Maxine Radcliffe RN NP DTN MPH FRSPH is an experienced Nurse Practitioner and leader with over twenty years of experience of working with marginalised and excluded groups in diverse settings and teaching on crisis management in healthcare. She has extensive experience of clinical systems and workflow design for managing complexity at scale.  She has spent the last 5 years in designing and operationalising clinical workflows using digital tools under crisis conditions for the Irish Health system. Notably Covid care for Roma and Travellers and the Irish National Transit Centre Health response for Ukraine War and subsequently Inclusion Health Primary and Urgent care responses.

Maxine is currently a second stage PhD scholar at UCD (Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems: Understanding women’s experiences of homelessness) supervised by Assoc Prof Kate Frazer and Prof Thilo Kroll. Maxine is also a Research Associate at the IVI Maynooth University with Prof Martin Curley and where she is working on the application of digital health infrastructure as a clinical force multiplier.

Louise Nicholls is Vice President of Security and IT at Boku Inc. She earned a  B.Sc . in Information Systems from Trinity College Dublin and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Cybersecurity at University College Dublin. Over nearly three decades, Louise has led IT and cybersecurity initiatives across fintech, banking, animation, tech start-ups, publishing, media, and, most recently, alternative payment methods. She is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society and has been a judge for the Technology Excellence Awards for more than ten years.

With 33+ years across health, non-profits, and the private sector, Aislinn leads digital transformation across the UK and Ireland. She bridges clinical and digital, bringing practical insight into what works on the ground and how systems need to support it.

She’s held senior roles and her work spans digital mental health, long-term conditions, and large-scale system change across the NHS and HSE.  She has designed and implemented clinical pathways which are digitally enabled. She co-developed citizen first services, with government departments that go beyond healthcare, recognising people as whole individuals.

With two MScs in Digital Healthcare Transformation and Health Informatics, 20+ publications, and a 2024 Women in STEM Health Tech Award, she’s known for turning innovation into real-world impact.

A passionate advocate for women, she proudly serves on the board of Longford Women’s Link, championing leadership, safety, and opportunity.

As judge for the Public Service Digital Transformation Awards, she backs smart, practical projects that improve lives, not just big-budget tech

Brendan Ring, from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, is the Telecoms Attaché in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU. Prior to taking up this role, Brendan has worked in a number of government offices and departments, including the National Cyber Security Centre, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation where he worked on a number of public service reform projects in Shared Services, Public Procurement and Organisational Capability Reviews of Government Departments. A qualified barrister, he also holds relevant postgraduate qualifications in the areas of public management, innovation, digital policy and cybersecurity. ​

Lorraine Smyth is a distinguished leader in health technology and digital transformation, with over 23 years of experience in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Her career spans key roles across Digital Transformation, Procurement, and National HR, with a consistent focus on delivering impactful change in the healthcare sector. As a co-founder of the HSE Digital Academy and the HSE Digital Transformation Team, Lorraine has been instrumental in shaping national digital health strategy. She currently collaborates with multiple National Clinical Programmes, leading the redesign of care pathways to integrate digital technologies and e-enablers that place patient care at the centre of service delivery. Lorraine has led numerous high-impact national digital initiatives, including the award-winning COVID Patient Monitoring App, which also formed the basis of her MSc in Digital Transformation in Healthcare (University of Limerick). This project earned her the Best Student Project at the Irish Healthcare Awards in 2021. Her leadership and innovation have been widely recognised, receiving accolades such as: Digital Transformation Leader of the Year  and  Innovator of the Year  at the Women in IT Awards (2021) Women in STEM Award for Health Technology  (2023) Businesswoman of the Year – STEM , Network Ireland Wexford (2023) She has also been nominated for the  IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year – STEM Professional  (2025). In addition to her MSc, Lorraine holds a Professional Diploma in Human Rights and Equality. She is a board member of Amnesty International Ireland. Passionate about innovation with purpose, Lorraine champions a patient-centred approach to digital transformation—ensuring that every advancement serves to enhance the quality and equity of healthcare delivery.

Jakub Christoph is the CEPIS and ITPE Secretary General since September 2021. He coordinates the work of both organisations to promote IT professionalism by fostering professional standards and experience sharing among IT professionals; community.

He previously held the position of Regional Development Manager for Europe and MENA in ICDL Foundation. His role involved coordinating activities of ECDL/ ICDL Operators, advocacy for digital literacy and its certification in Europe and MENA region.

He is a passionate advocate of user digital skills and professional competence development. He was a member of ET2020 Working Group DELTA, which is European Commission platform to discuss digital competence in education.

Jakub also participates in works of EURid Strategic Committee. His professional interests include tackling digital social and gender gap as well as modern means of communication.

Cathal Lee is a Senior Advisor in Government Affairs, Strategy and Corporate Affairs. An experienced Board Member and Non Executive Director (INED), Cathal is an advisory council member of the Global Economic Summit, an advisory board member of Asia Matters and is a graduate of University College Dublin with an MA in History of International Relations and a BA in History and Politics. He is a graduate of the Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF) University and represented Ireland at the 9th Asia-Europe Young Leaders Symposium held in Beijing, China. Cathal has over 20 years’ industry experience in public affairs and corporate communications, having previously served as a political adviser in the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) and then managing public affairs for the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). Until 2019, he was Chief Executive Officer of LeeCommunications, a company he established to provide public affairs and corporate communications support to a large number of organisations and businesses. Most recently Cathal was Managing Partner with Instinctif Partners, the international business communications consultancy. Over the course of his career Cathal has advised businesses of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to high growth technology start-ups, as well as business associations, member organisations, non-governmental organisations and political leaders on public affairs strategies and corporate communications. Cathal co-founded EnergyCloud, a social enterprise founded to help divert surplus renewable energy to those in fuel poverty or at risk of fuel poverty. Cathal is a former Board Member of the National Youth Council of Ireland and previously represented Ireland as a member of the European Youth Parliament.

Allan Chapman is a leading figure in the technology communications sector, having established Comit Communications in 1997. Comit is Ireland’s specialist technology focused PR and digital communications agency. Allan’s strategic insights and innovative approaches have propelled more than 150 technology companies, ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to high-potential startups, towards significant growth. Allan’s passion lies in crafting unique and authentic brand identities for tech businesses, through clear, impactful communications that resonate with audiences.  His tenure as EMEA campaign manager for Oracle saw him managing substantial direct marketing campaigns across over thirty countries, where he pioneered some of the industry’s most cutting-edge digital campaigns. Allan also led marketing for Cornel and Software Dimensions, where he honed his skills in the communications and software export markets. His international experience includes positions in the UK and US, further broadening his global perspective. Allan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Marketing from the University of Limerick and has furthered his education with Postgraduate Diplomas in Marketing Strategy from the IMI and in Enterprise Development from the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Mary is an experienced ICT and business leader with a track record in education, certification, professional development and standards. She is the current Chair of CEN/TC 428 (ICT Professionalism and Digital Competences), and the former Secretary General of the Irish Computer Society (ICS), where she oversaw the ICT professionalism and digital inclusion policy and initiatives, running 8 national conferences annually. She initiated the Irish Digital Jobs and Skills Coalition, and managed the professional and advocacy activities of HISI (Healthcare Informatics Society of Ireland). She has extensive experience representing the IT profession in Ireland, Europe and globally, advising on European and national skills policy, standards, and professionalism with particular interest in eHealth. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education, and is an accredited company director (Institute of Directors (Ireland). She has worked on several national education initiatives, promoting ICT as a teaching and learning tool, as well as being a partner in numerous EU funded projects. She is a delegate to the NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) ICT SCC, and a director of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS).