Our People

Michael Carey is co-founder and Executive Chairman of ‘East Coast Bakehouse’, Ireland's only commercial scale biscuit producer. He is also co-founder and Chairman of ‘The Company of Food’, a specialist food investment business.

He is the current Chairman of The Housing Agency and a judge on the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, a member of the advisory group of Redesdale Investments and on the Emeritus Advisory Board of Smurfit Business School.

In the past, he has been chairman of a number of public sector and commercial organisations including; An Bord Bia, Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, Zaragoza Restaurant, Soul of Haiti Foundation, Traidlinks (East Africa) and the Marketing Institute of Ireland. He has also held directorships at Drury Public Relations and Valeo Food Group.

Michael started his ‘entrepreneurial’ life just before his 40th birthday in 2002 when he established Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, building upon experience over nearly 20 years as an employee in a number of multinational food companies in Ireland and the UK, including periods as Managing Director at Evian/Volvic (UK), Fox’s Biscuits and Kellogg’s (UK and Ireland). He sold Jacob Fruitfield to Valeo Foods in 2011.

He (and his companies) won Bord Bia Food Entrepreneur Award 2004, the EY Industry Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005, the Smurfit Graduate Business School Alumnus of the Year 2010 and the Irish Exporter of the Year Award 2019.

He is married to (and is in business with) Alison Cowzer. They have two daughters (aged 21 and 19) and live in Dublin.

Kevin is Interim Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland, the State Agency that helps Irish companies to start, scale and grow globally. Enterprise Ireland supports over 4,000 Irish companies through over 40 offices worldwide. The Agency also invests in innovation capability in universities and regional projects throughout Ireland.

Prior to taking up this role in March 2025, Kevin was an Executive Director at Enterprise Ireland with responsibility for Investment Services, Entrepreneurship, Global Markets, Research & Innovation and Technology & Services. 

Kevin has previously held the positions of:

• Head of Global Business Development managing Enterprise Ireland’s activities with all sectors both in Ireland and Overseas
• Head of Enterprise Ireland’s HPSU & Accelerated Growth Division responsible for managing the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) team providing support and advice to entrepreneurs and early stage companies that have an innovative product, service or technology, and the potential and capability to develop internationally focused businesses of scale.
• Head of International Sales and Partnering Business Unit, responsible for managing Enterprise Ireland’s international sales and partnering activities and a global network of 32 international offices.
• Head of Enterprise Ireland’s Internationally Traded Services Business Unit responsible for the financial, business and consumer services Sectors.
• Head of Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Up Division.
• Manager of the Investment Services Division and Manager Industrial Products Business Unit, where he was responsible for the development of the indigenous electronics and engineering sectors together with building international business linkages between OEM’s and Irish sub-supply companies.

Kevin’s private sector experience prior to Enterprise Ireland includes engineering and management positions within the electronics industry both with multinationals in Ireland and overseas. He is a member of Enterprise Ireland’s Executive Committee, Investment Committee and is Chairman of EI’s Seed & Venture Capital Committee. He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin with a BSC in Engineering and a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme at Wharton University, USA.

Dónal is a chartered accountant, experienced business leader and highly accomplished Group CFO with an outstanding reputation for building and leading high-performing finance functions whilst acting as a trusted strategic business partner to CEOs and boards. He has 25-years’ experience operating in plc, private equity and public sector environments. He has significant board-level experience and is highly skilled across financial management, treasury, tax, M&A, investor relations and transformational change.

Dónal has a demonstrable track record of success across four Group CFO roles including NAMA (deleveraging a €74 billion highly distressed real estate backed loan portfolio) and Amaris Hospitality, a Lone Star portfolio company (leading a £2 billion enterprise value PE exit). He also has 12-years’ prior professional services experience, with KPMG and Arthur Andersen, working with large plcs and other blue-chip companies.

Dónal currently acts as an independent business advisor to private equity firms & portfolio companies and business leaders. He is also a non-executive director with Oxfam Ireland.

Terri Moloney is an accomplished business leader achieving outstanding results across diverse functions and industries in Ireland and abroad. She has worked across People & Culture, Strategy, Operations Management, Governance & Leadership and Sales Leadership in multiple sectors including ICT (information & communication technology) Construction, Medical Devices, Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Health Care. She has over 25 years of experience with well-known Irish brands including Kerry Group and Laing O’Rourke Construction and with leading Global companies including Boston Scientific, Hilti and most recently with Salesforce where she Achieved growth of 5x in a fast-growing, competitive landscape, adding new capabilities and services for EMEA and international customers for Salesforce and secured new real estate investment to support the growth and development of Salesforce as the EMEA Hub in Ireland.

Terri is a Chartered Director, has an MSc in Training & Performance Management and has a completed a variety of senior executive development programmes with the Irish Management Institute in Dublin and the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

She is currently an independent non-executive director with the Governing Body Audit & Risk Committee at University College Cork. She also acts as a Business Mentor with the IDA Ireland Foreign Direct Investment programme “leading with strategic intent” at the IMI and is Industry Chair of the Dublin Regional Skills Forum.

'Lisa has over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of functions for blue-chip companies Microsoft, Oracle, Motorola & Accenture, as well as being instrumental in an international company start-up. Most recently Lisa was Vice President of EMEA SMB & Midmarket business at Microsoft. She has a strong track record in scaling international businesses, from developing strategic plans, through to successful implementation.  She is an authentic and empathetic leader, with significant experience in sales leadership, operational excellence, change management, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and innovation.  

Lisa is an accredited Chartered Director and has a Diploma in Company Direction from The Institute of Directors.  She is a board member of Scorebuddy and Trinity College’s School of Engineering.  She previously was a Council Member of Dublin Chamber. She was Winner of WMB Businesswoman of the Year Award and WXN Top 25 Ireland’s Most Powerful Women Award.

Lisa has a learner mindset with a strong academic background of an MBA, degrees in Electronic Engineering and Mathematics, all from Trinity College, supplemented with executive education at Harvard Business School and Cornell University.'

An experienced CEO, Board member and senior leader for large (NYSE publicly listed) and private (SMEs and venture backed) companies, Conor Hanley is currently CEO of FIRE1, a connected medical device solutions company dedicated to improving outcomes for people suffering from chronic diseases. Conor previously worked with ResMed where he held a number of senior management positions including leading up Chronic Disease management solutions globally, running the global Cardiology business unit and leading the Ventures and Initiatives global business unit. Prior to ResMed, Conor was CEO and co-founder of BiancaMed, a venture capital backed connected medical device company. BiancaMed was acquired by ResMed in 2011. 

Conor was awarded a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from INSEAD, and a B.E. from University College Dublin (UCD). Conor has been appointed an adjunct associate professor at UCD. Conor has completed the Leadership4Growth program at Stanford University and is a qualified Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors, UK. Conor’s board experience includes APC Ltd, HealthBeacon and chair of the Irish MedTech association.

Lucinda is an experienced finance and strategy leader with a career spanning large publicly listed companies and the start-up and scale up ecosystem.

She was Strategy and Business Development Director, and a member of the Group Executive Committee, at The Restaurant Group plc, a FTSE 250 constituent. During this time, she also served as Interim Group Chief Marketing Officer, implementing a range of key turnaround initiatives. Prior to this, she held a number of senior finance roles at Paddy Power (now Flutter Entertainment plc).

She is currently advising start up and scale up companies on finance, strategy, commercial and operational challenges, including having advised an early stage Irish owned technology company on its $25m Series A and a private equity backed financial services company on strategy, capital raising and M&A. She is also a mentor on Euronext’s flagship pre-IPO programme, IPOready, and on the Board, and Finance & Audit Committee, of the Rotunda Hospital.

Earlier in her career, Lucinda worked in corporate finance for Investec, providing strategic and financing advice to companies across a range of different sectors. Prior to that, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG.

She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University.

Jim Woulfe, Chief Executive of Dairygold Co-Operative Society until December 2021 when he retired after 42 years’ service. Dairygold is a leading global Agri & Dairy company with locations in Ireland, UK, Germany, Spain and China. Dairygold employs 1,275 people directly and with a turnover of €1.02 billion, has c. 7,000 shareholders and is the country’s second largest dairy processor assembling 1.49 billion litres of milk annually from its 2,700 milk producers.

Jim has worked in the agri-food sector throughout his career. A UCC Dairy Science graduate, he joined the milk processing division Ballyclough Co-operative in 1979 (subsequently merged into Dairygold). He has held many leadership roles throughout his career including Head of HR at Dairygold and Head of Agri Business Dairygold before his appointment as Chief Executive in 2009.

Jim successfully led Dairygold through the EU deregulation of milk controls and the subsequent growth and expansion, with the objective being to maximise returns to farmer members while simultaneously growing the net asset value of the business. The Dairygold business has grown substantially from a turnover of €555m and profitability of €8m in 2009, to a turnover of €1.02 billon and profitability of €26m in 2020.

Working with the Dairygold Board, together with other stakeholders, Jim led the largest capital investment programme in Dairygold’s history. A total of €450m has been invested in the business which has seen milk supply grow by over 80% to 1.49 bn litres in 2021. The capital investment has not just regenerated it’s Dairy Sites but has established world-class Dairy processing facilities across the business serving the Co-op’s Members and the wider community well into the future.

Jim’s Present Board Memberships include:

• Fota Wildlife Park, Cork - Board Member & Chairman of Audit & Risk Sub Committee
• Cork Airport - Advisory Council (CAAC)
• National Competitiveness & Productivity Council (NCPC) - Advisory role.

Jim’s previous Board memberships included:-
Ornua Co Operative Ltd (Irish Dairy Board), Cork Institute of Technology, (CIT – now MTU), St. Marys Secondary School Mallow, Malting Company of Ireland (MCI) and Munster Cattle Breeding Group (MCBG).

Des Power was born curious and that curiosity, along with a talent for leadership, has been the driving force in a career marked by innovation, transformational change and profitable growth in all corners of the world.

In an executive career with Google, Fitbit, Harman and Philips, Des built a reputation for “making innovation pay” in the fast moving consumer tech space. This adventure has been very international as he moved from Dublin to Eindhoven, Knoxville, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Shenzhen, Dublin and now home to Strandhill.

As televisions became wide, thin and smart, Des led the Philips TV business in North America and EMEA with a big focus in terms of innovation and differentiation in product, go to market and business model.

As music consumption habits radically changed, Des led Harman’s Consumer Audio business, establishing a new leadership team as well as building a speed-focused Design and Innovation HQ in Shenzhen. This first of a kind model brought success to great brands such as JBL, Harman Kardon and Mark Levinson.

As technology evolved to allow us to measure our own health, Des led Fitbit’s International business as a member of the Fitbit Executive Team. Here the focus was our compelling mission to help everyone in the world be healthier as well as rapid market expansion in EMEA and APAC markets in both consumer and enterprise segments.

As AI was becoming ubiquitous, Google acquired Fitbit. Des joined Google as Vice President. His main focus was on driving a successful integration of Fitbit’s international business. This was successfully completed during 2023.

Des is passionate about our startup ecosystems as well as the arts. He is now focussed on adding value in these segments by being a mentor, strategic advisor or board member.

Des has Bachelors and Masters Engineering degrees from Trinity College Dublin. He has just completed the flagship INSEAD Corporate Governance International Director Program (IDP).  This explored the latest thinking and tools needed to become a modern effective board member.  This executive education program complements other completed programs at Harvard Business School, CEIBS Shanghai and Singularity University in Silicon Valley.

After 30 years traveling the globe, Des is especially happy to be back in Strandhill near family, friends and the Wild Atlantic Way.

Christine is an experienced leader, director, and founder with 30 years of expertise in financial services. A strong advocate of entrepreneurs, she takes a strategic, data-driven approach to business growth and innovation. 

As co-founder of Vision-net.ie and Solocheck.ie, she played a pivotal role in their success and now serves as Managing Director of CRIF Vision-net, part of CRIF SpA, a global fintech operating in 85 countries.

In her role as a Global Industry Leader within CRIF, Christine collaborates with15 markets in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. This provides her with invaluable local market insight, enabling her to shape strategy and drive sectoral growth.

Her extensive client portfolio—spanning SMEs, large corporates, banks, and government departments—gives her a thorough insight into the challenges and opportunities facing Irish businesses.

Having successfully led an Irish startup through growth, digital transformation, and acquisition, Christine remains a strong advocate for entrepreneurship. She regularly provides media insights on issues impacting businesses in both domestic and global markets. 

Her leadership style is rooted in empathy, optimism, resilience, and a belief in Ireland’s adaptability and innovation on the international stage. She prioritises listening to and anticipating the evolving needs of customers, employees and stakeholders, and is committed to fostering a culture of problem-solving, collaboration, and proactive leadership to drive sustainable growth.

Dedicated to maintaining Ireland’s competitiveness and deepening its culture of innovation, Christine brings a results-driven approach to advisory roles. She holds an MSc in Leadership and Management Practice from UCD, along with postgraduate qualifications in business acceleration, advanced management, and leadership development from UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Dermot has been Head of Indigenous Enterprise Division at the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment since 6 January 2025.  Before that he had been Head of the Workplace Regulation and Economic Migration Division and Head of the Innovation & Investment Division in the Department.  He has also worked in the Departments of Education & Skills, the Department of Finance and the Department of Health.