Benefits of attending

Phillip Fischer joined UCD as Chief Information Officer in July 2017 and is responsible for University-wide IT Services including Academic and Administrative Systems, Research IT, Teaching and Learning Technologies, UCD Web Services and the delivery of the IT Strategy 2020. Prior to joining UCD, he held the position of CIO & PMO Europe at Aramark. In his twelve years with Aramark, he worked with the Enterprise and European business entities to develop long term ICT strategies and effective ICT services models and played a key part in driving the region forward. Phillip is a member of Ibec’s Digital Economy Policy Committee and completed the Henley MBA in 2009 specialising in ICT Shared Services.

Mike Skelton is the Deputy Director of GOV.UK Web, Publishing, Platform & Design System, Government Digital Service. Mike is responsible for developing and running the GOV.UK website, the tooling that allows content to be published on it, ensuring that GOV.UK's infrastructure is secure, robust and scalable, while leading the team that creates the styles, components and patterns to help teams in government create user-centred digital services. Prior to joining GDS, Mike worked in technology roles across a number of sectors and industries, including as VP of Product at a health tech startup, 11 years working at the BBC in a variety of product leadership roles and 7 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Owen Harrison is a seasoned technology leader currently serving as the Chief Information Officer (Assistant Secretary) at the Courts Service since September 2020. Prior to this role, Owen held the position of Principal Officer - Head of Systems Development and Data at the Office of the Government CIO, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform from December 2014 to September 2020, where he led the implementation of digital, data, and shared application strategies. Owen's experience also includes serving as Assistant Principal Officer - Head of Systems Development, and co-founding Palamon Software Ltd, where Owen managed IT development and infrastructure projects. An adjunct lecturer at Dublin City University from 1998 to 2000, Owen has also worked as a Software Engineer at SUN Microsystems. Owen holds a PhD in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin and a BSc in Computer Science from Dublin City University.

Birna Íris Jónsdóttir joined Digital Iceland as CEO in November 2023. She is an experienced leader in IT and has served as an IT and Digital leader in banking, insurance, health and retail. She holds a BSc Degree in Computer Science, a MBA Degree and a diploma in Positive Psycology. Birna also studied AI as part of a masters degree in Computer Science. As the CEO of Digital Iceland her main vision is to simplify people‘s lives, make public sector processes more efficient and support practical use of data.

Sabahat “Saab” Khan is the Assistant Chief Executive and CIO at the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). He is overseeing the Digital, ICT, and Cybersecurity department, leading initiatives to enhance local government services through digital transformation. With a focus on innovation and efficiency, Sabahat drives digital advancements and improves service delivery. Sabahat is part of the LGMA executive team, responsible for delivering on corporate objectives and implementing policy and strategy across the Agency. With over 25 years of experience in the private sector, Saab is a globally astute, goals-driven senior executive with in-depth expertise in bottom line factors including strategic planning, technology management, financial management, and organisational development. He has a proven track record of large-scale business and technology transformation initiatives leading to profit increase, operational efficiency, and cost containment.

Barry Lowry is CIO for the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, a position he was appointed to in 2016. He is tasked with delivering the Public Service ICT Strategy. Prior to 2016, he spent almost 35 years in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) on work ranging from the programming of mainframe computers to operating as a team leader in the design of client server systems. For the five years prior to his appointment, Barry was the director who oversaw the establishment of ICT shared services in NICS. He also operated as the Head of Profession for ICT. In 2011 he was voted the Northern Ireland IT Professional of the Year by his associates.

Bill McCluggage is Managing Director of Laganview Associates Ltd. He became the first CIO for the Irish Government in 2013 and was CIO for the Northern Ireland Civil Service (2005 – 2009). He joined the Cabinet Office in 2009 as deputy UK Government CIO. While in the Cabinet Office he was the Executive Director responsible for the UK Government’s ICT Strategy and was instrumental in the development of the Government G[1]Cloud, and was SRO for the Identity Assurance Programme, now GOV.UK Verify.

David Scanlon is the Government and State-Owned Lead at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Ireland. Leveraging over 25 years of experience in the technology sector with leading multinationals, he specialises in guiding Public Sector organisations through their cloud adoption journey. David works closely with these bodies, aiding in the development and implementation of effective cloud strategies that not only enhance their digital transformation efforts but also deliver improved citizen services.

Tom Simpson is a seasoned digital health leader with a wealth of experience driving digital transformation in healthcare. With a career spanning roles in both the private and public sectors, Tom has successfully led IT and digital functions, shaping strategy and operations to enhance healthcare services. Having spent the previous five years leading digital transformation initiatives at Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, he is now transitioning into the new Director of Digital Health and Care NI and Deputy CDIO role in Northern Ireland. Passionate about leveraging technology for better patient outcomes, Tom brings a practical, results-driven approach to his work.

Pete Struthers is the Chief Information Officer of St James’s Hospital, one of Ireland’s largest and most digitally advanced hospitals. Pete has a wealth of experience in healthcare technology, having spent over 10 years specialising in this field and over 13 years working at Microsoft. In recent years Pete was the Director of the Microsoft Technology Centre, helping business leaders across all sectors, build and deliver their digital transformation strategies. Now as CIO, Pete is overseeing the digital strategy and operations for a hospital of over 5,000 users, expanding the use of clinical systems and data to deliver the hospital mission of providing patients with timely access to high-quality care.

Fran Thompson is interim Chief Information Officer of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and CEO of eHealth Ireland enabling the digital transformation of Ireland’s health service. He has over 25 years health ICT leadership experience and has a comprehensive understanding and practical application of transformation and change management within the health sector. Before his appointment as interim Chief Information Officer Fran was the Programme Director for the Strategic e-Health Programme for eHealth (formerly Office of the CIO). Fran has been involved with all aspects of ICT and has played a leading role in delivering various projects and programmes including Hospital Administration and Hospital Clinical systems, Primary Care messaging solutions and Health Finance solutions. Fran led the creation and set up of the ICT Project Management Office within the HSE and has responsibility for delivering a number of key strategic e-Health programmes including the electronic health record for the country and the Individual Health Identifier.

William Flanagan is a visionary leader at the forefront of powering digital government solutions with Data & Intelligence. Co-founder of OpenSky, a leading provider of Gov-tech engagement solutions for 20 years, William has been instrumental in bringing future-ready, transformational solutions to many of Ireland's and the UK's major public sector agencies. By harnessing the power of connected data and artificial intelligence, OpenSky is demonstrating the transformative potential of Data & Intelligence in enabling a more responsive, transparent and high-quality public service ecosystem.

Vincent has worked in Revenue’s ICT&L Division for all his career, working across many different ICT roles. Vincent’s current role is leading the Technical Architecture and Infrastructure Branch and he is Revenue’s CTO. His responsibilities include the Revenue technology stack across Desktop, Compute & Storage, Networks, Databases, Middleware, Data Centres and Contact Centre technologies. Additionally, Vincent is leading Revenue’s current Technology Modernisation programme, its Cloud Adoption programme and its AI Adoption programmes.

Martin Tully is the Head Of Data & Analytics at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Martin was appointed to the role in June 2021. Martin leads the Statistics, Data and Analytics team in the Department and a core part of his role is responsibility for overseeing the development and delivery of the Department’s Data Strategy. He has worked on and managed strategic people focused change projects within and across Government Departments. He has an MSc in Data Analytics and plays irish traditional music in his spare time!

Mike King is Annertech's Director of Delivery, and has more than 25 years' experience in technical project management and consulting. As an agile leader with a development background, he seamlessly bridges the gap between business and technical fields. Mike has worked with Annertech’s council and government clients across Ireland and the UK since 2013. His goal is to deliver projects using open-source solutions that meet and exceed the needs of the end user. His vast experience and skills ensure that councils deliver the ambitious digital experiences that their constituents deserve.

Alan Dooley is the Head of Digital Services for Limerick City & County Council, appointed in February 2021. Alan is responsible for the planning, development, control and maintenance of digital infrastructure, digital innovation and services for the Council and also for the Limerick region. In order for Limerick to gain a competitive advantage internationally and to work towards reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Council aims to use innovation in digital services and citizen engagement for Limerick’s economic, social and physical development. This will help transform Limerick into a smart sustainable region, with digital transformation becoming a driver for regional economic and spatial development. Prior to joining Limerick City & County Council, Alan worked for 25 years in software engineering, primarily in the U.S. financial and insurance industry, more recently leading global engineering teams across many technology disciplines, delivering digital transformation by enabling a change in engineering culture to actively embrace modern engineering practices.