ESG Forum
2024

Aebhín Cawley is founder and CEO of Scott Cawley, a leading ecological consultancy advising organisations on how to protect and restore biodiversity. Scott Cawley provide expert but practical and hands on advice including undertaking surveys for habitats and species, preparing biodiversity management and action plans, undertaking biodiversity net gain assessments, and implementing habitat creation and restoration plans. Aebhín is an experienced ecologist, and practicing in Ireland for over 20 years, has been influential in the evolution of ecological survey and impact assessment practices in Ireland, through capacity-building work, including training at a central and local government level and preparing guidelines.

Erika Eliasson-Norris, CEO of Beyond Governance, has always worked in the ‘eye of the storm’. Her career has included navigating controversial board decisions, shareholder rebellions, a share price collapse to the brink of insolvency, high profile anti-management stakeholder protests, survival focused business division disposals, corporate manslaughter investigations, forced CEO and Chair removals, c-suite fraud investigations, FCA dawn raids, unexpected radio appearances, liquidation evading emergency finance and more.

These challenging and extensive experiences afforded Erika the top governance and legal position in a London based FTSE 250 organisation at the age of 32 – the youngest person in the industry to take on this c-suite level role.

This led Erika to start her own company and in 2019 she founded Beyond Governance Limited, a multi award-winning full-service consultancy. Beyond Governance collaborate with the c-suite, chairs, board, and investors to enhance stakeholder and shareholder confidence by unlocking value.

Her company has three distinct service offerings and are dedicated to addressing the most critical issues and opportunities facing its clients. Their strength lies in creating value that transcends traditional boundaries and connects the silo’d elements within organisations.

Since Beyond Governance was born, Erika has won many awards and accolades and in 2021 was appointed the Official Governance Assessor of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and in 2022 was awarded Governance Professional of The Year by The Chartered Governance Institute UK and Ireland.

Tomás Sercovich was appointed CEO of Business in the Community Ireland in 2018. Previously, he was with Spain’s largest sustainability network, Forética as Director of External Affairs, where he increased the international profile of the organisation and its external reputation and impact.

Between 2002 and 2012 he held several positions with Business in the Community Ireland, among them Manager of the Membership Services Team.

Tomás is a member of the Board of Young Social Innovators and IASIO, the Irish Association for Social Inclusion Opportunities. Tomás regularly sits on judging panels of sustainability and ESG awards and speaks at events.

Tomás holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universidad de Belgrano in Argentina and a master’s degree in International Relations and International Management from the Università di Bologna in Italy. He also holds a Certificate in Management from DIT.

Marion Jammet is Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) and Biodiversity Lead. She is currently focusing on the implementation of the “Building a Zero Carbon Ireland – A roadmap to decarbonise Ireland’s Built environment across its whole life cycle”. Marion’s working background is in stakeholder engagement, policy development and project management, with previous roles in Dublin Chamber, Eurochambres and the European Parliament. Marion holds a MA in European Affairs from Sciences-Po (France) and an MSc in environmental sustainability from University College Dublin.

Marcel Haag studied law at the universities of Freiburg, Bonn, Strasbourg and at the EUI in Florence and qualified as a judge in Düsseldorf. After a short stint in business, he joined the European Commission and worked in different Commission services. Until the summer of 2020 Mr Haag served as a Director for policy coordination in the Secretariat-General of the Commission. He is currently Director for Horizontal policies at the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

Dr. Geraldine Brennan, Head of Circular Economy at Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), drives CIRCULÉIRE - the National Platform for Circular Manufacturing, an industry-led partnership accelerating Ireland's circular economy. With a decade's expertise, Dr. Brennan specializes in shaping circular and sustainable business models, applying systems innovation to align with the zero-carbon circular economy transition. Holding a PhD in Strategic Management and an MSc in Environmental Technology (Business & Environment), both from Imperial College London, and a BA in Politics and Philosophy from the University College Dublin, she contributes to academia as an Honorary Fellow at CEEDR, Middlesex University Business School, and ESRC Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity. Dr. Brennan's influence extends as a Visiting Lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. Her leadership is affirmed by the international Green Talent Award from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in 2015, solidifying her status as a cross-disciplinary sustainable development leader.

Liam has worked in the field of sustainability for nearly twenty years across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He has a strong background in management systems and compliance and has developed and implemented sustainability strategies for a number of leading UK construction firms. Liam holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Management. He believes that SustainIQ has a mission to help organisations become more data-driven by uncovering the untapped intelligence that sits waiting to be found within any company. The software helps to harness business intelligence from sustainability performance to inform business strategy, helping companies become more transparent and encouraging better business.

Fiona has over 20 years’ experience working with clients to identify and manage their risks. She is a qualified IT and Internal Auditor and for over ten years, Fiona has used that experience to help clients focus on their ESG reporting, which includes both mandatory and voluntary disclosures. In particular, Fiona has recently worked with a number of large companies on their ESG disclosures for their upcoming annual reports, including those reporting under both EU Taxonomy and the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (or TCFD for short). Fiona is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and also holds a Masters in Sustainable Energy Finance.

Deirdre is a sustainable finance SME incorporating an industry background in financial services with knowledge, skills and qualifications in sustainable finance. Deirdre has held senior roles with AXA Insurance, NTMA and Bank of Ireland and has worked in asset management, sovereign wealth management, bond trading, bond issuance, treasury, product development and has managed global equity and fixed income portfolios. Deirdre holds a Master of Science in both Sustainable Energy Finance and also in Investment and Treasury.

Elaine O’Connor, Head of Sustainability at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland Elaine is responsible for the execution of the A Better Tomorrow sustainability strategy at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland. Elaine has more than 10 years experience working with some of the leading Irish and multinational companies supporting them to grow and innovate sustainably. Elaine has a BSc in Agricultural Science from University College Dublin and holds an MSC in Sustainable Business from the Smurfit Graduate Business School at University College Dublin in Ireland.

Ché McGann is Director of Responsible Business & ESG Reporting at Goodbody Clearstream. Clearstream is a leading corporate Climate, ESG and Sustainability services solution provider. Since it was founded in 2009, the team has advised hundreds of local and international customers to measure, implement and report best-in-class sustainable practice in their businesses, products, and supply chains. Goodbody, the leading financial services firm, has recently acquired a majority stake in Clearstream providing the team with additional support and financial insight. Ché provides guidance and advice to local and international clients from a wide range of sectors on their corporate sustainability strategies and their ESG reporting approach. She holds an MSc in Sustainable Development from TU Dublin and a degree in engineering from DCU. She also supports the CDP Ireland Network.

Rory Leahy was appointed Chief Risk and Safety Officer in February 2018 and is responsible for company safety policy and strategy, risk management, property and energy performance. Having started his career in Iarnród Éireann, Rory moved to Bus Éireann and has held a number of positions in business development, operations and regional general management. Rory is a graduate in Civil Engineering from UCD and holds an Environmental Management post-graduate diploma from TCD and a Masters degree in the Management of Operations from DCU. He also holds a Certificate of Professional Competence in Road Passenger Transport Operations Management (International).

Kevin O’Sullivan is Environment and Science Editor and lead journalist reporting on climate change with The Irish Times. He served as Editor of the paper from 2011 to 2017. He joined The Irish Times in 1997 as Environmental and Food Science Correspondent. In his current role, he has a particular interest in climate solutions (especially nature-based actions); sustainability (including the pursuit of the UN SDGs), renewable energy and restoring biodiversity.

Rob Cameron is Nestlé’s Global Head of ESG Engagement. He brings 25 years’ experience in the fields of sustainability and corporate responsibility.

Rob leads Nestlé’s ESG Engagement both internally and externally. He was closely involved in the development of Nestlé’s Net Zero Roadmap, represented Nestlé in the World Economic Forum Global Future Council and is Secretary to the Sustainability Committee of Nestlé’s Board of Directors.

Rob joined Nestlé in February 2020 from SustainAbility, the internationally respected think tank and consulting firm, now part of the ERM Group, where he was Chief Executive and Executive Director from 2012.

Prior to SustainAbility Rob was Chief Executive at Fairtrade International, the global umbrella organization for the Fairtrade movement and was previously owner and Executive Chairman of Flag, an international communications agency specializing in corporate responsibility.