Event Schedule
| Time | Speaker | Information |
| 08:30 | Registration Opens | Galmont Hotel, Galway |
| 09:00 – 09:20 | Networking – Tea & Coffee | |
| 09:20 – 09:30 |
Eamonn Molloy Network Manager, GES |
Welcome – How Galway Executive Skillnet (GES) can support your Business to Succeed |
| 09:30 – 10:15 |
Prof. Michael Madden Head of School of Computer Science in the University of Galway |
AI – The Threats and Opportunities for Business – Presentation and Case Study |
| 10:15 – 11:00 |
Mary Rodgers The Portershed Joe Smyth Genesys Suzanne Ryan Home Instead |
Visioning, Starting, Running and Pivoting a Business (Entrepreneurship, Resilience & Vision) Panel discussion facilitated by Margaret Cox |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Tea, Coffee, Networking | |
| 11:30 – 12:30 |
Andy Friend Head Coach, Connacht Rugby |
Keynote Speaker, in conversation with Margaret Cox |
Join us for an unforgettable event that will help you Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn important lessons to be successful.
Andy Friend
Keynote - Director of Rugby, Connacht Rugby
Head Coach of Connacht Rugby, Andy Friend, makes one of his final appearances in Galway before departing the province at the BiG* Leaders Summit.
Joe Smyth
Senior VP of R&D - Genesys
Joe Smyth has worked for some of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Apple, Cisco, and Nortel, before co-founding AltoCloud.
A key part of Genesys in Galway, Joe joins our panel at BiG* Leaders Summit 2023.
Mary Rodgers
CEO, Galway City Innovation District (GCID) - PorterShed
Mary Rodgers is CEO at Galway City Innovation District, PorterShed, and founder of Stateside Solutions passionate about accelerating innovation-driven startups.
We welcome Mary to our panel for BiG* Leaders Summit 2023.
Michael Madden
Professor at University of Galway
Prof. Michael Madden is the Established Professor and Head of School of Computer Science in University of Galway. He leads the Machine Learning Research Group there, and he lectures on Machine Learning and Deep Learning topics. His research focuses on new theoretical advances in machine learning, including deep learning, motivated by addressing important data-driven applications in medicine, engineering, and the physical sciences. This has led to over 100 publications, 4 patents and a spin-out company. He has also been a Visiting Research Scientist in University of Helsinki, University of California Irvine, and UC Berkeley.
We welcome Michael to speak at BiG* Leaders Summit 2023.
Suzanne Ryan
Managing Director of Home Instead
Suzanne Ryan is Managing Director of Home Instead, she has over 25 years’ experience in the healthcare sector in Ireland; having worked also in the areas of Consumer and Business to Business Marketing in Ireland and abroad for both MNCs and SMEs including Guinness Group Sales Ireland Ltd., Kerry Group Plc, The Jones Group Plc and Supermac’s Ireland. She holds MBA, MBS and BBS qualifications from DCU and UCG / NUI Galway and also has Post Graduate Diplomas in both Health Science and Corporate Governance.
She is a Certified Change Management Practitioner and has vast Board experience as Chair of SymPhysis Medical and Company Secretary of Centus. She is President of Network Galway as well as a member of various Commercial, Educational, Business, Charity and Philanthropic organizations.
Margaret Cox
Director, ICE Group
An active campaigner for the 4 Day Week in Ireland, Margaret is also the promoter of Galway Executive Skillnet and will MC the BiG* Leaders Summit.
Having the courage to Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn what the workplace should look like, the leadership shown by Margaret and ICE Group has furthered the conversation and placed a spotlight on the future of work in Ireland.
Learn more about ICE Group’s journey on the 4dayweek.ie website.
BIG* – well that’s 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.
If you believe that BiG* contributes to your success – this is the event for you.