Tickets will cost €50, please register here.

Leslie Buckley is one of Ireland’s most successful business consultants having helped manage the start-up of Esat Telecom Group plc and Esat Digifone Limited. He held the position of Chief Operations Officer of Esat Telecom in 1996 and 1997.

Leslie established his own consultancy business in 1990 and has since been retained on key public and private sector projects, including the reconstruction of Waterford Crystal plc, the reconstruction and sale of Irish Steel plc, consulting work with Irish Rail and the restructuring of Aer Lingus, Ireland’s national airline.

Leslie is currently the Executive Chairman of Saon Group, one of the fastest growing online recruitment companies in the world, Vice Chairman of Digicel and a director and shareholder of a number of other Irish companies including Siteserv. In August 2012, he was appointed Chairman of IN&M, having previously served on the Board of the company from March 2009. He has also served on the Board of Aer Lingus from 2009 to 2012.

In January 2009, Leslie established Haven, a charitable foundation dedicated to building and up-grading houses for the poorest of the poor, initially in Haiti, though long-term partnership programmes with Communities and an annual Volunteer based “Build-It-Week”.

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John Hearne co-founded Cúram Software – then known as IT Design – in 1990 with CTO Ronan Rooney. Cúram was sold to IBM in December 2011. As the CEO of the company, Hearne is responsible for the overall strategic direction of Cúram, including the company’s worldwide sales, development and strategic alliance efforts as Cúram brings its Human and Social Services technology to agencies around the globe.

During his tenure at Cúram Software, Hearne has successfully overseen the company’s growth into one of the premier providers of Human and Social Services technology. Along with Rooney, Hearne’s vision has driven the development of a unique framework designed specifically to meet the needs of Human and Social Services agencies. His efforts have helped the global Human and Social Services sector become more efficient, effective, and technologically advanced.

Previously, Hearne held various positions at Apple Computer, including business development manager, national sales manager, and technical support manager. Prior to Apple Computer, Hearne worked as a systems engineer with Data General, as well as a programmer and technical support engineer for Northern Telecom.

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Professor Frances Ruane has been Director of the ESRI since December 2006. Her previous position was as Associate Professor in the Department of Economics in Trinity College Dublin, where she also held the posts of Director of the Policy Institute and Director of the MSc programme in Economic Policy Studies.

Earlier in her career, Professor Ruane held positions in the Industrial Development Authority, the Central Bank of Ireland and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.

Following her undergraduate studies in Economics, Politics and Statistics at University College Dublin, Frances Ruane studied at Nuffield College and was awarded the degrees of B.Phil. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. She is member of the Royal Irish Academy, the Council of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, the Council of Economic and Social Studies, and the editorial boards of the Journal of International and Economic Policy and the International Review of Economics and Finance. In April 2010 she was elected an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College Dublin.

In 2007 Professor Ruane was appointed a member of the Higher Education Authority and a member of the Health Research Board, and in 2009 she was appointed to the Commission of the National Pensions Reserve Fund. In July 2010 she became a member of the Economic Advisory Group in Northern Ireland and in October 2011 she was reappointed to the Council of Economic Advisors in Scotland. During 2009/2010 she chaired the Expert Group on Resource Allocation and Financing in the Health Sector, which reported in July 2010.

Frances Ruane was Chair of the National Statistics Board from 1996 to 2003 and represented Ireland on the European Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (CEIES) from 1998 to 2008. She has also served as a member on a number of Irish State Boards, including the National Board for Science and Technology, the Industrial Development Authority, Forfás and Bord Gáis Eireann. In addition, she has participated on numerous governmental advisory committees/groups, including Funding of Third Level Education, Tax & Social Welfare Reform, and Future Skills Needs.

Frances Ruane is currently a Research Associate of the Institute of International Integration Studies, and an Honorary Professor at the Department of Economics at Trinity College. She has published extensively, especially in the fields of international economic and industrial development. Her current research interests centre on exploring enterprise heterogeneity.

It was a great night with 70 People attending. John gave his views on the Irish Economy and answered Questions from the Audience.

A copy of his slides is available here.

John Teeling
Founder of Cooley Distillery &
Natural Resources Entrepreneur

John Teeling is be best known in Ireland as the Founder and Chairman of Cooley Distillery, however he also focuses on the Natural Resources sector, where over the years he has founded nine Stock Exchange listed companies. Cooley Distillery was recently sold to US drinks company Beam in a reported deal worth around $95m (€71m). Founded in 1987 and was the first rival to Pernod Ricard, the owner of Irish Distillers, who held a monopoly on Irish whiskey distilling. Cooley exports more than 90% of sales to over 40 countries. The Company’s best known brands are Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, Connemara and Greenore. Teeling’s interests are varied In the Resources sector and include African Diamonds, developing a diamond mine in Botswana. Pan Andean Resources operates in the US, Peru and Colombia. Petrel Resources has been active in Iraq for ten years. Connemara Mining has made a significant zinc discovery in Limerick. Persian Gold is exploring for gold and copper deposits in Iran. Teeling, who lectured in Business Administration at UCD for 20 years, holds degrees from UCD (B. Comm, M. Econ. Sc), Wharton Business School in Philadelphia (M.B.A.) and a doctorate from Harvard Business School.