Irish International Business Network

New York Board

NEW YORK BOARD	Company and position
Sean Gaffey, Chair	The Gaffey Mellody GroupMerrill Lynch – Senior Financial Advisor VP of Investments
Ailbhe Mullen, Vice Chair	Corcoran/Senior Sale Associate
Marie Claire Hoey, Executive Assistant to Chair	VP, Consumer RetailEnterprise Ireland
Colman Lydon	Managing Director, Fonepool
Michael Brewster	Managing Director, Credit-Suisse
Mary McEvoy	Senior Industry Manager, Pepsi
Matt Dunn	Attorney Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP
Michael J Mellody	The Gaffey Mellody GroupMerrill Lynch Senior Vice President
Margaret Molloy	Velocidi Chief Marketing Officer
Martin Ryan (Exec Mentor Program)	MSD Capital, L.P Technology Infrastructure & Support Manager
Tracy Monaghan (Chair FLB)	Marketing Executive IDA
Damien DeSola	Principle DeSola Group
James Carey, Sponsor	Partner Grant Thornton
Sarah Anne Hughes, Sponsor	Associate Vice President Business DevelopmentInvest Northern Ireland/ UCD Alumni
Fionuala Pender	Executive Director IIBN
Sinead Crowley	Executive Director IIBN

Sean Gaffey, Chair IIBN New York

Sean Gaffey is a Senior Financial Advisor / Vice President of Investments within Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. At Merrill Lynch, Sean heads the Gaffey Mellody Group, a seasoned team of professionals that caters to the wealth management and financing needs of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, non-profit foundations and endowments. With his partner, Michael Mellody, Sean and his team are able to provide an extremely high level of service that gives clients the feel of working with a small boutique firm while providing a broad array of services offered through Bank of America Merrill Lynch. These services include, but are not limited to, portfolio management, retirement planning, trust and estate planning, credit and lending solutions, cash management, corporate benefits, etc. Sean and his team pride themselves in working to finance individuals hopes and aspirations.

Within the community, Sean has been an active member of the American-Ireland Fund and was one of the founding members of the Young Leaders. Sean was also one of the committee members who spear headed the Irish Executive Mentorship Program (IEMP), a joint initiative between IN-NYC and IIBN NY. He also serves of the President’s Business Council of the University of Scrantonand is a proud supporter of their alumni network. Currently Sean and his wife Allison reside in Rockville Centre, NY with their two sons Aiden and Liam.

Ailbhe Mullen, Vice Chair, IIBN New York

Ailbhe is a Senior Sales Executive with The Corcoran Group where she is currently a member of The Blumstein Team at the Village office. Ailbhe has established herself as a trusted advisor for all types of property transactions and built a large client base of buyers, sellers, investors, and renters from across the globe seeking to live or invest in New York. Prior to embarking on her real estate career Ailbhe worked at the Parker Meridien Hotel. At the Parker Meridian Ailbhe engaged in various roles within the Hotel, including, after several promotions, the role of assistant manager. Ailbhe was also honored as manager of the year in 1996. Later, as Director of Restaurants, Ailbhe was responsible for Norma’s Breakfast Restaurant, and the opening and ongoing management of the popular Burger Joint. Ailbhe was honored as one of the ‘Top 40 under 40 Irish/Irish American ′ by the Irish Echo. Ailbhe has a Master’s de gree in Hotel & Hospitality Management from Colchester University in England and a diploma in Human Resources Management from New York University.

Colman Lydon

Colman Lydon, Managing Director, Fonepool Inc

Colman is a successful entrepreneur. He is responsible for several start-ups encompassing telecoms, travel & technology. He sold his first business, an international telecoms company, in 2012 and remains active in the start-up space. Colman served as Chairman of IIBN NY 2011 – ’12, overseeing a period of prolific growth and establishing a sustainable framework for the future of the chapter.

Mary McEvoy, Director, Global Procurement, PepsiCo

Mary McEvoy is Director, Global Procurement, PepsiCo located in Westchester, NY where she has manages the negotiation and purchase of plastic bottle packaging for PepsiCo’s food and beverage operations in North America. She has been with PepsiCo for over 15 years in a variety of roles, from R&D to procurement.

A native of Kilkenny and a very proud Cat, Mary received a B.Sc. in Applied Physics and Chemistry from Trinity College,Dublin. She has resided in the New York area for 18 years and still can’t fathom the appeal of baseball despite living in a two team city. She is actively involved in community and GAA organizations and is an advisory board member with Self Help Africa In 2009, Mary was honored by the Irish Voice as one of the “Top 50 Influential Women in Irish America”.

Mike Brewster

Michael joined Credit Suisse Private Banking USA as a Managing Director in 2008. He invests money for high net worth individuals in three portfolios that he and his team run at Credit Suisse. He has spent 21 years on Wall Street; 16 at Lehman Brothers. Michael was recognized in 2010-2012 as one of Barron’s Top 1,000 Advisors. His career began at Casino Credit at Trump Castle Hotel Casino, having graduated from Athlone IT and Thomas Edison State College. Michael also serves on the boards of Enterprise Ireland Financial Services, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) and Haven USA.

Margaret Molloy

Margaret Molloy, Chief Marketing Officer, VelocidiA native of Ireland, Margaret Molloy is Chief Marketing Officer at the digital marketing agency, Velocidi. She was previously SVP Marketing at Gerson Lehrman Group and held leadership positions at Siebel Systems. In the 1990s Margaret served as VP of Marketing at Telecom Ireland US Margaret is very prominent in social media community and has been listed among the top Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) on Twitter. She has been recognized by many organizations, including named as one of the “Most Influential US-Irish American Leaders” by Business & Finance magazine and “Top 100 Irish Americans in Business” by Irish America magazine.She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and BA from the University of Ulster and La Universidad de Valladolid (Spain). Follow her on Twitter @MargaretMolloy.

Sarah-Anne Hughes

Sarah-Anne Hughes is an Associate Vice President with Invest Northern Ireland. Based in New York she contributes to the Economic and Business Development of Northern Ireland. Before Invest Northern Ireland Sarah-Anne was a Marketing Manager for the Internet start-up Reflex-Stock. Prior to that she served as a Graduate Stockbroker and Business Analyst with Davy Stockbrokers and AIG Investments. Originally fromCounty Louth, Sarah-Anne holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin, a Masters in International Business and Finance from Michael Smurfit School of Business, a Diploma in Marketing and Digital Media from the Marketing Institute of Ireland and a Certificate in Project Management from New York University. Sarah-Anne is the New York Chapter for UCD Alumni, a member of the North American Advisory Board of GOAL and most recently was invited to join the New York Irish Consulate’s Mentorship Program. Sarah-Anne enjoys travelling, skiing, tennis and reading.

Marie Clare Hoey

Marie-Claire, originally from Co.Westmeath, has been living in New York since 2010. Marie-Claire currently manages the Consumer Retail sector for Enterprise Ireland North America, the Irish trade agency responsible for supporting Irish companies exporting abroad. In this role she is responsible for the development and promotion of indigenous Irish companies targeting the retail vertical across North America. Prior to joining Enterprise Ireland, Marie-Claire worked in the marketing/ecommerce department of Brazilian shoe brand, Melissa. She graduated with a B.A. in European Business and French, specializing in Marketing and Finance, with a year spent studying International Management at Reims Management School in France.

Damian DeSola

Damian is a partner at DeSola Group, a strategic consulting firm that advises executive management teams in the areas of brand strategy, market positioning and communications. Damian is a graduate of the University of Scranton with a B.A. in Communications and a concentration in English Literature and Philosophy.

Matt Dunn

Matthew Dunn is an attorney with the law firm of Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP in New York. He represents and advises clients in general commercial litigation matters, as well as in matters relating to breach of contract and commercial torts, employment and restrictive covenants, maritime, bankruptcy, eminent domain, and trusts and estates. He has represented clients in state and federal courts, in FINRA and international arbitrations, and in connection with government agency investigations. He has experience in all stages of litigation, and in trials, arbitrations, and mediations, and has extensive experience advising on electronic discovery issues. He was previously a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark. He also served four years on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

Mike Mellody

The Gaffey Mellody GroupMerrill Lynch Senior Vice President

Martin Ryan

Martin Ryan, from Dublin Ireland, is Head of Infrastructure Technology for MSD Capital, Michael Dell’s private investment firm based in New York City. Martin has been living and working in NYC since 2000. Martin will be heading up the IIBN side of the Irish Executive Mentorship Program in 2013, a co-created program between the IIBN and IN-NYC. The aim of the program is to harness the skills and insights of successful Senior Executives to help coach and develop the next generation of Irish and Irish American leaders across all industries.

James Carey

Jim is an Audit Partner and the Professional Standards Partner in the New York Downtown office. With over twenty years of experience, Jim has served clients in a broad spectrum of industries including financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. He has experience in providing audit services for both public and private companies, including companies pursuing initial public offerings and private placements. Jim also is the professional standards partner within the New York Downtown office and is responsible for monitoring the office’s system of quality control for the audit practice.

Fionuala Pender, Executive Director, IIBN
Prior to joining IIBN in September 2007, Fionuala was the Executive Director of the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE UK), a global not for profit networking organisation which spans 45 cities in 11 countries. Fionuala headed up two TiE offices in London and Manchester and worked closely with the Board to help drive strategy. During her 4 years with TiE, Fionuala delivered a technology focused tour in India which showcased over 100 technology start up companies in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. In the UK, Fionuala saw the group triple in membership and corporate sponsorship was gained from 4 key industry sectors. Fionuala also helped to build and deliver a mentoring programme to the growing membership who required business guidance and advice. Fionuala has also worked for Lehman Brothers Investment Bank within its IBD Technology division. Fionuala is a graduate from the London School of Economics, and her first job after graduating was for a London based charity which focused on alleviating poverty in the UK working closely with the European Union.

Sinead Crowley, Executive Director, IIBN

Sinead moved to the UK three years ago and now shares the Executive Director role at IIBN with Fionuala Pender.

Prior to moving Sinead worked as a Projects Manager with the South West Regional Authority in Ireland for almost 15 years on EU and Nationally funded programmes & projects related to regional and socio-economic development. Areas of expertise include strategic planning, socio-economic development, cross sector partnership development, innovation and knowledge based economy, collaborative environments, broadband and the information society, edemocracy, egovernment and distance learning at regional, national and pan-EU levels. Sinead is a Joint Honours Arts Graduate of UCC and Post Graduate Diploma in Law from College of Commerce Rathmines. When not working at IIBN Sinead helps with fundraising, events and strategic planning at UK registered Irish Charity icap.

Conor Foley, IIBN Founder

Conor has taken a temporary leave of absence from the Board of IIBN to focus on pressing business issues and we look forward to welcoming him back when these have been resolved.

Upcoming Events

28 Jun 2013

IIBN Dublin - Summer Drinks
The Marble Bar, The Westbury Hotel, Grafton Street, Dublin 2
01 Jul 2013

IIBN London Summer BBQ
The Bloomsbury Hotel, 22 Great Russell Street WC1B London United Kingdom
04 Jul 2013

IIBN Patron Event: Economic Business Overview with Denis Donovan
Bank of Ireland, Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London, EC4M 9BE
11 Sep 2013

IIBN Patron Event - IP Holdings Breakfast Seminar.
Arthur Cox, 12 Gough Square, London, EC4A 3DW
17 Sep 2013

IIBN London Social Media Panel Event
FTI Consulting 26 Southampton Buildings WC2A 1AH London