Speakers

Denyse Campbell
President, Irish Hotels Federation

Denyse Campbell is the 39th President of the Irish Hotels Federation. A native of Strokestown, Co Roscommon, Ms Campbell is General Manager of the Maldron Hotel Dublin Airport. After graduating from the College of Catering in Cathal Brugha Street, she began her career as a hotelier with the Hilton Group in the United States. Following a period with Jurys in the UK, she returned to Ireland where she worked for several independent hotels and groups. In 2015, she joined Dalata Hotel Group, spending several years at the Clayton Ballsbridge before assuming her current role at the Maldron Hotel Dublin Airport in 2018. Ms Campbell has been an active member of the IHF since 2006 and has served as Secretary and Chair of the Dublin branch, National Vice President on two separate occasions and as a member of the National Council and Management Committee.  As Chair of the IHF’s Marketing Group she oversaw the launch of the immensely successful ‘Go Anywhere Gift Card’, the official gift card of the Irish Hotels Federation.

Pat Horgan
Head of Business Banking, AIB Capital Markets

Pat leads a team of over 250 Relationship Managers across multiple office locations focusing on delivering customised financial solutions to small and medium sized businesses. Pat’s 30 years’ experience in banking ranges from managing smaller to larger teams, across different geographies, on both sides of the balance sheet, at Retail and Corporate levels with AIB and previously with Ulster Bank. This range of experience gives him a versatile perceptive and allows him bring significant positive influence to any situation. He was previously a Board Member of the Social Finance Foundation, is currently on the Board of Microfinance Ireland and the Audit & Risk Committee for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Pat holds a BA in Economics from University College Cork and a MBA from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana

Myles Dungan
Conference Chairman

Dr. Myles Dungan is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster. He currently presents the weekly RTE Radio 1 programme and has worked as presenter of various RTE radio and TV programmes for  the last thirty years (Five Seven Live, Rattlebag, Prime Time). He is an Adjunct Lecturer in the UCD School of History, is the recipient of two Fulbright Awards. has taught Irish history in UCD, Trinity College and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2012 he received a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin. He is the author of more than a dozen books on Irish and American history.

Tom Barrett
Director - Hotels & Leisure, Savills

As Head of Hotels at Savills, Tom advises clients on hotel transactions, strategic reviews, valuations, brands, operators & asset management opportunities. Tom brokered over 70 hotel transactions in recent years, including the sale of resorts such as the K Club & Ashford Castle. Dublin transactions include the Doubletree Burlington Road, the Marker & the Gibson and in 2022 Savills sold Killashee Hotel and the site of the first citizenM in Dublin. Prior to Savills, Tom worked with Diageo, Vodafone, Forte and Choice Hotels – across Europe, Asia and the USA.

Matt Gent
Development Manager - Ireland, Whitbread Property (Premier Inn)

Matt Gent joined Whitbread PLC 10 years ago and since that point has delivered over 3,000 bedrooms. He is currently responsible for Whitbread’s expansion in the Republic of Ireland covering both the acquisition and construction elements of transactions. To date Matt has opened two trading hotels in Dublin, agreed three developer deals and purchased two freehold sites in Dublin and Cork, building an ROI pipeline of circa 1,500 rooms. He holds an MBA from Manchester University and a member of the RICS. 

Oliver Mangan
Chief Economist, AIB

Oliver Mangan is Chief Economist at AIB. He has worked as an economist in financial markets since 1990, first for Davy Stockbrokers and then AIB Treasury. He specialises in macro-economic forecasting and analysis of interest rate and currency markets. He also worked for the Australian Central Banking Sydney and started his career as an economist in the Irish Civil Service in 1985. He holds a Masters Degree in Economic Science from UCD.

Sarah Duignan
Director of Client Relationships, STR

Sarah departed Irish shores in 2005 having spent seven years in hotel operations. She joined the HotelBenchmark team at Deloitte in London as a Business Development Executive and as the team re-structured came to manage a number of key international clients.  STR Global was formed in 2008 following the merger of the HotelBenchmark team with The Bench and Smith Travel Research.  In 2016, the international family of companies united under one brand: STR.  As Director of Client Relationships, Sarah regularly attends and presents at hotel group and industry events.  She holds an Honours Degree in Translation from DCU.

Martin Mangan
General Manager, Carton House - A Fairmont Managed Hotel

Martin has 25 plus years of experience spread across Ireland, the UK and US working for a diverse array of brands and companies with an emphasis and focus on luxury from the largest and best known brands in the world such as Hilton, Conrad and Fairmont, to boutique luxury collections, PLC’s and independent full service and luxury properties.

Aiden Murphy
Partner - Corporate Finance and Restructuring, Crowe

Aiden is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience working in the area of business advisory and corporate finance. For the past 25 years Aiden has produced the Ireland and Northern Ireland Annual Hotel Industry Survey which is the key benchmark document for the industry in Ireland. The report highlights trends, financial and marketing results and emerging issues of the hotel industry and for the tourism industry in general.  Aiden has advised numerous business owners on acquisition and disposal planning including sale or acquisition of shares in hotel companies, value adding strategies through expansion of hotel activities, family company ownership transitions to the next generation, operational efficiencies and financial restructuring. He has extensive experience in strategic business reviews, business plan preparation and structured finance.

Padraig Sugrue
CEO, Hodson Bay Group

The Hodson Bay Group own and operate four 4* luxury hotels in Ireland with 750 bedrooms, including a Marriott “Sheraton” and Ireland’s first Hyatt International hotel. Employing over 750 people, the Group are currently planning a benchmark eco-tourism accommodation resort in a recently acquired 145 acre estate adjacent to the Hodson Bay Hotel on the shores of Lough Ree. A key emphasis will be allowing visitors to experience the environment and ecology of the resort in a natural state for a regenerative, educational slow tourism product in Irelands Hidden Heartlands. With a background in Accounting & Finance Padraig held a number of roles in various industries before joining the Hodson Bay Group initially as Financial Controller. With in excess of 25 years experience in the hospitality business Padraig has built up significant knowledge and experience in driving the culture and performance of the Group in leading the business to being one of the largest family owned and operated hospitality businesses in the country.

Patrick O'Donoghue
CEO, Gleneagle Group

Patrick is the Chief Executive Officer of The Gleneagle Group. Headquartered in Killarney, The Gleneagle Group represents a selection of Ireland’s best-known hotel, entertainment and conference destinations including The Gleneagle Hotel and Apartments, The  Gleneagle INEC Arena, Killarney Convention Centre, The Maritime Hotel and Hotel67. Patrick is also chair of the marketing and communications committee of the Kerry Tourism Federation. 

Michael Vaughan
Proprietor, Vaughan Lodge

Michael Vaughan is a fourth generation hotelier from Lahinch in County Clare. Married to Maria with two children, Daniel and Ciallann, the family own and run Vaughan Lodge Hotel, an independent 32 bedroom boutique style 4 star property in the village of Lahinch. Michael is a past President of the Irish Hotels Federation and a graduate of GMIT. Vaughan Lodge was purpose built in 2005 as a 22 bedroom traditional hotel. In 2019 a further 10 rooms were added. The journey to financial sustainability has not been easy and there have been many obstacles on the way. Success has ultimately been achieved. Michael shares his experiences in his forthright inimitable style. 

Zain Kajani
Director, JMK Group

Zain Kajani is a director of JMK. He joined the business in July 2021. Previously he worked at UBS and then EY having qualified as a chartered accountant. He heads up the acquisitions, development and commercial elements of the company. JMK is based in Dublin working alongside the leading global brands such as Hilton, Marriott & IHG. The hotels in the portfolio include Hampton By Hilton Dublin city centre, Holiday Inn express O'Connell street. The group has over 1,200 trading rooms with 700 further in the pipeline expanding across UK & Ireland.