Chair, Invest NI 

John is the current Chair of Invest NI and was the Vice-President and Managing Director at Allstate NI until December 2022. He has 25 years' experience in technology, predominantly in the financial services domain. He graduated from Queen's in 1991 with a BEng in Manufacturing Engineering and an MSc in Computer Science in 1992. John is currently a member of the Progressive Building Society board, QUMS International University Advisory Board and Ulster University Council. In 2024, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Queen's.  

Find out more about John here.

Managing Partner, Exponent 

Richard joined Exponent in January 2005 and is the Managing Partner of the firm. Richard previously worked for Apax Partners and The Boston Consulting Group. Born and raised in Belfast, he has an MEng from Cambridge University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  

Find out more about Richard here.

Regional Market Leader, Northern Ireland and Customer Led Transformation Lead, PwC 

In addition to her role as Regional Market Leader, Northern Ireland and Customer Led Transformation Lead for PwC in the United Kingdom, Cat is also PwC's Education Consulting Leader, working at a global and local level to help universities to reimagine their student and staff experience. Cat graduated from Ulster University in 1997 with a BA in Business and Law followed by an MA in European Administration and Law in 1998.  

PwC has supported projects at Queen's for over 20 years including the Clinton Scholarship Fund, the Great Hall and The McClay Library.  

Find out more about Cat here.

Máire is a leading cybersecurity expert. Named UK Female Inventor of the Year, she was the youngest Irish Academy fellow and youngest-ever engineering professor at Queen’s. Máire is widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading cryptography experts and the inventor of a high-speed silicon security chip that is used in more than 100 million TV set-top boxes. Her current work focuses on the design of novel security solutions for communications applications. She is a Professor in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is also Director of the Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) at CSIT. Her expertise is concerned with cybersecurity, cryptography, hardware security, data security and the internet of things.  

Find out more about Máire here.

Academic Lead

Jesús is a Professor at Queen’s within the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Jesús has worked as a researcher at the University of Zaragoza, Kingston University, and as a Lecturer at Queen’s since 2012. He graduated from the University of Zaragoza with a degree in Electrical and Electronical Engineering in 2003 and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Human Motion Analysis and Biometrics in 2008, and from Kingston University with a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2012. His expertise is concerned with Security of AI, AI for Security, Human motion analysis, Pose estimation, Activity recognition, Tracking algorithms, multi-target tracking in real time, and Malware Analysis.  

Find out more about Jesús here.

Co-founder, Alteryx 

Libby is the co-founder of Alteryx, having served as its Chief Advocacy Officer until May 2024. Before co-founding Alteryx, Libby held senior commercial roles at Strategic Mapping and Donnelley Marketing Information Services, where she specialised in spatial analytics and data-driven solutions for clients in media, telecommunications, automotive and advertising. Libby serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Impact Africa Network in Nairobi, Kenya and to Have a Heart, Save a Heart, a non-profit organisation focused on raising awareness of women’s heart disease. Since January 2023, she has also been a board member of Clozd. Alteryx has supported Queen’s through initially providing 3,000 licences to support Queen’s students and staff to access free software, training and accreditation in data analytics, making it the University’s largest ever gift-in-kind. She graduated from Castleton University with a BA in Marketing in 1984.  In recognition of her contributions to innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital education, Libby was awarded an honorary degree by Queen’s University in March 2025, during the first US trip of the year. 

Director, NI Cyber – Head of Marketing, Compyfirst – Founder, Hackily Ltd. 

Gillian is the Director for NI Cyber, Head of Marketing for Compyfirst, and the Founder of Hackily Limited. She previously worked as Programme Manager for the Digital Surge Programme, and as Head of Marketing for Vertical Structure. Gillian began her career with Pinnacle Computing in 1998, going on to further marketing roles at GEM, Aepona, Intel and Adoreboard. She graduated from Queen’s with a BA in English in 1994, and went on to gain an MSc in Communications, Advertising and Marketing from Ulster University in 1995. 

Head of Cognitive Outcomes Research, OpenAI 

James is the Head of Cognitive Outcomes Research at OpenAI, having joined the company in 2024 originally as Technical Staff. He is an advisor for Prima Mente, which looks at the capabilities of AI in improving precision neuroscience, and 181 Angles, which supports technology focused startups. He has previously worked for Deloitte and Meta on their digital improvements and products. James was a director and part of the leadership team at Founders Intelligence, a startup that was later sold to Accenture in 2022. He began his career as the co-founder of Create Collaborate, which aimed to create a new distribution model for artists, scientists, and creators, helping with proof of IP ownership. James graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MA in 2014, later gaining an MSc from LSE in 2015. 

Vice President, Information Security Engineering, Mastercard 

Kate is Vice President, Information Security Engineering at Mastercard. She previously worked as a Business Applications Consultant for Version 1 and as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Munich Re Automation Solutions. Kate joined Mastercard in 2017 as a Senior Analyst before working her way up to Vice President. She graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a BSc in Physics and Astrophysics in 2012, later going on to a Higher Diploma in Data Analytics at the National College of Ireland, and a master's degree from University College Dublin in Digital Investigation and Forensic Computing in 2018.  

Academic Lead

Karen is the Head of School for Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Prior to taking up the role, she was the Deputy Head of School for two years before. She graduated from Queen’s with an MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 1998 and a PhD in Computer Vision in 2003.  

Mick leads the Salesforce Futures team, helping Salesforce leaders and customers anticipate, imagine and shape the future, with a focus on AI, sustainability, customer experience and work. He has a decade of experience leading innovation, foresight and strategy teams at Salesforce. Prior to this he worked in strategy consulting with Monitor Group and Global Business Network. He also spent a year as a fellow in the AI Policy team at the World Economic Forum. Mick graduated from Trinity in 2004 with a First-class Honours in Economic and Social Science, and from ESCP in Paris with a Diplôme de Grande Ecole and master’s degree in Management. He was named a Scholar in 2001.   

Expert Facilitator

David is the Director of the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre, led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen’s. Appointed Chief Executive of the Software Alliance in August 2023, David has over 20 years' experience in global cyber security technology, policy and domain expertise. Previously, he was Head of Strategic Partnerships & Engagement at Queen's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) where he led the development of strategic relationships with public sector partners. David was appointed by the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) College of Experts in 2021 and previously served as Deputy Director of the University's NCSC recognised Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) programme. He graduated from Ulster University with a BSc in Computer Science in 2000 and a MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2007.   

Declan is Associate Director of Baker McKenzie’s Applied AI Practice. Before joining Baker McKenzie, he trained at A&L Goodbody. He graduated from Queen’s with a BSW in Social Work in 2010 and an LLM in Legal Science in 2013.   

Ruth is Head of Data and AI at Kainos. She graduated from Ulster University with a degree in Information and Communication Technologies, and from The Open University with a Business Management qualification. Ruth is the primary industry partner of the AI Research Centre (AIRC) at Ulster University, supporting over 100 AI researchers in trusted AI applications. She was the recipient of the Microsoft Power Women Award 2024 in Ireland.  

Ronan is the Senior Director for Dell’s Operations in EMEA. Ronan leads the AI Solutions business for Dell Technologies in EMEA, helping enterprises adopt and scale AI to drive real business impact. He has over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry. Ronan has helped to build Dell’s go-to-market strategy for AI Solutions, integrating product, marketing, sales strategy and the wider ecosystem to deliver enterprise-ready AI offerings. He graduated from Ulster University with a BA in Business and Finance. 

Expert Facilitator

Dan is the Northern Ireland Lead at Accenture Belfast, having joined the company in 1998 as an Analyst. Previously he has worked as a Director for the NHS Digital from 2018 to 2019, and as the Chief Digital Information Officer for the Department of Health in NI. He graduated from Newcastle University with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 1998.  

Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine Health and Life Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast – NIHR Senior Investigator Emeritus – Professor of Rheumatology, University of Manchester 

Ian is Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s, an NIHR Senior Investigator Emeritus and Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Manchester. Ian qualified in Medicine from Queen's in 1988 and carried out his clinical training in medicine and rheumatology in Northern Ireland, completing his MD in 1995. From 1996 to 1998 he was the Geoff Carr Lupus Fellow at the University of Toronto. From 1998 to 2024 he worked at the University of Manchester and Manchester Foundation Trust, where he was appointed Professor of Rheumatology in 2010 and an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2013. From 2017 to 2024 he was Director of the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. He also served as Academic Director of Health Innovation Manchester (2019-2022) and Vice-Dean for Health and Care partnerships at the University of Manchester (2022-2024). Ian also works with several pharma partners who are developing new SLE therapies, and he serves on several advisory boards and trial steering committees.   

Brian is the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cumulus Neuroscience. He has previously worked as a software developer for several companies including MEX Multimedia and Reuters China, before co-founding Qingniao (a Reuters Company) in 1999. Brian has also previously worked as a Lecturer in Computing at Queen’s, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Trento and Carnegie Mellon University. He graduated from Queen’s with a BEng in Aeronautical Engineering in 1995, and from Trinity College Dublin with an MPhil in Speech and Language Processing in 2001 and a PhD in Cognitive Science in 2007. He returned to Queen’s to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education in 2016.  

Hugh is the CEO of Cirdan Imaging. Hugh completed a bachelor’s degree and a postgraduate diploma in Physics, graduating in 1984 and 1991 respectively, before completing a PhD in Laser Physics at Queen’s. In addition, he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Science by Queen’s in 2003 for his services to business and commerce. Hugh is also linked to Queen’s through his previous involvement with Andor, a QUBIS established company.  

Joann is the CEO and co-founder of the Health Innovation Research Alliance of Northern Ireland, a Professor of Practice at Queen’s, and a Visiting Professor at Ulster University. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BSc in Pharmacology in 1999, from the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in Translational Medicine in 2014, and from Imperial Business School with an MBA in Strategy and Innovation in 2020.  

Expert Facilitator

Roisin is a Senior Technology and Strategy Consultant. Until August 2024, Roisin spent 17 years with Deloitte and led Deloitte’s Regional Ventures in Northern Ireland, driving innovation across climate, FinTech and RegTech. Roisin is a board member of the Forward South Partnership.  She graduated from Ulster University with a BSc in Communications, Advertising and Marketing.

Academic Lead

David is the Dean for Internationalisation and Reputation within the faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Queen’s. He is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s and Academic Director of the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy. He has over 10,000 citations and a grant portfolio of over £10m.  He is a consultant for an energy company and since 2024 has been an advisor to the Department for the Economy on decarbonisation. He has also developed a range of educational courses in Hydrogen energy systems and Net Zero Engineering and has a significant background in international partnerships where he previously led the University’s Transnational Education programme as Vice-Dean for the China Queen’s College in Shenyang, China.  

Kevin is a Senior Advisor for Encavis AG. Kevin is a 35-year veteran of the energy industry. Prior to Encavis, he was CEO of Renewable Power Capital (RPC) from 2023 until 2025. He moved to the power sector with Scottish Power during a period of significant deregulation in the UK market and has been active in the renewable sector for the past 20 years. He graduated from Queen’s with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering in 1987 and from the Kellogg Business School with an Executive Development qualification in 2001.  

Conall is the Founder and CEO of Wia. Wia is one of the world’s leading IoT cloud platforms with users in over 100 countries. Conall has raised multiple rounds of investment and scaled Wia into an internationally recognised IoT company. Conall was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list 2018 for Technology. Conall graduated from Queen’s with an MEng in Computer Games Design and Development in 2012.  

Sam joined Simply Blue Group in January 2023 as its Country Director for Northern Ireland. She has over 25 years’ experience in environmental and sustainability. She is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and is a member of the Northern Ireland branch committee. Sam is currently Vice-Chair of Northern Ireland Maritime & Offshore. She holds a BSc in Environmental Studies from Ulster University and an MSc in Agricultural & Food Chain Systems from the University of Reading.   

Dave is the Head of Future Power Systems at SONI (Systems Operator for Northern Ireland). He has over 20 years’ experience in the electricity industry and academia and was previously Head of Power System Insights & Research with SONI. He holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a PhD in Engineering from Queen’s.