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Registrations have now close for this event, please contact @wib@plannd.co.uk for all enquiries. 

Event type:

Face to face

Galgorm Resort & Spa

The Voices of Leadership Conference brings together some of the most prominent and inspirational female business leaders from across Northern Ireland and beyond

Join us for this annual conference as we explore the theme of Everything starts with trust… As a high-calibre of keynote speakers and expert panellists will delve into the importance of trust when it comes to leadership and the vital strategies that must be set in place to develop a culture in the working world.


Bookings are now closed

Check out who you'll hear from...

Jayne Brady

Jayne Brady

Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service

Jayne took up the post as Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service in September 2021, the first female and external appointment in its 100 year history. As part of this role she is the most senior adviser to the First Minister and the deputy First Minister and Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive. She has over twenty years’ leadership experience and a diverse skillset including venture capital, due diligence, corporate governance, setting strategy, leading teams, technical ownership and finance across complex organisational structures internationally. She is deeply committed to delivering economic and social development through harnessing innovation and was recognised for services to the economy with both an MBE (2018) and honorary doctorate (2019). Jayne has a strong, established professional network and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Irish Academy of Engineers.

Andrea McIlroy Rose

Andrea McIlroy Rose

Pinsent Masons | Head of Belfast Office

Andrea is the head of the Belfast office for global law firm, Pinsent Masons LLP. She leads the firm’s UK retail property team and has over 25 years’ experience in commercial property and is ranked as a “Leading Individual” and in the “Hall of Fame” in the Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession. Andrea is an active advocate of diversity and inclusion with a particular emphasis on the advancement of women in business and sits on the Boards of both Women in Business and NI Chamber of Commerce. She was previously the international chair of the Pinsent Masons female networking group, Female Futures and for the last 2 years has been the gender representative on Pinsent Mason’s Global Inclusion Board and is responsible for the implementation and delivery of Project Sky, the firm’s gender balance initiative.

Lorna McAdoo

Lorna McAdoo

Group Director | ESG and NI Lead Version 1

Lorna has worked in the Tech Sec Sector in Northern Ireland for over 35 years. She joined Version 1 9 years ago and currently has 2 roles. She has been the NI lead in Version 1 since 2013 and in that time has grown the organisation from 6 people to over 500 staff delivering IT services to both local and UK and Ireland customers. Lorna is also the Director for Environmental, Social & Governance across Group.

Deepa Mann-Kler

Deepa Mann-Kler

CEO | Neon XR

Deepa Mann-Kler is an exceptionally experienced public, private and charity sector Chair and Non-Executive Director, having served on 10 Boards across the UK over the past thirteen years. As Chief Executive of Neon and Visiting Professor for Immersive Futures with Ulster University, she specialises in use of immersive technologies for health. As a TEDx speaker and thought leader she regularly keynotes on the intersection of digital transformation, technical innovation, inclusion, ethics, bias, data and AI. Deepa is author of the first report on race discrimination with policy recommendations for the public sector in Northern Ireland "Out Of The Shadows."

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Politician

Jennifer Whitmore TD is the party spokesperson on Climate and Biodiversity and Communications Networks, and on Children and Youth Affairs. She is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action. She won a Dáil seat in Wicklow in the 2020 General Election.

 Judith Totten MBE

Judith Totten MBE

Managing Director | UPSTREAM Working Capital

Judith Totten MBE, is the Managing Director and founder of Upstream, a business she originally established in 2011 as an independent provider of working capital funding for Northern Ireland SMEs and growth businesses. Upstream currently supports a wide variety of indigenous Irish businesses and Judith is driven to see the complementary finance market growing exponentially in the years ahead.

Nick Whelan

Nick Whelan

Group Chief Executive | Dale Farm

Nick Whelan is Group Chief Executive of Dale Farm, the largest UK owned dairy co-operative, since August 2016. He is also a member of the Food and Drink Sector Council for the UK. He is Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, Chair of the CBI Northern Ireland’s Innovation Forum and a Board member at Dairy UK and Dairy UK Northern Ireland. In December 2018, Nick was also elected as a member of the Agricultural Forum.

Louise Black

Louise Black

Technology Partner | PwC

Louise Black is a Technology Partner at PwC, working in the Financial Services Sector. Louise was a Queen’s University Belfast graduate and joined Consulting following completion of her degree. She works with clients to deliver large technology enabled transformational change programmes with a focus on helping clients with their digital banking journeys, leveraging new technologies and capabilities to deliver better customer experience and outcomes.

Oonagh O'Reilly

Oonagh O'Reilly

Sales & Marketing Director | ICC Belfast

Oonagh was appointed Sales and Marketing Director for ICC Belfast in November 2017 and is responsible for building the brand and reputation of ICC Belfast to host national and international conferences. In previous roles, Oonagh was Director of Sales and Marketing for the Irish Football Association and prior to that, Business Development Director for the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. Oonagh has an extensive business network and has been at the forefront of working with Northern Ireland businesses for the past twelve years, promoting brand Northern Ireland locally and nationally.

Marie-Claire McGreevy

Marie-Claire McGreevy

Head of Sales and Marketing | ICC Belfast

Marie-Claire is an alumna of the PCMA 20 in their 20's programme, which celebrates proven leaders within the business events industry from across the globe. As a member of the ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall senior leadership team, she oversees the commercial sales and marketing function with specialist expertise in maximising campaign effectiveness and building the brands’ international presence.

Carla McGlynn

Carla McGlynn

Markets Data, Risk and Controls Technology Lead | Citi Belfast

Carla McGlynn is a Director and has been with the firm for 14 years. Carla is the ICG Technology Belfast site lead. She also the global program sponsor for various Inclusion and Diversity Initiatives. In December 2020, Carla was appointed as the Head of Markets Data, Business Risk and Controls Technology building technology solutions for the MSS COO team under Paul Rayson . Her team has grown over 300 staff across the globe, most notably leading delivery on the FXCO program, PRA asks, OCC asks in 2022.

Suzi Murtagh

Suzi Murtagh

Divisional CIO of Human Resources | Allstate Northern Ireland

Suzi has 20 years' experience in technology business, predominantly delivering products in the Insurance, PFI and Government sectors. Suzi works to improve the Allstate work experience through cutting edge tech that is changing HR Global Operations as well as enabling better communication, increased interaction, and creating a genuine sense of belonging for all 65,000+ employees around the world.

Clare Kelly

Clare Kelly

Director | Glandore

Clare Kelly is a Director of Glandore, an award-winning family business and leading all Ireland provider of flexible workspace in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. Glandore has played an integral role in the growth and success of over 1000 international and indigenous companies setting up on the island of Ireland- providing flexibility, scalability and the operational support to achieve their goals.

Caroline Feeney

Caroline Feeney

Director of Marketing & Public Affairs | Staffline

Caroline Feeney is the Director of Marketing and Public Affairs at Staffline Ireland. She is the executive lead for the Marketing, Communications, Public Affairs and Social responsibility functions. Previously she was the Executive Director (CEO) of the Goliath Trust, a charity aimed at tackling educational disadvantage. Caroline is a former Special Advisor to the Leader of one of the main Political Parties in Northern Ireland, working in Westminster, the Oireachtas, the EU Parliament and the NI Assembly.

Mark Huddleston

Mark Huddleston

Joint Chief Executive Officer | Makers Alliance

Mark Huddleston is founder and director of jheSOLUTIONS and currently working through the Strategic Investment Board as joint CEO of Makers Alliance and as an advisor to SEUPB on the PeacePlus program. Having graduated with a BEng (Hons) in Manufacturing from Ulster University he has worked in a range of family, start-up and multi-national businesses, within the Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering sector over the past two decades.

Joanne Hession

Joanne Hession

Founder | LIFT Ireland and The Entrepreneurs Academy

Joanne Hession is passionate and effective in helping individuals and organisations to achieve their potential by leveraging expert leadership training and entrepreneurial attributes. A company director by the age of 27, she went on to found two companies of her own and today is the Executive Director of The Entrepreneurs Academy and QED The Accreditation Experts as well as being an Executive Director of The John Maxwell Team (largest leadership training organisation in the world). In 2018 Joanne stepped aside from her business to found and dedicate her time to a national leadership initiative, LIFT Ireland. LIFT Ireland builds positive and ethical leadership across the country, at the kitchen table, in the classroom, clubhouse and boardroom. Over 30,000 people have benefited from LIFT’s leadership Roundtables in less than 4 years. An author, TEDx Speaker and passionate advocate of good leadership, Joanne is focused on equipping leaders to fulfil their potential.

Clodagh Rice

Clodagh Rice

Conference Host

Clodagh Rice is the Business Correspondent at BBC Northern Ireland covering breaking news across TV, radio and online. Before joining the BBC in 2014, she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and French from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Ulster University.

View agenda
Why you should attend
  • Treat it as a professional development day for your team with a line-up of key learnings
  • Develop your mindset through the exploration of how everything starts with trust in leadership
  • Discover what ‘better’ business looks like
  • To help reinvigorate your workplace culture
  • Gain inspiration on how to look beyond the single bottom line
  • Connect with likeminded business leaders over a two course business lunch
  • It is the perfect chance to make your mark in a room full of new networking opportunities

Have a look at what we got up to in 2021...

Location

Galgorm Resort & Spa

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