eHeat Ireland 2024 Conference Speakers
Alice Marren - Ahascragh Distillery
Bio to Follow
Anthony McGarry- Global Senior Energy Manager - Coca-Cola Ballina
Anthony McGarry, a distinguished Global Director of Energy Manager operating out of Coca-Cola's Ballina facility, with over 24 years of expertise in the energy sector. With an MSc in Energy Management from IT Sligo, where he graduated with first-class honours, Anthony is also a certified energy auditor with SEAI. His career journey includes roles as an electronics engineer in the computer manufacturing industry and as the owner of his own energy company. He has led energy business development for notable firms such as RPS and Aramark and has provided consultancy services for SEAI.
Since joining the Coca-Cola Ballina team in 2014, Anthony has been pivotal in driving the company's strategic initiative to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions for Scope 1 & 2 by 2030. Throughout his career, he has conducted over 650 energy audits across various sectors. He holds proficiency in ISO 50001, Monitoring & Targeting (M&T), energy efficiency, sustainability, and diverse renewable energy sources including biomethane, hydrogen, Wind and wave energy.
Anthony's skills encompass refrigeration, lighting, motive power, HVAC, boiler and steam system operations, tariff analysis, compressed air systems, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), wind, wave, and hydro energy. He is adept in Renewable Heat, Energy Management Systems (EMS), strategic energy procurement, and demand-side management (DSM).
Brian Kennedy - Group Energy and Engineering Data Manager - Dale Farm LTD.
Brian has over 25 years experience of working in the Food and Drinks Industry. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and has been employed for 12 years with Dale Farm as an Engineering Manager and more recently has moved to a Group Energy role. Previously he has worked in project management, production, engineering and Utilities Management roles within Diageo and Moy Park Ltd.
He will play a key role in the ongoing development and implementation of the Groups Sustainability strategy striving to achieve Net-zero.
Cera Slevin - CEO - Climate matters
Cera is an experienced engineer and company director with 25 years across energy and climate change; from design, construction, operations & maintenance, trading, project development to establishing joint ventures, new business models and investment management in Africa, Middle East, Australia and Europe. Cera is the Founder of Climate Matters Ltd to support companies in determining (1) the impact their business is having on the environment and (2) what climate change could do to their business.
Current products are:
# Green House Gas inventory or “carbon footprint” for businesses to ISO 14064-1
# 3rd party verification (Limited and Reasonable Assurance) for Greenhouse Gas inventories to ISO 14064-3
# Climate Risk and Vulnerability assessments to IS0 14090 to meet requirements of EU Taxonomy, CSRD, SFDR
# Scenario analysis across portfolios of assets to RCP 8.5 to assess physical climate risk
Climate Matters Ltd is also the Member State Facilitator for Ireland under the EU Mission on Climate Adaptation (Mission4Adapt).
Cera holds a BEng and PhD in Mechanical Engineering and is a Chartered Engineer (CEng). She also has Postgraduate Diplomas in Coastal Zone Management, Leadership & Management as well as Executive & Business Coaching and in 2022 completed Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Sustainability and Climate Risk exam.
Dr Damhnait Gleeson - Industrial Decarbonisation Programme Manager - SEAI
Dr Damhnait Gleeson is Programme Manager for Industry Decarbonisation for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. A geologist and planetary scientist by training, she spent a decade in American and European Space Agencies (NASA JPL in California and ESA ESAC in Madrid) exploring the potential habitability of extraterrestrial environments before turning her attention to preserving the habitability of our own planet. For the last 10 years she has worked in climate and energy research funding, regulation, and policy development across the Irish public sector (SFI, CRU, SEAI) on renewables, sustainable development, energy markets, district heating, and industry decarbonisation at scale.
Ian O’Hora Head of Sustainability, IDA Ireland
Ian is responsible for the design, development, and implementation of IDA Irelands foreign direct investment sustainability strategy, decarbonisation of FDI industry, and delivery of IDA Ireland’s Whitepaper on Enterprise goals, and National Climate Action Plan commitments.
Ian has significant international experience and has successfully led multiple teams in Ireland, New York, Dublin, London, and Frankfurt. Ian has a degree in political science from University College Dublin and a master’s in business administration from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business school.
James Macnaghten -
James Macnaghten founded Caldera with Guy Winstanley in 2017. James is an experienced CEO, entrepreneur, and Cambridge University trained engineer with 15 years’ experience in energy research and development and over 25 years’ experience in business. He built, and still owns, Cambridge’s largest tourist business and for 10 years was CEO of Isentropic, which developed a large-scale thermo-mechanical electricity storage system. He has been either co-inventor or sole inventor on a wide number of thermal energy storage patents and has 20+ patent families to his name. James is passionate about finding the right technological solutions for problems. He is also deeply committed to helping decarbonise our society and believes that many of the answers are already available. When time allows, James can be happily found cycling in the South Downs.
John Jephson - Project Executive -IDA Ireland
John is a member of the Sustainability team at IDA. In this role, John collaborates with many of the world’s leading companies to aid them with their sustainability agendas. His work primarily focuses on industrial decarbonisation, water stewardship, and the review of supply chains. A key goal is enabling Irish sites to become sustainable lighthouse operations for global companies. Additionally, John is involved in offshore wind policy to further enhance sustainable energy initiatives.
Keith Whiriskey - Senior Executive - Enterprise Ireland
Keith has fifteen years of experience in European climate policy, industrial decarbonisation, and the delivery of large low carbon projects. In 2022, Keith joined Enterprise Irelands Sustainability, Renewable Energy & Agritech department providing planning and investment supports to help business reduce emissions and increase competitiveness.
Martti Kukkola - Chief Business Officer - Oilon Industrial Heat Pumps
Experienced energy technology leader with over 15 years working experience in industrial heat pump and chiller business in Finland and internationally. Strongly involved in the development of new products and solutions, targeting customer satisfaction and organic business growth. Passionate about renewable energy technology with a systematic and ambitious approach to international business development.
Michael Phelan - CEO - GridBeyond
Michael has over 22 years management experience in sales, marketing and product development in electronic and software companies targeting the energy sector.
Prior to joining GridBeyond, Michael held positions at Philips, Microsol, PCAS and Duolog in automation and electronics. He was responsible for developing European, Asian and American markets and OEMs such as Invensys, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Alstom. In addition, he has facilitated several successful exits. Michael is a graduate of University College Dublin where he obtained an MBA in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
Michael Tracey - Head of Engineering - Irish Distillers
Michael Tracey is an experienced professional with a Master's degree in Engineering from Dublin City University. Since joining Irish Distillers in 1999 as Automation Manager, Michael has held a number of pivotal roles, including Head of Bottling Operations, General Manager of Planning, Purchasing & Inventory, and Head of Direct Procurement & Packaging Development. In 2020, he was appointed Head of Engineering, a role in which he continues to fulfil.
Michael is interested in sustainability and renewable energy, reflecting his commitment to environmentally responsible practices. He is currently a key member of the senior management team for the Midleton Distillery Expansion project, where he applies his expertise to deliver engineering compliance, drive innovation and operational efficiency.
Stefano Vittor - MD - Olvondo Technology
Selected accomplishments:
Tom Marren - CEO - Astatine Ltd
Over 30 years of international experience in the energy sector, developing large-scale projects and served as an advisor to top global corporations. Founded multiple successful energy efficiency and renewable businesses in Ireland, Australia, UK, and the Middle East. Expertise in solar, wind, BESS, industrial heat pumps, thermal storage, heat recovery, district heating, CHP, and gas turbines. Recognised industry leader and keynote speaker at major international energy conferences. Holds an engineering degree from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from University College Dublin.
