Past Judges

Judged by the Industry's Elite: The Operational Excellence Awards Our esteemed panel of past judges is composed of renowned experts who have made significant contributions to operations and business. They come from diverse backgrounds in academia, business, and related sectors, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the judging process. Their involvement ensures that entries are evaluated by the highest standards of excellence, objectivity, and fairness. The calibre of our past judges is a testament to the rigorous and impartial nature of the awards.

Albert Aidoo-Anderson

Lecturer and Programme leader BSc Business with Supply Chain & Project Management, University of Salford

Jiju Antony

Professor of Operational Excellence, Newcastle Business School

Robert Burdock

Manufacturing Manager - Upstream & Downstream, IMIL - Ipsen Manufacturing Ireland Limited

Eric Clinton

Director DCU National Centre for Family Business, DCU

Brian Coll

Lecturer, Lean & Operational Excellence, Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Sligo

Nuala Culhane

Operational Excellence Delivery Manager, ESB

Paul Davis

Associate Professor, Dublin City University

Cormac Mac Donncha

Vice President, Thermo King Europe, Middle East & Africa

Pauline Found

Emeritus Professor, Lean Operations Management, University of Buckingham & Lecturer, Logistics and Operations Management, Cardiff University

Neil Gallagher

Director, NG OPEX Ltd.

Steve Giles

Head of Operations, Aurivo

Enda Giles

Head of Manufacturing, Dawn Farm Foods

Ian Gourlay

Founder, Business Process Solutions

Megan Gull

Managing Director, HSBC

Alison Beard-Gunter

Founder/MD, Liminai

Richard Hayes

Operational Excellence Director, Viatris

Prof. Graham Heaslip

Senior Economic Advisor, Invest Wexford

Shane Horgan

Continuous Improvement Specialist, Viatris

Danny Hughes

Head of Retail Operations, Eason Ltd

Miriam Keogh

Head of Supply Chain, Lean and Human Resources, Dawn Farm Foods Ltd

Alessandro Laureani

Lecturer, University of Buckingham

Deirdre Lennon

Fundraising & Corporate Affairs Manager, Cheshire Ireland

Gary Mander

Procurement Transformation - Senior Manager, EY

Olivia McDermott

Associate Professor, University of Galway

Jessica Minghinelli

Director, Partner Operations, Salesforce, Salesforce

Ed Murphy

Senior Economic Advisor, Invest Wexford

Michael O'Callaghan

Director, IPICS The Supply Chain Management Institute

Ann Marie O'Keeffe

Operational Excellence Specialist, Laya Healthcare

Seamus O'Reilly

Senior Lecturer, UCC

Dr Jonathan D Owens

Senior Lecturer & Young Enterprise Lead, University of Salford

James Pack

Director, JLL PAM Sustainable Operations, JLL

John Patsavellas

Senior Lecturer, Cranfield University

Michael Phelan

Head of Operations and Supply Chain Excellence, Tirlan

Patrick Quinn

Head of Operations, Cheshire Ireland

Nicholas Rich

Professor in Operations Management, Swansea University

Umair Tanveer

Senior Lecturer in Operations Management, University of Exeter

Olaf Turner

Head of Operational Excellence, Altro Ltd

Jelena Vlajic

Senior Lecturer in Supply Chains and Operations Management, Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast, Queen's University Belfast

Glen Winn

Director of Service Operations, Virgin Media Ireland Limited

Darren Woods

CEO, WD Excellence

Adrian Worsley

Operations Director, Zoom Media UK & EU