David Monaghan brought strategic commercial expertise to judging panel at Irish Sponsorship Awards 2025

Looking back on last year's awards, David Monaghan, Managing Director of KICK, joined the judging panel at the Irish Sponsorship Awards 2025, bringing 20 years of experience helping brands achieve exponential growth and delivering commercial success.

As Managing Director of KICK, David brings strategic commercial leadership to brand partnerships and growth initiatives. His current focus on supporting brands and rightsholders positions him as a valuable evaluator of whether sponsorship entries demonstrate genuine commercial intent and measurable business value creation.

Prior to joining KICK, David spent 12 years leading the commercial division of News Ireland—a substantial tenure reflecting his capability to manage complex revenue strategies, navigate competitive media markets, and cultivate high-value partnerships within organisational leadership roles. His leadership of News Ireland's commercial division equipped him with understanding of how sponsorship and partnerships function within media business models.

His career journey from Associated Newspapers, where he served as head of commercial, to senior roles at Cadbury Ireland reflected progression across diverse commercial environments—from media, advertising, and marketing through to consumer brand leadership. This cross-sector experience positioned him to evaluate sponsorship entries with understanding of how partnership effectiveness varies across fundamentally different business contexts.

His notably senior role with Cadbury Ireland enhanced his industry knowledge of how FMCG brands leverage partnerships to drive consumer engagement, retail distribution, and commercial growth. His understanding of consumer brand dynamics positioned him to assess whether sponsorship entries demonstrated commercial sophistication and measurable business value.

David's 20-year track record of helping brands achieve exponential growth reflected his capability to identify partnership opportunities that deliver transformational business impact. His focus on delivering commercial success positioned him as a judge attuned to whether sponsorship entries demonstrated genuine commercial ambition and measurable performance delivery.

Such expertise equipped David with sophisticated understanding of how sponsorship strategy creates commercial value whilst enhancing brand positioning and measurable business growth. His insights contributed to the balanced and rigorous judging process that underpins the Awards, ensuring winners reflected true excellence in commercial execution, strategic partnership alignment, and measurable business impact.

With judges bound by strict confidentiality and guided by rigorous evaluation standards, the integrity and credibility of the process remained paramount.

For past winners, category details, and updates, visit the official Irish Sponsorship Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive insights and coverage from Ireland's sponsorship sector