Mentors - More Information

Ciaran is passionate about the transformative power of technology in education and how it can help children find the career of their dreams. He's a thought leader who is innovative and creative with 17 years extensive managerial experience. He has a track record of delivering operational excellence with an obsession on customer service and strong organic growth. As Founder of Child Paths, Ireland’s leading early years software, he is focused on delivering a customised solution which is the next generation digital platform to support early years services, schools, parents and children globally.

James Murray, a native of Cork, is currently principal of St. Kevin’s Boys’ School in Kilnamanagh, Tallaght. His previous teaching experience was in St. Mark’s Senior School in Springfield. He is a Graduate of St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra (1985) and he also undertook the Diploma in School Leadership in NUI, Maynooth. James spent a number of years working outside of teaching in the early 1990’s. He is a strong advocate of peer to peer support, greatly admires the work of the Centre for School Leadership based in Clare Education Centre, and both he and the school’s ISM team avail of Coaching provided by the CSL/DES partnership.

Karen has a strong career background in organisation development, management development and change management. She worked with Enterprise Ireland for 21 years in a number of corporate support and client-facing roles. She then worked for 20 years as an independent consultant to public, private and not-for-profit clients in Ireland, State trade development agencies in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and with multi-lateral development agencies such as the International Trade Centre in Geneva and the African Development Bank. Karen’s specialisation is helping organisations to develop and implement action plans to align management capability with business strategy. She is a qualified and experienced executive coach and mentor.

Kim is a creative advocate, an internationally recognised product designer and winner of multiple worldwide design awards. Kim is a firm believer in the power of creativity to effect positive change. As a former President and current Director of the Institute of Designers Ireland, she sat on the National Design Forum, a government-led initiative to drive Ireland’s innovative capability. She represents the IDI and The B!G Idea on the Expert Group for Future Skills Needs championing creative education. She won the Creative Industries Leader of the Year award at the Irish Women’s Awards 2019 for her work on two not-for-profit initiatives reaching international acclaim; WhyDesign and Mind Over Matter. She has been Design Track Captain for Start-up Week Dublin since its inception promoting the value of creativity to early-stage start-ups. Kim is the instigator, CEO and Creative Director of The BIG Idea, a creative awarding programme that empowers students across Ireland with creative skills for life.

https://thebigidea.ie

Managing Director Communications, Media and Technology Client Service Group

Accenture Ireland

Paula Neary is a managing director within Accenture’s Communications, Media and Technology Client Service Group in Ireland. Paula has extensive experience of leading the successful design and execution of large scale, complex business and Digital transformation programmes across a range of industries. Paula is a member of Accenture Ireland’s leadership team and is the MD sponsor for Accenture’s work in the area of promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) education and careers for Women. Paula is a board member of Junior Achievement Ireland and a member of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals Corporate Advisory Board. She is also a member of the steering committee for the 30% Club in Ireland and steering committee for CWIT (Connecting Women in Technology). Paula graduated from Dublin City University in 1995 with a first class honours degree in electronic engineering.