Meet Our Panellists for the ‘Making an Impact’ Event

The countdown is on for our upcoming sold-out event in partnership with CASSI, Taking place on Wednesday, November 15th, at Opium in Dublin. This event has been exclusively designed for CASSI Members, offering them a unique opportunity to connect, exchange experiences, and gain invaluable insights to supercharge their professional journeys.

Meet Our Panellists…

We’re delighted to introduce an exceptional lineup of speakers who will join our panel to share their expertise and wisdom on making an impact.

The panel will be led and hosted by Barden’s very own Aoibhín Byrne, Business Lead, and will feature:

Louise Kilpatrick Tallon, Head of Group Finance, Inizio

Louise is a highly accomplished Chartered Accountant with a distinguished career. Having completed her training contract with KPMG, Louise has spent over 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry, currently holding the position of Head of Group Finance at Inizio.

As a Transformation Leader, Louise has been at the forefront of adapting and evolving in a rapidly changing business landscape. Louise understands the intricacies of financial management and has the expertise to guide finance teams through pivotal moments, turning challenges into opportunities for growth. With a passion for managing and developing teams and individual talent, Louise believes in the power of continuous learning, growth, and the value of investing in people as the most significant asset of any organisation.

Fiona McShane, Finance Manager at AppleGreen

Originally from County Down, Fiona McShane spent five years in Dublin working for EY before traveling through Central/South America, and then moved to Sydney. Fiona’s career originally started in EY Financial Services but in Sydney she transitioned from practice to industry where she was Group Reporting Manager with an ASX listed tech and energy company for a few years.

Returning to Dublin after three years, Fiona joined the AppleGreen Group Finance team. Her role as Finance Manager means she leads in projects such as implementing a Group EPM system for improved reporting, managing group audits, acquisitions, and month-end processes.

Emma McEvoy, Chartered Accountant and Digital Creator

Emma is a Chartered Accountant who has worked an audit associate in a wide range of industries including hospitality, pharmaceutical, healthcare and education. Ranging between smaller private companies to large PLCs. Emma also acted as a senior associate in the audits of many companies in the real estate, healthcare and fuel industry.

Emma has built a significant online presence with a fashion blog boasting 145,000 Instagram followers and 100,000 TikTok followers. Notably, she achieved recognition as one of the top-selling Irish creators with Rewardstyle in 2020. Her influence extends to collaborations with major brands like Boohoo Group, Sprite, H&M, and TKMaxx, where she contributes to successful advertising campaigns.

Aoibhín Byrne | Business Lead | Barden Leinster

Aoibhín Byrne is a Business Lead at Barden, and an expert in tax, treasury and practice careers.

A proud Cork/Dublin woman she joined in October 2019. Aoibhín studied commerce with French in University College Cork (UCC). Before joining Barden she worked in KPMG.

Aoibhín is based in the Dublin office and works as part of the recently qualified team. In particular she works on recently qualified tax, audit, advisory and treasury careers. Her role involves bridging the gap between the clients and the candidate’s needs and ultimately matching the right person to the right role.

Elaine Brady | Managing Partner | Barden Leinster

Elaine Brady is Managing Partner of Barden Leinster. She holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and since graduation has worked nationally and internationally with some of the world’s leading recruitment companies. Throughout her career Elaine has specialised in accounting and tax talent advisory and recruitment, and is an expert in qualified accounting careers across practice and industry.

In 2014 Elaine founded Barden talent advisory & recruitment, with Ed Heffernan and since then it has grown organically into a thriving team of talent advisory & recruitment experts in Dublin and Cork. Barden was founded by people passionate about recruitment and its impact on people’s lives. We are a partner led talent advisory and recruitment firm consumed with supporting professionals on their chosen career journey. Our expertise covers accounting & tax, business support, financial services, legal, life sciences, supply chain and technology.

She is an active contributor and regular panellist on talent advisory, recruitment, accounting and tax, and diversity and inclusion, and advises Boards on how to build world class leadership teams. In 2021/2022 Elaine also completed the KPMG/Enterprise Ireland Going for Growth programme. Elaine has also recently been selected for the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women EMEIA Class of 2023.

About Barden & CASSI

The Barden and CASSI partnership strikes to the heart of what we are all about in Barden – knowledge and insights first, jobs second. By working directly with, and supporting, CAI and CASSI we are aiming to make a real difference in the lives of the accountants of tomorrow.

At Barden we invest our resources to bring you the very best insights on all things to do with your professional future. Got a topic you would like us to research? Got an insight you would like us to share with our audience? Drop us a note to hello@barden.ie and we will take it from there. Easy.