TechFest Speakers

TechFest Keynote: Jamie Bartlett, Award Winning Technology Writer and Broadcaster

Jamie Bartlett is the author of four books: The Missing Cryptoqueen (2022), The People Vs Tech (2018) about data and democracies (Winner of the 2019 Transmission Prize), Radicals (2017) about political outsiders and the best-selling The Dark Net (2014) about internet subcultures and online crime. His books have been translated into 15 languages.

He founded the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think-tank Demos, where he specialised in online social movements and using machine learning to study the impact of technology on society. He is a regular commentator on national and international media outlets, and a regular writer on technology for The Spectator.

Bartlett’s TED talk ‘How the mysterious dark net is going mainstream’ has been watched over 5 million times. His main topics are cyber security and privacy online, cryptoscams and online fraud, internet subcultures, and the impact of technology on politics.

In 2017, Jamie Bartlett presented the two-part BBC TWO documentary series The Secrets of Silicon Valley about how technology was changing politics and society, including Cambridge Analytica’s role in the 2016 US election.

In 2019 he wrote and presented the award winning BBC podcast series ‘The Missing Cryptoqueen’ which exposed the biggest ever cryptocurrency fraud, which reached number 1 in the iTunes chart.

Jamie is currently writing a new book for Penguin Random House called “How to Speak to AI” (April, 2026). This book will take the reader inside the machine: showing how Large Language Models like ChatGPT are changing the way we live, feel, and think. It will help the reader make the most of these incredible new technologies, without succumbing to new powers of manipulation and control.

TechFest MC: Jonathan McCrea

Jonathan McCrea is a master trainer who is on a mission to help professionals, teams and businesses safely harness the power of AI platforms like CoPilot, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. As the founder of Get Started with AI , Jonathan has successfully guided hundreds of small businesses, freelancers, and professionals through practical, hands-on AI training. His approach focuses on actionable use-cases, empowering participants to implement AI tools directly into their workflows and enhance productivity.

His ability to simplify complex AI concepts and deliver them in an engaging, accessible manner has earned him widespread recognition as a master trainer in the field.

Jonathan’s training expertise is backed by years of experience as technologist and founder of Whipsmart Media, a communications consultancy specialising in the medical, pharma, and science sectors. His clients include the Department of the Taoiseach, AIB, Docusign and Grant Thornton.

With a passion for making AI accessible to everyone, Jonathan is dedicated to equipping individuals and teams with the skills to leverage AI tools, streamline operations, and stay competitive in today’s fast-evolving landscape.

Adrian O’Flaherty | Director (AI & Data) | Accenture

Adrian O’Flaherty is a self-confessed AI early adopter who probably spends more time talking to AI than talking to people in any given week. Known among colleagues as the first to trial new models, tool, and platforms, he is obsessed with keeping a close eye on what’s emerging, and what’s actually usable, so he can translate rapid market innovation into real outputs.

He is a Director within Accenture’s AI & Data practice, working across AI strategy, adoption, implementation, and transformation. He spends much of his time supporting Accenture’s High-Tech and AI clients globally. He also works across Ireland with organisations in utilities, the public sector, and financial services. He enjoys helping teams define high-impact use cases, push the boundary of what’s possible, and navigate the real-world complexity of bringing AI into the enterprise. While there’s huge hype & excitement around AI, Adrian tries to balance the promise of AI with the reality for most enterprises today.

Aryana Collins Jackson | Data Staff Engineer | Quest Software

Aryana Collins Jackson holds a Master’s in Data Science and Analytics and a PhD in virtual agents. She spent over three years as a data scientist in business analytics at SolarWinds and currently works as a data engineer on the AI team at Quest, focusing on building data-driven and AI-powered solutions to the business and to their products.

Professor Barry O’Sullivan | School of Computer Science & IT | University College Cork

Professor Barry O’Sullivan, FAAAI, FAAIA, FEurAI, FIAE, FICS, MRIA is a full professor at the School of Computer Science & IT at University College Cork (Ireland) and a visiting professor at Northwestern (Illinois, USA). He works on artificial intelligence, constraint programming, operations research, AI/data ethics, and public policy. He contributes to several global Track II diplomacy efforts related to geopolitical aspects of AI. He is founding director of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at UCC and the SFI Centre for Research Training in AI. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of ACM AI Letters. He served as Vice Chair of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence which formulated the EU’s ethical approach to AI. He currently represents the European Union at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.

Professor O’Sullivan is a Fellow and a past President of the European Artificial Intelligence Association. He is also a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific AI Association. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and holds a number of ministerial appointments, such as Chair of the National Research Ethics Committee for Medical Devices, member of the Irish Government’s AI Advisory Council, and member of the 12-person National Science Advice Forum. He conducts his diplomacy work in collaboration with INHR (Geneva, Brussels, Washington DC), the Center for New American Security (Washington DC), and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. His awards include Science Foundation Ireland Researcher of the Year (2016), Member of the Royal Irish Academy (2017), IPEC-EATCS Nerode Prize (2020), Science Foundation Ireland Best International Engagement Award (2021), and the European AI Association’s Distinguished Service Award (2023). Professor O’Sullivan has been involved in winning and overseeing over €750m in R&D funding.

Catherine Drysdale | Partner (Projects, Transformation & Change) | Barden Ireland

Catherine Drysdale is Partner of the Projects, Transformation & Change practice of Barden’s talent advisory and recruitment firm. A Fellow Chartered Accountant, Catherine brings over 20 years of experience across senior finance operations and transformation delivery.

She has led and delivered transformation programmes of varying complexity and scale over her 20-year finance career, including ERP implementations, Robotic Process Automation, payroll optimisation, Business Intelligence and data analytics enablement. These experiences give her a unique understanding of what is required of each role within a transformation team, as well as how these roles and individuals interact to achieve collective success. Catherine partners closely with Barden’s clients to define and build projects, transformation and change teams of varying complexity and size.

Dr Deirdre Leahy | Lecturer and Researcher (Technology and Cybersecurity Law) | Munster Technological University

Deirdre Leahy is a Lecturer and Researcher in Technology and Cybersecurity Law at Munster Technological University, where she is part of the Cybersecurity Research and Innovation Group. Her work focuses on the evolving regulatory landscape of digital technologies, with particular emphasis on cybersecurity, data security, and digital market governance.

With a background as a practising solicitor in commercial law, Deirdre brings a practical, industry-informed perspective to her academic research and teaching. She has contributed to European policy discussions, including submissions on legislative reform and participation in European Commission studies on digital product regulation.

Deirdre holds a PhD in Law from University College Cork. Her work centres on bridging legal theory and real-world application, supporting organisations in navigating complex regulatory challenges in technology-driven environments.

Denis Ryan works with founders and leadership teams across the technology sector, supporting businesses at all stages of growth as they navigate funding, scale and capital structure decisions. As part of AIB’s technology sector team, he works closely with technology companies and internal banking teams to help assess how bank debt can be used alongside equity at different points in a company’s journey. With six years’ experience in a high‑growth software company prior to joining AIB, Denis brings a practical operator’s mindset alongside a lender’s perspective to conversations around growth, risk and long‑term funding strategy.

Hrvoje Smolic | Founder and CEO | Graphite Note

Hrvoje Smolic is the founder and CEO of Graphite Note, a Decision Intelligence platform focused on turning data into executable business decisions. He has spent more than 20 years working across data analytics, machine learning, and decision systems, primarily in manufacturing, CPG, retail, and operations-heavy industries. His work sits at the intersection of predictive ML, causal impact analysis, and optimisation, with a strong emphasis on real-world constraints, decision ownership, and economic outcomes rather than dashboards or AI theatrics.

Hrvoje is known for a practical, skeptical approach to AI. He argues that most analytics and “AI agent” initiatives fail not because the models are weak, but because decisions are poorly defined and never operationalised. His writing and speaking focus on Decision Intelligence as an operating system. Start with the decision, quantify the baseline, estimate the impact of actions, optimise under constraints, and execute with guardrails humans will actually follow.

Through Graphite Note, he works closely with operators, executives, and data teams to design decision systems that move revenue, cost, and risk, not just metrics. He regularly shares field notes and long-form essays on LinkedIn, written from a builder’s perspective, aimed at closing the gap between analytics and action.

James Baldwin | Director (Architecture & Security) | PepsiCo Ireland

James Baldwin leads PepsiCo Ireland’s IT Architecture, Cyber Security and Risk and Compliance teams. James and his team supports PepsiCo’s digital transformation journey, ensuring optimised and resilient solution designs, trust by design secure solutions while constantly monitoring and reducing risk. His remit ensures understanding PepsiCo’s business functions, their key needs and innovating together bringing AI to life responsibly with ideations, exploratory solutions, and production-ready capabilities.

John Lonsdale | Chief Executive Officer | CeADAR

John Lonsdale joined CeADAR, Ireland’s National Centre for AI in September 2024 as Chief Executive Officer. Previously, John led technology transfer, investment and enterprise activity at the University of Edinburgh and before that he was Director of Innovation and Enterprise at UCLan, overseeing all university innovation activity including European funded programmes and international linkages.

Possessing MBA and DBA qualifications, John spent the first 15 years of his career working in industry for Rolls-Royce plc and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory in a wide range of commercial roles.

Larry O’Donoghue | CEO | AxisBIC

Larry O’Donoghue was appointed CEO of AxisBIC in January 2023. He joined AxisBIC in 2017 as Senior Consultant and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2021. Prior to AxisBIC, Larry worked for over eighteen years in technology, management consultancy, utilities, construction, and sales training, in Boston, Dublin, London and Singapore.

On returning to Ireland, Larry founded and scaled two companies over a ten year period. Specific expertise in raising early stage equity investment for high potential startups, developing investment strategies, executing investment strategies with startups, organizational development, sales strategies, corporate strategy and business planning. Larry holds a BSc Business Information Systems from University College Cork.

Paul Martin | Founder and CEO | SmartOffice

Paul Martin is the founder and CEO of SmartOffice, an international technology company transforming how businesses operate through innovative, people-first solutions. What began in Cork, Ireland has grown into a global organisation, with SmartOffice now serving customers across Europe, South Africa, and the United States.

Driven by a belief that great technology should empower both businesses and their people, Paul has built SmartOffice around a core focus on customer success and employee empowerment. Under his leadership, the company has evolved from a bold startup into a trusted partner for organisations looking to modernise, scale, and stay competitive in a rapidly changing world.

Paul’s path hasn’t followed the traditional corporate playbook. Instead, it’s been shaped by curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. His entrepreneurial mindset and commitment to doing things differently continue to fuel SmartOffice’s growth and global expansion.

Robert McArdle | Director | TrendAI

Robert is a Director of TrendAI’s Forward Looking Threat Research (FTR) and Adversary Intelligence and Monitoring (AIM) teams, with 20+ years of analysing and monitoring the latest Cybercrime threats – specializing in researching the future threat landscape, Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) and coordinating investigations with international law enforcement.

Robert is a regular presenter for the press and at security conferences. He also has developed and lectured MSc modules in Malware Analysis and Cybercrime Investigations at Munster Technological University (MTU) and University College Dublin (UCD). He worries that his hobby and job are one and the same, and constantly wonders if “normal” people have that problem.

Sean McGrath | Head of Commercial | Skillnet Innovation Exchange

Sean, a seasoned executive in Telecoms, IT and Retail having held senior management roles in Ireland, UK, and Eastern Europe. Proficient in business strategy development and revenue growth, he excels in leading transformation programmes. With experience across diverse sectors, Sean’s adeptness in navigating varied markets and delivering tangible outcomes marks him as a versatile and accomplished leader in the field.

Stephen Dooley | Founder | Roamr

Stephen Dooley is the founder of Roamr, the corporate travel platform “Paying Employees, Not Hotels.” Roamr helps companies save 30% on hotels by enabling employees to stay with friends on work trips—redistributing the hotel budget between the traveller, the host, and the company. Stephen started Roamr after spending years doing PhD researching on platforms like Airbnb and Uber to understand how they built trust and adoption.

Stephen Stack | Founder and CTO | rConfig

Stephen Stack is the Founder and CTO of rConfig, a network configuration and automation platform he built from a small side project into a globally deployed solution trusted by companies such as JYSK, Caesars, EDF, Motorola, and Siemens Energy. Under his leadership, rConfig has achieved phenomenal international growth, exporting Irish-built technology to organisations across Europe, North America, and beyond.

Stephen holds a Master’s degree in Business Strategy from UCD Smurfit and has held executive leadership roles within multiple global organisations, bringing deep experience in cloud, security, and large-scale enterprise operations. He focuses on secure, accountable automation for complex global networks, helping enterprises scale with confidence while maintaining resilience, compliance, and operational control.

Yvonne Murphy | Regional Development Executive | Enterprise Ireland

Yvonne Murphy is a Regional Development Executive with Enterprise Ireland, where she works to strengthen the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem across Cork and Kerry, supporting export focused Irish businesses to start, connect, grow, and scale in the regions.

Bringing almost two decades of experience in strategic stakeholder engagement, regional economic development, and complex policy environments, Yvonne served as CEO of the Irish District Energy Association and Policy Manager – Ireland with SSE plc, driving national-level collaboration on the future of clean energy infrastructure. This is complemented by a portfolio of social policy and stakeholder engagement roles with organisations like Pieta, Mental Health Reform, and Cork City PPN. All of which is underpinned by an early career in electoral and parliamentary politics in the Houses of the Oireachtas and University College Cork, where she continues to progress a PhD in Political Science. Based in Cork and working with partners across the Southwest, Yvonne is deeply committed to socially responsible and sustainable enterprise as a driver for regional sustainability and prosperity.