Community Connect: Northern Ireland (Sold out)

Sinead Fitzgerald

Executive Coach & Facilitator, Seachange Now

Sinéad's diverse background and extensive experience make her a valuable asset to any team or project. With her qualifications as a drama teacher, she injects energy and creativity into her work, bringing a unique perspective to processes and workshops.

Her 17 years of experience in teaching provide her with a deep understanding of learners' needs, allowing her to tailor her approach effectively.

In her interactions with clients across various sectors such as Education, Pharma, Finance, Technology, and the Food industry, Sinéad demonstrates her ability to bring clarity and understanding to complex issues. Her practical approach ensures that her training and interpretation sessions are not only engaging but also highly informative. Sinéad's commitment to excellence and her ability to adapt to different environments make her a powerhouse of activity in any setting. She is adept at facilitating productive workshops and processes, utilizing her flair for communication and her dedication to meeting clients' needs.

Overall, Sinéad's combination of skills, experience, and enthusiasm make her a valuable contributor to any team or project.

Laura Harper

Trading Director, Marks & Spencer

Laura Harper has worked in the Food Industry in Ireland for the last 15 years working with Retailers such as Aldi and most recently as Trading Director for the Island of Ireland for Marks and Spencer’s. Through that time she has worked with many suppliers from across the Island and continues to be a champion of supporting local. In 2018 she worked to set up Grow with Aldi- a small supplier development programme to help small suppliers integrate into large retailers.

Bev Mitchell

Chief Commercial Officer, Finnebrogue

Bev is Chief Commercial Officer at Finnebrogue, setting and shaping the long-term commercial direction of the business.

With over 30 years in the food industry, Bev brings extensive experience across production and commercial roles in manufacturing and retail.

Her career includes 21 years at Northern Foods, where she progressed to Commercial Director on the Ready Meals divisional board team. Bev then served as Managing Director at Iceland’s frozen production facility, overseeing the successful launch of the Slimming World frozen food range, before assuming the role of Frozen Trading Director at their Head Office.

Subsequently, she joined Morrisons Manufacturing, initially as Head of Operations for various factories and later as Head of Business Strategy and Improvement.

Prior to joining Finnebrogue, Bev was a freelance commercial consultant, leveraging her experience to support clients to create new opportunities in the food market.

Bev is also a trustee for a Liverpool-based charity, PSS, a social enterprise that supports adults who have learning or physical disabilities, or challenges with their mental health, and people in and around the criminal justice system.

Kirsty Wilkins

Chief People Officer, Pilgrim’s Europe

Kirsty Wilkins, Chief People Officer at Pilgrim’s Europe is responsible for the continued growth, development and safety of 20,000 people across the business.

Safety is a Condition of our business and Kirsty’s approach to ‘Go for Zero’ accidents is laser focused to keep people safe.  

Kirsty’s leadership, passion, creativity and imagination has helped create a leading employee engagement experience, ensuring Pilgrim’s Europe continues to attract and retain the very best talent. 

This experience is one with an absolute commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion that recognises team members for their milestones and achievements across Pilgrim’s Europe’s extensive range of meaningful development programmes.

Elaine Willis

M&S & Ocado Account Director , ABP Linden

Elaine is currently the M&S & Ocado Account Director in ABP Linden, part of the ABP Food Group, which supplies red meat products to major retailers and Food Service businesses.

Elaine Willis has over 25 years of experience in the Agri-Food Processing Industry. She graduated from Loughry College with a BSc Hons Degree in Food Science and Technology.

Her career so far has involved being the Retail Director where she had responsibility for two food processing sites; with a total of 400 employees.

The role encompassed everything from sales and marketing strategy for key retail customers to Operations, Technical, Health and Safety, Planning, Supply Chain and Purchasing, New Product Development and Innovation, People Management, Training and Development. She was also the Head of Innovation and Business Development at Linden Food Group.

With her background and passion for Agriculture, Elaine is currently a member of the CAFRE College Advisory Group (CAFRE CAG) and a Board Member of the Livestock & Meat Commission (LMC).