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With only one day to go until the event of the year for Chartered Accountants Ireland students, we’re delighted to share an insight into the speakers who will join us on the night.
The evening has been structured to ensure those attending get access to the right information, at the right time, so that when they qualify they can make the right, and best, decisions about their professional future. On the night we’ll hear from an expert panel of guest speakers including:
- Eoghan Huston ACA | CFO | Manna Drone Delivery
- Brendan Connor | Chair | CASSI & Risk Assurance Associate | PwC Ireland
- Niamh McCarthy ACA |Vice Chair | Chartered Accountants Ireland Young Professionals & Finance Business Partner | Primark
- Cian McKenna ACA/CTA | Tax Accountant | AXA Ireland
- Sarah Lynch | Financial Accountant | Ardagh Group
- Elaine Brady | Managing Partner | Barden Leinster
- Brian O’Connor ACA | Business Lead at Barden | Expert Recruiter in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers
Read on to find out more about each of the speakers…
Eoghan Huston ACA | CFO | Manna Drone Delivery
After completing a B.A. in Accounting and Finance and a subsequent Master’s in Accounting at Dublin City University (DCU) Eoghan then earned his accountancy qualification with PwC. This early exposure to the dynamic world of finance laid the foundation for a career characterised by an unwavering commitment to excellence and a discerning eye for strategic financial management.
Throughout his professional journey, Eoghan has held pivotal roles within several highly successful organisations headquartered in Ireland, including Bank of Ireland, ION Trading, Hostelworld, Applegreen, CarTrawler, and Manna Drone Delivery. These diverse experiences allowed him to refine his skills and cultivate a reputation for adeptly navigating companies through the intricate challenges associated with rapid growth phases, M&A, and transformational corporate transactions. Eoghan’s dynamic approach to financial stewardship consistently yielded impressive outcomes, positioning the organisations he served for sustainable success within ever-evolving market landscapes.
Notably, Eoghan’s collaboration with Manna Drone Delivery’s CEO and Founder, Bobby Healy, traces back to their tenure at CarTrawler, where Eoghan played a pivotal role in driving transformational change within the finance function and supported several complex corporate transactions.
Manna Drone Delivery is on a mission to make lightning-fast suburban deliveries affordable, green, and safe. Currently operating in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, Manna’s drones deliver everything from medicines and pharmaceutical goods to hot coffees and food to groceries, ice cream, and everything in between right into your garden…in less than three minutes! With zero CO2 emitted during flight, Manna’s drones are more sustainable, safer, and better for society as a whole compared to the road-based equivalent. As the only drone delivery company in the world ready to scale with sensible unit economics, Manna will begin operations in Blanchardstown later this year before expanding its service in 2024 with more locations in Ireland, as well as launching new operations in Europe and the USA and delivering to a total population of over 2 million people in the next couple of years!
Brendan Connor | Chair | CASSI & Risk Assurance Associate | PwC Ireland
Brendan Connor serves as the Chair of CASSI and holds the position of a third-year associate at PwC Ireland. He has found great satisfaction in contributing to the organization of student events this year and eagerly anticipates coordinating more engaging student activities in the months ahead.
Furthermore, Brendan has achieved several notable milestones, including the successful completion of his CAP2s earlier this year and currently works within PwC’s Risk Assurance team. He also attained his undergraduate degree in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Niamh McCarthy ACA |Vice Chair | Chartered Accountants Ireland Young Professionals & Finance Business Partner | Primark
Niamh qualified as a chartered accountant in 2013/14 and worked in Crowe Ireland in Dublin during her training contract, spending the majority of her time there working in Audit.
Niamh moved into financial services for a short period before eventually moving into industry.
She spent over 2 years on the west coast of USA before returning to Ireland and moving into her current role of Finance Business Partner in Primark.
Cian McKenna ACA/CTA | Tax Accountant | AXA Ireland
Cian McKenna works on the tax team for AXA Ireland where he specialises in corporation tax, international taxes, and group tax reporting. Prior to AXA, Cian worked on the Financial Services Tax Team in Deloitte for 5 years where he was a Tax Manager dealing with corporate tax compliance and consultancy on both domestic and international projects for aircraft leasing, fintech and insurance sectors. Cian is an Associate of the Chartered Accountants (ACA) and an Associate of the Irish Tax Institute (AITI).
Sarah Lynch | Financial Accountant | Ardagh Group
A graduate of the University of Limerick, majoring in Insurance and Risk Management, Sarah became a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland in May 2023, having completed her training contract with EY Dublin. Post contract, she has now undertaken a Financial Accountant position in the group finance function of Ardagh Group here in Dublin.
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 panelist on talent advisory, recruitment, accounting and tax, and diversity and inclusion, and advises Boards on how to build world class leadership teams.
Brian O’Connor ACA | Business Lead at Barden | Expert Recruiter in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers
Brian O’Connor is a Business Lead at Barden, and an expert in recently qualified accounting careers.
Brian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2017, completing his training with Deloitte. He is a graduate of UCD and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Commerce and a Master’s Degree in Accounting.
Following his training in Deloitte he spent some time travelling and working in Australia gaining experience within industry, working in financial accounting roles with Vocus Group Limited, Toll Group and Independent Cement & Lime Group.
Who is it for?
This event is for all CAI students, in particular those who have passed their FAEs this year & last year who are approaching the end of their training contract. It is also open to recently qualified accountants.
Key Event Details
- Date: Thursday 28th September 2023
- Time: 6pm-8pm
- Venue: Chartered Accountants House, 47-49 Pearse St, Dublin 2.
- Cost: Free of charge
- To Book: To book your place click here.