Helen Downes
Chief Executive, Shannon Chamber
Email: hdownes@shannonchamber.ie
Helen is responsible for the operational activities of the Chamber, working with the President and Board of Directors in developing the overall strategic plan of the Chamber and coordinating its implementation.
Alan Kelly
Shannon Chamber Skillnet Manager
Email: akelly@shannonchamber.ie
Alan manages all aspects of the Chamber’s Skillnet network, sourcing and delivering a suite of training programmes to enable member companies and their employees to acquire the skills to enhance their businesses and career development opportunities.
Fiona Gilchrist BSc, MSc, PhD
Chairperson of Shannon Chamber Skillnet Steering Committee
R&D Lead, Jaguar Land Rover Ireland (Services) Ltd.
Email: fgilchri@jaguarlandrover.com
Dr. Fiona Gilchrist – Research & Development Lead in Jaguar Land Rover’s R&D Software Engineering Centre in Shannon, Co. Clare. Fiona is part of the Operations team in Shannon. She has broad expertise within the pharma, medical device, software engineering & life science sectors. Fiona’s previous roles have included a combination of project management of key R&D projects at Universities in the UK and Ireland. A BSc in Biological Sciences, MSc in Environmental Biotechnology, PhD in Chemical Engineering and significant R&D and commercial experience in the development of point of care & genomic technologies within start-up companies. Valuable combination of academic, start-up commercial, business development, project management, training expertise, local and external outreach activities, mentorship and funding agency expertise.
Fiona is a key advocate of STEM, mentoring secondary school students and internship opportunities for both transition year and PhD students. She has also mentored numerous undergraduate and postgraduate students in her previous roles within Universities and Enterprise Ireland funded research centres. Within her current role in JLR she is actively involved in the internship of SFI Advance CRT PhD students and mentors them whilst they are in residence within JLR.
Dr. Wassim Derguech
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, FMCI
Email: info@futuremobilityireland.ie
Dr. Wassim Derguech is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of FMCI – Future Mobility Campus Ireland based in Shannon. FMCI is Ireland’s first testbed of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and Advanced Aerial Mobility. Prior to joining FMCI, Wassim was a product owner and agile delivery lead at Jaguar Land Rover Ireland where he was leading the SRE team responsible for the deployment solution of the cloud infrastructure for managing real-time vehicle data. Wassim worked as the technical manager at Derilinx, an SME that develops Open Data solutions for clients (such as the Irish Government, Central Statistics Office, the World Bank group and others) interested in publishing, linking, analysing and visualising their data using Linked Open Data principles.
Wassim is member of Robots, Cobots and Robotics Technical Committee TC49 of the National Standards Authority of Ireland. He also worked as a research scientist at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, National University of Ireland, Galway where got his PhD and worked as the technical lead and solution architect for various national and European projects.
Peter Murphy
Marketing, Business Development & CSR, Ei Electronics
Email: peter.murphy@eielectronics.com
A business graduate from University College Dublin and the Michael Smurfit School of Business (B Comm, MBA)
Peter has over 25 years’ experience with export-led Irish manufacturing companies, including Eurologic Systems, Glen Dimplex, Xtratherm and Ei Electronics.
He is responsible for Marketing and Business Development with Ei, and also closely involved with its CSR initiatives and Sustainability Implementation Team.
He is actively involved in regional initiatives such as the Mid-West Sustainability Network and Explore Engineering.
Edmund Jennings
Managing Director, CREGG Group
Email: edmund@cregg.ie
A microbiology and biochemistry graduate from the National University Galway (BSc, HDip in Ed, Dip QA.,) Edmund Jennings is managing director of the CREGG Group – a group of independent companies involved in automation, European sales, outsourcing, recruitment, and resources, that collectively trade under the Group banner.
Edmund was Chairman of Shannon Chamber Skillnet from September of 2015 to February 2019.
Maria Frost
Vice President, Human Resources, Engine Lease Finance
Email: maria.frost@elfc.com
A business degree graduate from the University of Limerick. Maria also holds a MSc in Human Resource Management and a Specialist Diploma in Aviation Leasing & Finance.
Maria is an experienced HR professional with broad experience within the Aviation Leasing and Semi – Conductor industry.
She currently manages the global HR function in ELF, with offices located in Shannon, London, Boston and Hong Kong.
Maria is a member of the CIPD, and the Chairperson of the ICBE Aviation Skillnet Steering Committee.
Lijana Kizaite
Events & Office Manager, Shannon Chamber
Email: lkizaite@shannonchamber.ie
Lijana provides administrative assistance to the CEO and for all Chamber activities including co-ordinating arrangements for Chamber events.
Lijana is the Network Administrator for Shannon Chamber skillnet.