chair of the American Bar Association International Law Section (ABA International) Committee on Privacy E-Commerce and Data Security. He is a member of the Irish Government’s Data Forum 2016 – 2020 and a member of Association of Compliance Officers, Data Protection Working Group. Cobert’s specialties include Irish lawyer specialising in Technology, Data Protection, Betting and Gaming, IP protection and exploitation, IT Agreements, High Potential Technology Start-ups.
Ashling Cunningham, CIO,
Ervia
Ashling Cunningham is the Chief Information Officer at Ervia, the commercial semi state organisation with responsibility for gas and water infrastructure and services. They also provided dark fibre wholesale broadband through Aurora Telecoms.
She has extensive experience working in manufacturing, services and utilities industries and has an IT and Finance background. Cunningham holds an M.Sc. in Management from Trinity College. Before joining Ervia, she held several senior leadership and consulting positions in international companies.
A regular speaker at seminars, conference and industry events on the transformational role of digital and technology, data and security, innovation and women in business, she is a frequent contributor to trade publications.
Louise Dennehy, Chief Information Officer,
Central Bank of Ireland
Louise Dennehy was appointed as Chief Information Officer in September 2019. She joined the Central Bank of Ireland as Head of IT Delivery in April 2017. Louise has over 25 year’s experience in IT within the financial services industry, including holding a number of Head of IT roles. Louise is a graduate of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin in science and IT related disciplines.
Anthony Dodson, Director of Transformation and Change; Head of Operational Improvement and Planning,
Virgin Media
Anthony is a top-level director with over 15 years’ experience in the engineering and telecommunications industries. He joined Virgin Media in 2013 as Head of Operational Improvement and Planning and in October 2017 he also assumed the role of Director of Transformation and Change. Anthony’s career has also seen him assume senior roles at BT, Xilinx and Intel.
Rosalyn Donnelly, Head of IT,
C&D Foods
A proven and ambitious professional, responsible for managing the IT function of C&D Foods across 9 European sites, whilst leveraging the opportunities and challenges that come with the size, scale and requirements of such an environment. Donnelly leads a driven and engaged European IT team which supports and services their clients’ day to day needs as well as helping the business achieve its wider goals by engaging and leading business development and improvement projects.
Joe Dowling, Chief Technology Officer,
Sidero
Headquartered in Athlone, and employing 150 people locally, Sidero is a leading provider of software, cloud and digital transformation services. Joe has nearly 30 years’ experience in the technology industry. Before being promoted to CTO, he spent more than five years as an agile line manager with Sidero. He joined the group from the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Athlone lab, where he was Technical Research Lead overseeing unique research and innovation programmes.
During his career, Joe has been granted three US patents in telecommunications systems, priority channels in communication, and intermodulation distortion, a metric of signal linearity. He holds a Masters in Cloud-Native Computing and has been published in several conferences and journal publications.
Michael Downes, Group Chief Information Officer,
Uniphar Group
Michael Downes is the group CIO at Uniphar Group and leads a great team of IT professionals who have developed and delivered Uniphar’s BI, ERP and ICT strategies over the past 10 years, during a period of phenomenal growth and change, both organic and through acquisition. Before joining Uniphar in 2010, Downes was a management consultant at both Deloitte and Accenture with a focus on value-driven IT strategies and IT enabled business transformation. Michael holds a B.Eng from UCC and a C.Dip AF from the ACCA.
Eamonn Doyle, Chief Technology Officer,
Esri Ireland
Esri is the global digital mapping and GIS market leader, employing nearly 10,000 people across 73 countries. Eamonn has been the CTO at Esri Ireland for almost 18 years, providing strong technical leadership and strategic direction. A Geographer by profession and a self-confessed “Geo-Geek”, Eamonn believes that every organisation has a certain “geography” to its operations and that this geography can often be leveraged for business, social or environmental benefit. He has worked with many of Ireland’s leading organisations to help them use digital geography to visualise, analyse and optimise their planning and operations.
Eamonn is a committed advocate of collaboration. He has been influential in developing Ireland’s Spatial Data Infrastructure and the promotion of data sharing, Open Data and re-use of Public Sector Information.
Tim Drew, VP Head of Infrastructure,
RenaissanceRe
Tim Drew works as the VP head of Infrastructure for RenaissanceRe. He is an experienced IT professional with over 20 years of technical expertise and possess architect level enterprise knowledge with a proven track record of managing, motivating and growing high performing technical teams. Drew has experience spanning Enterprise data centre solutions, low latency high performance storage design, virtualisation design including physical to virtual migration projects on a global scale, cloud connectivity, Hybrid and full cloud infrastructure design, Azure, AWS and infrastructure transformation projects. He has a keen interest in all thing’s retention and backup related. Drew’s key strengths include Global Budget management, conflict resolution, contract negotiation and supplier management.
John Duffy, Head of IT/Associate Director,
The Brightwater Group
John Duffy is a highly experienced IT professional and heads up the internal IT department for the Brightwater Group. He joined the Group in 2013, bringing with him a wealth of experience in network security, systems implementation and change management. He has led a huge array of digital transformation projects in the last three years, helping drive the success of the Brightwater Group with leading edge technologies. John’s role ensures that the Brightwater Group remains a leader within the recruitment sector and that their systems serve to enhance both client and candidate experience within the Group.
Ryan Estes, VP of Technology,
Datalex
Ryan Estes is the VP of Technology of Datalex. He was promoted to the position in 2019 from his previous position as Director of Global Technical Architecture. He is a results driven, entrepreneurial-spirited technology leader with 15 years of industry experience. Estes is described as technically superb. He is profound in leadership and executive management. He received a B.S in Mathematics from California Polytechnic State University.
Keith Fingleton, Chief Information Officer,
IDA Ireland
Keith joined IDA Ireland in March 2015 as Chief Technology Advisor, becoming CIO at the beginning of 2018. Currently Keith is leading a cross organisational Digital Transformation Programme, which aims to make IDA Ireland the most digitally enabled Investment Promotion Agency in the world. This programme will enhance the client experience in their engagement with the IDA, contributing to Ireland’s global reputation as a digital leader.
Philip Fischer, Chief Information Officer,
UCD
The Chief Information Officer joined UCD in July 2017 and is responsible for University-wide IT Services including Academic and Administrative Systems, Research IT, Teaching and Learning Technologies, UCD Web Services and the delivery of the IT Strategy 2020.
Prior to joining UCD, Phillip Fischer held the position of CIO & PMO Europe at Aramark, a $15b managed services organisation operating in over 22 countries globally. In his 12 years with Aramark Phillip worked with the Enterprise and European business entities to develop long term ICT strategies and effective ICT services models and played a key part in driving the region forward.
Previous roles include running an IT services business in Germany before joining the Musgrave Group Ireland, where he held a number of positions with the primary aim of delivering business intelligence solutions across the enterprise and project managing the integration of new acquisitions. Phillip is a member of Ibec’s Digital Economy Policy Committee and completed the Henley MBA in 2009 specialising in ICT Shared Services.
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)
