Catrin Elis is Visit Wales’ Content Editor, with responsibility over Visit Wales’ consumer content channels, including various social media platforms which have a total of over 1.8m followers, and web platforms attracting over 500k users per month. Catrin started her time at Visit Wales as Senior Campaigns Manager, and prior to joining Visit Wales worked as Head of Marketing and Audience Development for Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service. Before joining the Welsh Government Catrin was Cardiff Airport’s PR and marketing executive, delivering international marketing and PR campaigns for a range of airlines from across the world.

Nicola Halloran is a Director on the digital team at Teneo with vast knowledge and experience across the digital space, responsible for creating immersive digital campaigns which are strategy driven for her clients. Nicola’s core expertise lie in Digital and Social Strategy, Creative Development, Content Production and Media Planning. She is obsessed with keeping up to date with emerging features and trends across digital channels and bringing these insights into the strategies she is working on. Outside of her professional life Nicola is also a trained chef, who has amassed a large following on social media as The Wonky Spatula, publishing her 1st book in 2020 and developing a recipe app to further her reach her audience via digital solutions.

Arlene Finn is the Communications Officer in Galway City Council. Arlene’s background is in behaviour change, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement. Her previous roles include Smarter Travel Programme Coordinator, European Green Leaf Project Coordinator, and Environmental Awareness Officer. Arlene holds a BA in Communications, Diploma in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, and an MSc in Sustainable Development. Arlene’s interest in communications comes from a desire to communicate effectively about sustainable development, to bring about positive change in society.

Shane Foley is a Social Strategy Director in Core Performance with vast knowledge and a deep understanding of the social media landscape. Shane studies the diversifying social platforms and audience behaviours across an increasingly fragmented landscape. Shane’s core expertise lies in Digital and Social Strategy, paid social media planning/buying and social listening audits. Shane is a Core tutor and leads the development and delivery of a module on paid social media to practitioners from the industry, ranging from beginners to advance. Shane is on the IAB Council Member serving as Social Advisor on the board. Throughout Shane’s time in Core, the social media team have won consecutive Agency of the Year awards for four years+.

Louise Ryan will give an overview of SEAI’s social media strategy and will give insights into some of their recent campaigns, including the Winter Ready campaign. Social media is a key part of how SEAI connects and engages with communities, businesses and citizens to create a cleaner energy future for Ireland.

Mary Hayes is the Project Lead for Women’s Aid’s Too Into You campaign which aims to raise awareness of intimate relationship abuse against young women aged 18-25 in Ireland. Mary is responsible for supporting young people in learning about the signs of intimate relationship abuse and promoting awareness of supports available at TooIntoYou.ie She has a background in women’s health and mental health policy and advocacy, and has led on national campaigns on women’s and young women’s mental health. She completed her Masters in Equality Studies and holds a BA in Communication Studies.

Mary Hayes is the Project Lead for Women’s Aid’s Too Into You campaign which aims to raise awareness of intimate relationship abuse against young women aged 18-25 in Ireland. Mary is responsible for supporting young people in learning about the signs of intimate relationship abuse and promoting awareness of supports available at TooIntoYou.ie She has a background in women’s health and mental health policy and advocacy, and has led on national campaigns on women’s and young women’s mental health. She completed her Masters in Equality Studies and holds a BA in Communication Studies.

Hannah-Louise is Social Strategy Director at Core Performance. Hannah-Louise was prompted to move into advertising a decade ago having witnessed the impact of digital transformation on newsrooms in her former role as a Showbusiness Editor with the Irish Daily Mail. Since then, she has worked across creative, content, and digital teams to innovate and discover new ways of storytelling for brands. She is passionate about great editorial, brilliant social strategy and finding new innovative ways through comms to tell stories about great brands. In her time in Core, she has led campaigns that have scooped awards in the US Content Marketing Awards, the European Sponsorship Awards, the IAB MIXX Awards Europe, the Sockies, the Digital Media Awards and the Media Awards. In her free time, she writes about family, places she loves, and parenthood.

Niamh MacAuley, owner of Purple Dot Media, has over 9 years’ experience in the video marketing industry. Purple Dot Media produces promotional videos for all kinds of businesses including, the public sector, construction companies, retailers and banks. Niamh also teaches businesses, how to film and edit videos for social media, using only their smartphone.

With over a decade of experience in the food industry, Laura has collaborated with a diverse range of emerging and established brands in Ireland, Spain, North America, and beyond. A proud UCD Smurfit Masters graduate and Bord Bia Fellow, she currently works as Social Media Manager for Kerry, blending storytelling and insights to create engaging content for B2B audiences. Laura considers visiting supermarkets on holidays a cultural highlight and is a multi-hobbyist constantly debating which skill to become mediocre at next.

Darragh Doyle works with the Dublin City Council Culture Company as Head of Strategic Communications. Leading a team of communications coordinators and collaborating with artists, creatives, event makers and colleagues across Dublin City Council departments, he is responsible for the advocacy, media outreach and online platforms of a dynamic organisation that runs historic and cultural buildings and initiatives in Dublin. He is also a teacher in DCU’s School of Communications. Darragh has a long career working with charity, diaspora, entertainment, not-for-profit and tourism organisations. He is passionate about accessibility and literacy, about avoiding fauxtrage, about Ireland being a welcoming place, and about being a thoughtful dad and friend.

Lara leads the Promotions, Presentation, and Social Media team at Virgin Media Television. With five dynamic social areas focused on flagship shows, news, and sports, the team is committed to engaging audiences through compelling content. Prior to her current role she spent two decades as a voice-over artist. She has a deep passion for content and creative planning and aims to inspire those around her every day.

Scott Gault is the Social Media & Content Strategist for Aer Lingus. He is responsible for bringing the brand’s strategy to life on social. With a background in video production and a BSc in Business Studies, Scott leverages data to deliver a performance-driven social and content strategy. His experience includes working with prominent brands in Ireland, such as Jameson whiskey, where he was part of the Global Content Team. Scott is passionate about brand storytelling and maximizing engagement by creating content that resonates with audiences.

Steve is a social media innovator with a talent for creating culture-shaping work that transforms brands. With extensive experience in advertising, social media, content, PR, and influencer marketing, he was the founding partner at WPP's social creative agency. Over a decade, he delivered award-winning campaigns for Google, adidas, Sainsbury’s, Argos, and led the social activation of the Cannes Gold Cyber Lion-winning ‘Lexus Hoverboard’. At Stripe, he has integrated data, creativity, and influencer capabilities to craft compelling content for Etihad x Manchester City, Tefal, Financial Times Group, and Bath Rugby Club.

Orla Thornton is a trailblazing marketing leader with over 20+ years of leadership experience, including a decade on senior leadership teams. As Director of Marketing at TUS, Orla played a pivotal role on the executive team that merged two institutions to form Ireland's Technological University of the Shannon, which serves 16,000 students and 2,000+ staff. Renowned for her strategic vision, Orla spearheaded the creation and rollout of TUS’s groundbreaking brand identity, earning gold at the International Shark Awards. She also led a higher education institution to unprecedented success, securing The Sunday Times Institute of Technology of the Year title twice in three years. Breaking barriers as the first female executive team member in one of Ireland's leading higher education institutions, Orla sets new standards for innovation and excellence in the sector. Her expertise in brand transformation, strategic communications, and leadership positions her as a driving force shaping the future of higher education marketing.

Michael Ryan, Performance Marketing Manager for Very Ireland.
Very is Ireland’s leading online retailer helping customers to get more out of everyday. With up to 70,000 products online across 1,800 brands, Very is the online store for fashion, home & more. With over a decade experience working in paid social, across multiple industries, he will take us through proven strategies and insights for driving impactful results through effective paid social campaigns.

James Keep is Senior Social Media Data Analytics Manager at WWF UK. After several years working as a social media manager across a wide-range of sectors (including a football club, charities and a government department), James turned his passion for data analytics and social media into a brand new role, joining WWF UK to establish a Social Data Analytics Unit and help ensure a data driven approach to the content they produce and that insights and analytics guide everything they do. He supports several average/terrible football teams.