Judging Panel
An independent panel of recognised and expert judges, drawn from academia, business and broader related sectors will determine the winners of The Irish Sponsorship Awards.
Our focus is to deliver a balanced judging assessment from industry leaders who will bring their extensive knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to the judging process ensuring that the winning entries are truly outstanding and worthy of receiving a trophy.
The panel is carefully selected to ensure the Awards judging process is fair and objective. The judges are bound by a strict confidentiality agreement and are required to declare any conflict of interest in entries over which they deliberate, in which case that entry will be reallocated. The integrity of this process lies at the very heart of all that we do.
A comprehensive judging process has been put together to decide the worthy winners of The Irish Sponsorship Awards.
2022 Judging Panel
Gerard O’Neill
Chairman, Amárach Research (Judging Co-ordinator)
Gerard O’Neill is Chairman of Amárach Research. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and was previously Business Planning Manager in An Post.
Laura Condron
Communications & Strategy Manager, BMW Group Ireland
Having led all Communications, Events and Sponsorship activities for BMW and MINI brands in Ireland for the past seven years, Laura brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the Irish Sponsorship industry.
Conor Cullen
Partnerships Manager, Football Association of Ireland
Conor manages the FAI’s relationships with a portfolio of high-profile commercial partners and licensees, across a variety of sectors including insurance, alcohol, retail, and automotive, amongst others.
Karl Donnelly
Marketing Director, Bulmers Ireland (C&C Group)
Karl is currently the Marketing Director at Bulmers Ireland (C&C Group) and has a wealth of experience in senior marketing, commercial and leadership roles across a diverse range of sectors both domestically and international.
Jim Geraghty
Senior Brand Manager, Heineken Ireland
Jim has held various sponsorship roles on some of Irelands biggest brands and has recently moved on to the Islands Edge brand in Heineken
Alice Higgins
Creative Project Manager, News Ireland
Working across radio, digital and print, Alice was the Sponsorship and Marketing Manager at FM104 and Dublin’s Q102 before taking up her current role as Creative Project Manager with News ireland.
Grainne Humphreys
Festival Director, Dublin International Film Festival
Grainne Humphreys has worked in film programming for over twenty years. She is a Board Member of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris and has been Festival Director of the Dublin International Film Festival since 2007.
Karl Kavanagh
Head of Agency Sales Ireland, The Sunday Times & The Sun News UK and Ireland
After 20 years in Irish Media, publishing media specifically, Karl has seen many changes and advances in the use of Sponsorship across all of their platforms, products & events. He believes it is quickly becoming the most important part of the Marketing Mix and for him, the most exciting to be a part of.
Neil McKenna
Founder & CEO, KICK
Neil has been involved in the marketing industry in Dublin for nearly 30 years having founded promotions and events agency Inventive in the mid 1990's and then KICK, when he merged Inventive with another Dublin agency in 2008. He is currently the CEO of KICK.
Tomás Quinn
Commercial and Marketing Manager, Dublin GAA
Tomás has been the Commercial and Marketing Manager with Dublin GAA since January 2014.
Sian Redmond
Director of Marketing Partnerships, Live Nation Ireland
Sian has led the Marketing Partnerships team at Live Nation Ireland for the last 9 years, and is responsible for the sponsorship portfolios of Ireland’s largest live entertainment properties.
Dave Winterlich
Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Ireland
Dave has 20+ years advertising, media and sponsorship industry experience working with some of most respected and loved brands in Ireland and Globally across practically every category imaginable.