Denyse Campbell

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.

Jonathan Healy

After graduating with a degree in law from University College Cork, Jonathan Healy worked in radio, television and online media for two decades. He has been a presenter with Newstalk 106-108fm and a senior correspondent with Sky News, with his work featuring prominently on both stations. 

Jonathan also has experience working with TV3, RTE, FM104, The Cork Independent and Cork’s 96fm. Having conducted thousands of interviews with people from all walks of Irish life, he is a skilled interviewer, event facilitator and engaging MC.

Deiric McCann

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – the EU division of a world-leading developer of emotional intelligence solutions. He has 20+ years of experience at the highest levels of management in multinational organisations, and a further decade of experience working with multinational clients worldwide, helping them to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagement of their teams. Having published several books that emphasise the critical role of engaging people to achieve business success, his particular expertise is in helping clients and partners implement EI-based solutions that deliver measurable Return-On-Investment; something he speaks on regularly around the world.  Deiric is also an accredited teacher of Google's Search Inside Yourself Mindful Leadership Program. Deiric is also a TED speaker - his talk on 'The Invisible Epidemic: Worry' has more than 1 Million views.

Jennifer Emerson

In her role as Midlands Park Hotel’s People & Culture Director, Jennifer has a passion for building strong teams and fostering high-performance cultures in the hospitality industry. With a number of years of experience in the hospitality, retail and airline industry, Jennifer has honed her skills in talent acquisition, leadership development, employee engagement, and culture-building. Her expertise lies in identifying and developing the potential of individuals and teams, building a strong sense of belonging, and driving business results through people-centric strategies. Driven by a deep passion for people and their potential, Jennifer is always putting employees at the heart of change. She understands that every employee has a unique set of skills, needs, and aspirations, and works to create an environment that empowers them to thrive. Her focus on creating a sense of community and shared purpose has resulted in higher employee engagement, retention, and overall job satisfaction.

Dervla O'Neill

A communications professional with over 25 years senior experience in sales and marketing and project management in tourism and education sectors. Masters graduate and life long learner with certified qualifications in IT, digital marketing, project management and learning and development. A track record of success in consistently achieving targets and forging relationships and business growth with stakeholders at all levels. An accomplished activator who drives award winning results with an innate ability to win people over. A ‘glass half full’ person with exceptional negotiation, presentation and networking skills, and proven ability to exude empathy, enthusiasm and resilience in challenging times.

Brigid Farrell

From helping companies to develop a company-wide language and communication strategy, to training in business English and cross-cultural communication, Brigid’s mission is to help companies and their teams be more productive and benefit from improved collaboration by reducing instances of miscommunication caused by language and cultural differences. Brigid founded AllTalk Training to help business leaders and professionals break down any language and cultural obstacles they may be faced with so that their voice is clear, confident, and respectful, paving the way for effective collaboration whether that be for internal teamwork or strong international business partnerships.

Dr. Eddie Murphy

Dr. Eddie Murphy is one Irelands leading clinical psychologists and Wellbeing advocates. As a trusted voice, he is the psychologist on RTE’s Operation Transformation where his practical, respectful and hope orientated approach has opened the hidden doors of the therapy room to the public at large. He is passionate about promoting wellbeing for children, adults, families, communities and organisations. He is an author of the best seller ‘Becoming Your Real Self – A Practical Toolkit To Manage Everyday Problems- Penguin Ireland. He is a regular contributor to radio, and is the Health & Wellness Columnist in the RTE GUIDE - Irelands largest selling magazine.

Kevin Empey

Kevin is the founder and Managing Director of WorkMatters, a leadership and organisation development firm focused on supporting business leaders, HR leaders and their employees thrive in the changing world of work. A leader in the areas of people strategy and leadership development for over 25 years, Kevin is also a qualified executive coach and a member of the associate faculty for the Irish Management Institute where he is the Programme Director of the their flagship Senior Executive Programme. Kevin is a chartered fellow of the CIPD, and an author and leading expert on organisational agility and the Future of work. Kevin is a former member of the Irish Government's Labour Market Council and was also the founder of Worklink, an award winning coaching and mentoring network set up to help unemployed jobseekers into full time employment.

Fania Stoney

Fania Stoney is the Business Development Strategist with Great Place to Work. She is an experienced B2B strategist, leader and founder. She works closely with organisations from a range of industries, maintaining collaborative relationships across multiple stakeholders to create Great Workplaces and high performing environments for employees. This involves analysis of data and the lived employee experience, benchmarking, and identifying current strengths and opportunities. Her passion is creating high performing work cultures where people thrive, and organisations sustainably deliver. She is talent obsessed, a culture branding strategist, and an advocate for female leadership. She has a specific expertise in organisational culture, practices and change. Most recently, this knowledge has been applied to the tourism and hospitality sector as she is leading the partnership with Failte Ireland in delivering their Employer Excellence Programme – a new three-year initiative shining a light on what is working well, driving positive cultural change and encouraging talent to choose Tourism and Hospitality as a place where they can build long lasting, fulfilling careers. 

Sharon Balmaine

Sharon Balmaine is Head of Tourism Careers having moved into the role this year from her role as Head of Human Resources in Fáilte Ireland.  Sharon has over 25 years experience working in both Operations and Human Resources and has driven and led many strategic initiatives in response to talent attraction and retention challenges in different sectors including leading a number of large scale international recruitment campaigns. Sharon has dedicated her career to creating positive and productive work environments, that prioritise employee wellbeing and growth, and has developed and implemented innovative training and development programmes that have helped employees at all levels reach their full potential whilst promoting a healthy work-life balance. As an experienced HR professional, Sharon knows that employee engagement is key to the success of any business and is excited to be working with the tourism and hospitality industry on the Employer Excellence Programme.  Businesses involved in the programme have access to the combined expertise of the teams at Great Place to Work and Fáilte Ireland and together are changing perceptions, driving performance and building sustainable careers.

Emer Corridan

A native of Navan, Co. Meath and a graduate of DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Emer trained in France, UK & Ireland throughout her college years. After a time in Dromoland Castle, she joined Medallion Hotels in the US. Coming back to Ireland she worked with Jurys in Cork and Cardiff before discovering the beauty of Co. Kerry. She worked various positions at the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney until 2016 when she took a GM position at Cahernane House Hotel. Emer is involved with the Kerry branch of the Irish Hotels Federation as well as being a member of IHF National Council. She is also on the board of the Kerry Tourism Industry Federation and is passionate about people – both employees and customers alike. 

Cleo McCormack

Cleo McCormack is the Head of Organisational Development at Version 1 and a Master Practitioner in workplace resilience and wellbeing. With qualifications in Executive Coaching, Organisational Development, Organisational Behaviour, and psychometric assessments, Cleo collaborates with TU Dublin on Leadership Programmes and has a proven track record in developing current and future leaders, helping them to achieve their full potential. Cleo is also a mindfulness practitioner who believes that mindfulness is a powerful tool for enhancing well-being and performance.