BiG* Leaders Summit

The Premier Business & Networking Event In The West of Ireland – The Galway Executive Skillnet BiG* Leaders Summit is the highlight not to be missed.

The 2024 Event took place on May 12th with David McWilliams, Keith Finnegan, Margaret Cox, and more.

2024 Speakers

David McWilliams

David McWilliams is an economist, author, podcaster, journalist, documentarian and broadcaster.

David hosts The David McWilliams Podcast, which aims to make economics uncomplicated and accessible, and is the creator of Punk Economics, a cartoon series explaining global economic issues. He is an Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin and is ranked sixth most influential economist in the world.

Keith Finnegan

Keith Finnegan, a proud Galwegian, is a dedicated advocate for the city and county of Galway, locally and internationally.

Keith is best known for his iconic show, ‘The Keith Finnegan Show’ (later ‘Galway Talks’), which has been a staple of Galway Bay FM for over three decades. Throughout his career, Keith Finnegan’s dedication to Galway and its people has made him a beloved and trusted voice in both the local community and the wider media landscape of Ireland.

Margaret Cox

Margaret is Director & CEO of ICE Group. As a committed Leader with, unique experience in leading and managing a multi-faceted and thriving successful business, and a successful career in Irish National Government (10 years as a Senator), her vision is to make people’s lives better. This includes the people who she works with, the clients that she supports, and the community and society that she lives in. 

Margaret is also the author of ‘The 3-Day Weekend‘ book on the company’s 4 Day Work Week journey.

What is the BiG* Leaders Summit?

Connect with a local network of peers

Our BiG* events are perfect for that catch-up chat with your colleagues and friends. Bring your team, make introductions, share insights, and enjoy the show.

Learn, Unlearn, Relearn

To stay ahead in business, we all need to adapt to change. The BiG* Leaders Summit delivers new thoughts on existing challenges and gives you the chance to reflect on your successes and build for the future.

Share the excitement

This is one of the standout events in the West of Ireland, take pictures, post your thoughts, take your new employees. A free event that pays back in learnings and enjoyment.

BiG* Names

Our Past Speakers

Brian O'Driscoll

Irish Rugby Legend and TV Analyst Brian O’Driscoll joined us in 2022 to talk about his career with Leinster, Ireland, and the Lions, as well as his business ventures and how he prepared for life after professional sports.

Sonia O'Sullivan

World Champion and Olympian, Sonia O’Sullivan is one of the country’s most successful athletes and undoubtedly one of the greatest Irish sportspeople ever.

The Olympic Silver Medal capped a string of successes by Sonia which included Three World Championship Gold Medals, Three European Championship Gold Medals, Four World Records, and Sonia held the World record over 2000m up until 2021 along with every Irish record in the books in distances ranging from 1000m to half marathon. Even though retired from Olympic competition, Sonia continues to enjoy running and loves to share her wealth of knowledge with young athletes starting out in their careers and hoping to follow in Sonia’s footsteps.

Ryan Tubridy

Ryan Tubridy is a Radio and Television Broadcaster, working previously with RTÉ Radio 1 and was also the host of The Late Late Show, Ireland’s most popular, highest rating TV show and the world’s longest-running chat show on RTÉ One.

David Meade

David Meade is a world-class international corporate speaker, performer and TV personality with a renowned reputation for helping organisations work more effectively. His mind-reading and mentalist skills impress and baffle worldwide audiences making his entertainment and keynotes hard to forget.

Andy Friend

Former Head Coach of Connacht Rugby, Andy was previously head coach of the Australia Sevens team, the Brumbies in Super Rugby, English club Harlequins, and Canon Eagles and Suntory Sungoliath in the Japanese Top League.

Ellen Glynn

Ellen Glynn survived lost at sea for over 15 hours and was found 17 miles from the spot she had gone paddleboarding following a huge overnight rescue operation.

In this Exclusive, Ellen recalled the challenging tale of resilience and belief that led to her return to the Galway shore.

Eve McCrystal

Eve McCrystal is an Irish Paralympic cyclist competing in tandem events for Ireland, as a sighted pilot for blind cyclist Katie-George Dunlevy.

Katie-George Dunlevy

Katie-George Dunlevy is a Paralympic cyclist competing in tandem events for Ireland. She previously competed in athletics, rowing and swimming before taking up cycling in 2011.

She competes for Ireland as her father is a native of Mountcharles, County Donegal.

Oliver Callan

One of Ireland’s most sought-after comedians and voice actors, Oliver Callan is an award-winning comedy satirist who will have the audience in fine form at the BiG* BANG Event.

Oliver shot to fame through his repertoire of impersonations, ranging from Barack Obama to Leo Varadkar, Boris Johnson, Trump and an array of public figures. With his new show ‘Callan Kicks the Years’ airing on RTÉ this week, we’re excited about his appearance!

Gavin Duffy

Gavin Duffy is best known as an investor on RTE’s Dragons’ Den for over ten years. For 35 years he has delivered consultancy, leadership and business development to SMEs, start-ups, corporations and social change entities. He has coached and advised a number of the country’s top CEOs and Managing Partners.

Gavin’s early career in the media during the 1980s included presenting the first RTE television business programme, Marketplace; broadcasting on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One, and founding regional radio station LMFM. Later Gavin became a serial entrepreneur and is now a veteran of over 60 start-ups. 

BiG* stands for Based in Galway – We are Galway Executive Skillnet and we believe that while Galway is recognised as ‘the place to live in Ireland’ we need to ensure that it is ‘the place to work in Ireland’. To achieve this aim we need strong successful businesses, with strong successful teams, managers and leaders.

What participants have to say about our events

Galway Business Owner

I love seeing the invitations for the BiG* events come out! Having attended Galway Executive Skillnet’s events for a number of years, they keep getting better.

HR Director, West Region

How do they let us come to these events for free? It’s phenomenal the learnings, the takeaways, and the networking opportunities we get. Kudos to the Galway Executive Skillnet team!

Training Manager, Mayo

Well worth the morning out of the office and into such a positive networking environment, the BiG events are the highlights on my calendar!

FAQs

Are you looking for answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the BiG* event?

How do I sign up for the event?

Fill in the contact form or use this link to complete the full registration with Galway Executive Skillnet.

When will the event take place?

The date for BiG* Leaders Summit 2024 will be announced soon.

Is there a cost associated with registering for this event?

No – this event is free for you or your team to attend! Registration is mandatory though, so please complete the registration form so we can have your name badge ready for networking.

Will there be opportunities to ask questions during the show?

We offer Question & Answer segments to our guest speakers when time allows and a roving microphone will go through the audience.

What topics will be discussed during this webinar?

The theme for our BiG* Events is Learn, Unlearn, Relearn, including more in-depth discussion on resilience and building confidence.

Thank You For Attending

May 14th 2024 – Galway, Ireland

David McWilliams, Keith Finnegan, Margaret Cox, Brian Crooke, Aoife O’Sullivan, Ann Tobin, Patricia Kelly, and Padraic O’Maille took the stage at the BiG* Leaders Summit 2024.