Category Archives: Net Visionary Awards 2010

The office is absolutely buzzing today. We’re excitedly preparing for this year’s IIA Annual Conference and Net Visionary Awards on May 20th. We have a great set of speakers confirmed for the Conference and voting is well underway in the Awards.

A brilliant and brand new addition to this year’s conference week is Digitise the Nation. We’re calling on everyone to be creative and use your expertise to bring everyone in Ireland online. Whether you’re  a web developer who wants to share their knowledge in a video podcast or a son who wants to introduce his mother to Skype; whether you’re an online entrepreneur who wants to tell other eager minds how to get started or an artist who wants to show people how you sell your work online. Get involved! Read more here or drop us an email with your ideas: info@iia.ie.

IIA Annual Conference Keynote Speakers

This year’s IIA Conference will have a dual focus: what’s good in 2010 and what’s possible for 2020. It will critically assess the next wave of opportunities for the industry, as well as more immediate benefits for businesses in terms of improving their processes, productivity and profitability.

The IIA is delighted to welcome Bill Liao and Anthony Whelan as keynote speakers, as well as our other great speakers, at the Annual IIA Conference on the theme of 2020 Vision.

Bill Liao is an Australian entrepreneur, business mentor, philanthropist, diplomat, author and speaker with a distinguished record in the areas of business, development and community activism, and the firm belief that enterprise and activism, conducted in a spirit of openness and fairness, hold the key to a better future for us all.

Bill acted as Director of Operations of telecommunications company Davnet, during which time the organisation achieved the fastest capital value growth in the history of the Australian Stock Exchange. He is a co-founder of XING, a pioneering social networking platform, and CEO of Finaxis AG, a privately held company in the financial services industry.

In December 2006, XING was one of the first Web 2.0 companies to go public. Subsequently, it has become one of the world’s most important business-to-business social networking portals. Bill remains a consultant to XING. He is also a mentor to entrepreneurs in the making, helping women and men from very diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds to achieve all they can in business, while espousing qualities of enterprise, fairness and ambition.

Anthony Whelan is the Chef de Cabinet to Vice President of the European Commission with responsibility for the Digital Agenda, NeelieKroes. From Scariff, Co Clare, Anthony studied law at Trinity College and later graduated with a masters degree from the University of Cambridge.

Anthony lectured in constitutional law at Trinity College, Dublin from 1991 to 1995. He was legal secretary in the cabinet of Advocate General Niall Fennelly at the European Court of Justice from 1995 to 2000. His major cases included the successful challenge by Germany to the Tobacco Advertising Directive.

He was a member of the Legal Service of the European Commission from 2000 to 2006 and became a member of the cabinet of the Dutch Commissioner for competition policy, Neelie Kroes in 2006. He had responsibility for merger policy, including the first Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus.

He was promoted to chef de cabinet to Kroes in 2008 and his current role includes taking the lead in preparing the European Digital Agenda, to promote an integrated ICT policy framework, addressing both supply and demand for digital services, products and contents, ensuring that Europe remains at the technological forefront in this area.

Maeve Kneafsey, Managing Director of Elucidate and IIA Chair, is widely regarded as Ireland’s leading expert in online business, web usage and strategy. She has worked with large corporations and government agencies on maximising the web to promote their services or products.

A Trinity college graduate, Maeve has, for the last 20 years worked with some of the world’s largest international communications companies in the US, UK and Ireland. Maeve has also worked with the majority of leading Irish media companies as CEO, Marketing Director and Commercial Director. She established Elucidate in 2003.

Clients that Maeve has worked with include Meteor, eircom Phonewatch, Tesco, the NITB,  An Post, Fáilte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the NSAI, Department of the Taoiseach (eCabinet), Department of Finance (etenders), the RPII (Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland) and the Arts Council. She is co-founder and director of the Ireland’s eGovernment Awards and Centre of Excellence.

Panelists and Speakers

New at this year’s conference, we will feature a ‘Questions & Answers’ style panel discussion to start the day – guaranteed to be lively, topical and sometimes controversal! Panellists include Bill Thompson, regular commentator on the UK Digital Agenda; Jim Power, economist; and John Kennedy, SiliconRepublic.com.

Bill Thompson is a well-known technology critic and commentator on digital culture. A pioneer of new media in the UK, Bill was Internet ambassador for PIPEX in the early 1990s and founded The Guardian’s New Media Lab in 1995, setting up and editing the first Guardian website.

He has worked as a freelance journalist, author, public speaker, web developer, consultant and policy advisor. He has a widely read weekly column, Billboard, on the BBC News website, and appears regularly as a studio expert on the BBC World Service’s ‘Digital Planet’.

Jim Power joined Friends First Group in 2000 as Chief Economist, having previously worked as Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland and Treasury Economist at AIB Group.

He lectures part-time on the Executive MBA programme at Dublin City University and is a member of the Waterford Institute of Technology Foundation Board. He is a board member of Agriaware, the food awareness body. In 2006 he was a member of the Failte Ireland taskforce on a strategy for tourism.

He is a frequent contributor to media on economic, financial and housing market issues, and writes extensively on these issues for various publications. Jim is chairman of Love Irish Food and has just published a book ‘Picking up the Pieces’, which plots the demise of the Irish economy and the measures that now need to be taken to get the economy growing again.

SiliconRepublic.com’s John Kennedy has been writing about IT since the mid-Nineties. He began his career with Computer Publications Group before spending four years at Business & Finance where he was Technology Editor. Kennedy joined Silicon Republic in 2002 to become the fulcrum of the company’s news service and is Editor of the weekly E-Thursday section in the Irish Independent as well as the Digital Ireland technology supplement in the Irish Independent.

He was recipient of the Irish Internet Association’s NetVisionary Technology Journalist Award 2005. He also commentates on digital issues for RTE Television, Radio 1, Today FM, 4FM and TV3.

Colm Grealy has 16 years’ experience at the forefront of the Internet and digital media industry. Colm joined Ireland On-Line (IOL) in 1994 and was managing director until it was acquired by An Post three years later. He remained at the helm until its acquisition by ESAT Telecom.

He went on to co-found DigiServe (a new media group that included Online.ie, IrishAbroad.com and EDO Software Services) and the Dublin Daily newspaper.

In recent years, among other projects, Colm has advised O2 Telefonica on mobile Internet, advertising and new business models for the mobile sector.

The Panel will be moderated by Journalist and Broadcaster, Karen Coleman.

Irish journalist Karen Coleman is one of Ireland’s finest broadcasters and commentators and one of our most experienced reporters of Irish and international affairs. An award-winning journalist, Karen broadcasts for both radio and television. She also writes regular articles for newspapers and magazines.

A former BBC war correspondent, Karen presents the Wide Angle radio show on Ireland’s talk radio station – Newstalk106-108 every Sunday morning. Described by the Irish Independent as “one of the finest shows on Irish radio” the Wide Angle’s lively mix of panel discussions, reports and interviews on Irish and International affairs makes it one of the most dynamic shows on Irish radio.

EARLY BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE – BOOK NOW!!!

Together with the popular Breakout Sessions and Web Strategy Clinics, you won’t want to miss the IIA Conference 2010. Book your tickets before Friday 23 April and get over 20% discount.

View the Full Programme and Book Online!

The Net Visionary Awards will also be held on 20 May following the Conference, judging is complete and voting is now open.