John McMahon

John is chairman of BNP Paribas Ireland, director of Airspeed Limited and adjunct professor at the University of Limerick's Kemmy Business School. He has also served as chairman and chief executive officer of global financial services company, Genesis Lease Limited, where he led the company's successful $640 million IPO and New York Stock Exchange listing in 2006. John brings to the role more than 25 years' international business experience that includes growing an Amsterdam-based start-up business into a major global player with more than $5 billion in assets.ts.

Richard O’Donnell

Richard is an Entrepreneur, Investor and Mentor. His business career has spanned more than 25 years. He is the owner and founder of several companies including Software Architects International which he successfully sold as a '.com' in 2000 (one of the premier acquisitions in Ireland that year) RendezVous353.com - The Global Irish Social and Business Network; The Irish Festival of Speed - Celebrating the Engine in all its Facets, Historic & Contemporary on Land, Sea and Air (More: http://about.me/richardodonnell).

Maurice Patterson

Maurice Patterson is a consumer researcher and lecturer in marketing at the Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick. Maurice has 16 years experience in third-level education teaching the full range of marketing subjects and specializing in Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Communications and Marketing Theory.

Naomi Birdthistle

Naomi is the leading academic in Ireland on family business issues and she has written numerous articles on the area. Her PhD was recognised as the best doctoral dissertation in the world in 2006 by the leading family business association - The Family Firm Institute. She has won numerous awards for journal articles, case studies and research she has conducted. She is currently conducting research on the topic area of High Potential Start-ups and their characteristics. This is a two-year research funded project by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Neil Gordon

Neil has a Bachelor of Electronic Engineering (University of Limerick, UL) and MBA (UL). Prior to 1998, experience in technical marketing and management roles within multinationals in the vehicle equipment (Interbalco - United States) and computer peripheral industries (Alps Electric, Japan). Between 1998 and 2003, he was responsible for international OEM business development and marketing at the Shannon division of US multinational, C&D Technologies, a power supply company with 14 divisions and 2,000 employees worldwide. His career has a strong emphasis on international sales and marketing. Neil has extensive experience in working with and liaising with GME's Swiss venture capitalists.

Mikael Fernström

Michael is the Irish delegate in the European COST Action G6 on Digital Audio Effects and is one of the initiators of a new European COST action on Control of digital audio effects from human gesture. In 2009 he received the UL Alumni Award for Outstanding Contribution to Science & Technology. He is a Member of the Audio Engineering Society; Member of the International Society of Ecological Psychology; Member of IEEE; and Lifetime Member of the Electronic Music Foundation.