Just Connect North Coast

Sharon McMaw

Founder & Director, Thrive Business Consulting Ltd

Sharon McMaw is an interim and consulting professional with over 25 years’ experience leading change, communications, and engagement across complex growth and transformation programmes. She has worked closely with boards and executive leadership teams within global organisations including BT, Vodafone, Sky, Liberty Specialty Markets, LexisNexis, Pearson, and Zurich, supporting large-scale digital, cultural, and operating model change. Much of Sharon’s career has been spent in interim and fractional leadership roles, stepping into environments where programmes were under pressure, clarity was slipping, or stakeholder alignment was breaking down. Her background spans large corporates, advisory roles, and time in the Middle East working across both a start-up and a global organisation - shaping her pragmatic, people-centred approach to change. Sharon is the founder of Thrive Business Consulting, supporting organisations navigating growth, transformation, and complex change.

Catherine Ashman

Group Marketing Manager at McKeever Hotels

Catherine Ashman is the Group Marketing Manager at McKeever Hotels, overseeing the brand, strategy and marketing plans across their seven hotels in Ireland. With over 10 years experience in strategic marketing, Catherine has worked globally with brands such as Rolex, Estee Lauder Companies, Coca Cola and Tom Ford. With a BSc Hons in Communication, Advertising and Marketing, she is passionate about the development of staff members and is an active teacher at the ‘McKeever Academy’ – an in-house junior management training program, developed by the McKeever family.

Louise McLaughlin

Director at Home Instead

As Owner and Registered Care Manager of Home Instead Belfast and Home Instead Antrim, Ballymena & Carrickfergus, she leads with a simple belief that care should be personal, unhurried and built on genuine relationships. Her mission is to help people live independently and with dignity in the place they call home. Home Instead delivers bespoke, client-led support with a minimum one-hour visit model, allowing time for meaningful connection and continuity of carers. From personal care and medication support to meal preparation, housekeeping and companionship, every visit is shaped around the individual and carried out at the client’s own pace. Her commitment to raising standards in home care has been widely recognised. In 2024, she was named UK Young Woman in Franchising and highly commended for Young Person in Business by the Belfast Telegraph. These honours reflect her passion for empowering Care Professionals, championing compassionate leadership and ensuring every client receives exceptional, respectful and personalised care.