Judging Panel

We are delighted to announce the 2024 WMB Awards judging panel. 

The shortlist has now been confirmed and the final winner in each Award Category will be announced at our annual WMB Conference & Awards on Monday September 30th, 2024 at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel.

GRÁINNE BRYAN, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, FTI CONSULTING

Gráinne Bryan is a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, where she leads the Technology segment in Ireland along with being the Technology partner responsible for Continental Europe.

As a key leader within the organisation, Gráinne spearheads initiatives that mirror the firm’s core values of embracing, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity and inclusion – from recruitment to nurturing an inclusive employee experience and enriching client engagements.

With a background in legal and technology consulting, Gráinne recognises that fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion not only enhances the workplace environment but also enhances the quality of service provided to clients. Through continuous support and investment in diversity, inclusion, and belonging, Gráinne encourages those around her to leverage and develop their unique experiences and perspectives. By embracing a diverse range of viewpoints, ideas, and approaches, Gráinne and her team ensure they are better equipped to address the unique challenges their clients face, whilst contributing to both company growth and societal impact.

EIMEAR COFFEY VP TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS

Eimear Coffey is a VP of Technology Management for Fidelity Investments, Ireland.

Eimear started her career in Boston working in a variety of roles as a developer, analyst, project manager, product manager and Technology leader. Since returning to Ireland in 2012, Eimear has held various roles including Product Manager, Global Lead for Innovation Program, Program lead for enterprise initiatives and has led multiple business units in the Ireland organisation. Together with this, Eimear is a member of the Fidelity Ireland Technology leadership team, and has also led the Women’s Leadership ERG and the Leadership Community for the organisation.

Eimear is a graduate of Tralee I.T. and the University of Limerick, holding an honours degree in Business and a first-class honours graduate diploma in Computing and is PMP certified. Eimear recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence for Managers from NUIG.

DEIRDRE O’NEILL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMPASS GROUP IRELAND

Deirdre O’Neill – better known as Dee by her team – first joined the Compass Ireland family in 2016, leaning on 15 years of experience in the Food & Retail sector to head up the Marketing Department.

Her fresh take on transforming the image of food service earned the plaudits of colleagues and industry professionals alike, securing her ascent into the role of Managing Director.

Since 2016, Dee has consistently translated her visionary ideas into reality, cementing Compass Ireland’s status as the nation’s most celebrated food service specialist through a series of pioneering pivots, initiatives and acquisitions.

Dee’s conviction for challenging convention finds parallel with her passion for empowering women, proudly cultivating a culture where women can thrive and make their mark. This is evident in her executive team, where female representation now exceeds 70%. Dee leads a community of over 1500 people, working within 130 locations from Cork to Donegal, responsible for producing 45,000 meals a day to fuel the nation’s leading businesses and institutions.

ROSEMARY DELANEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WMB PUBLISHING

Rosemary Delaney has worked in media & publishing for over three decades.

She represented Magazines on the Press Council of Ireland and was previously Chairperson of the industry body, Magazines Ireland. In 2006, having reached the top tier in her industry, Rosemary took a leap of faith and launched WMB Publishing and the platform WomenMeanBusiness.com. The website is targeted at female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. WMB hosts the very successful annual WMB Conference & Awards, which celebrates the best female talent in the country. WMB, which is 17 years in business, also provides publishing consultancy to a number of blue-chip clients.

Rosemary’s a published author and her first book ‘Women Mean Business – One Woman’s Journey into Entrepreneurship’ was published by Orpen Press.  In 2014, she was appointed to the Board of InterTradeIreland for a period of four years and also sat on the Trade and Communications Sub-Committees.

Rosemary lives by the mantra which she borrowed from Walt Disney ‘If you dream it, you can do it’.

HELEN SHAW, FOUNDER, ATHENA MEDIA

Helen Shaw is a multi award winning media professional and documentary maker.

Helen Shaw is a climate action leader and communications consultant. She heads the digital agency Athena Media. She previously ran RTÉ Radio and launched RTÉ lyric fm which celebrates its 25 anniversary this year.

Helen is also a multi-award-winning documentary maker and podcaster and serves on the advisory board and jury of the New York Radio Festival and the international jury of the Association of International Broadcasting (AIB) Awards. Helen’s a graduate of UCD, DCU and a former fellow at Harvard University ­– she just added an MSc in Climate Change, Policy, Media and Society, DCU to her qualifications and is using her communications and digital storytelling skills to support public engagement on the crisis. She sees the arts, humanities and culture as critical to achieving the societal transformation the crisis demands. She is a board trustee of An Taisce, Ireland’s National Trust and works with DCU’s Centre for Climate & Society.