Judges

Jill Downey
Chief Sponsorship and Sustainability Officer, Core and Chair of the Judging Panel.
Jill leads the Sponsorship Practice in Core, working with brands and rights holders to maximise the potential in sponsorship and using more data to informed smarter decision making. Jill is involved in some of the most impactful sponsorships in the market including as Sky’s award-winning sponsorship of the Women’s and Men’s National Football Teams among others.
Jill is chair of the Commercial Committee of the Federation of Irish Sport and has been listed as one of the 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport for the past 7 years. Jill is a founding member of ESA Ireland and is Commercial Director for DLR Waves Football Club (Volunteer).

Rob Hartnett
Founder and CEO of Sport for Business.
Part publisher, networker, event manager and host, he has built it to a point where it has over 300 organisations as members and a monthly readership of over 50,000
He is Chair of the Dublin City Council Sport and Wellbeing Partnership, former chair of the Federation of Irish Sport Sport Industry Awards; he serves on the Gender Equality Commission of the Olympic Federation of Ireland and on the Board of Special Olympics Ireland. In 2024, he was given a Lifetime Contribution Award at the Irish Sponsorship Awards.

Elma Beirne
Associate Director, Talent Marketing & Representation of Wasserman Ireland.
Elma has a first-class honour in Rugby Management from UCD as well as degrees from WIT in Sport and Recreation. Elma has lectured in UCD on the Sports Strategy module of the Sports Management Degree over the past two years and is a regular guest lecturer for WIT, UCD and DCU in the undergraduate and postgraduate sports courses. Elma is also on the Board of the Federation of Irish Sport. Elma is no stranger to advising and mentoring having qualified as a Life, Business and Executive coach and is also an addiction coach.
Elma opened her own coaching practice in 2021 where she works with clients from Managing Directors to athletes on how to best achieve their goals and future ambitions.

Stephen Bradshaw
Head of Marketing, Close Brothers Motor Finance.
Stephen has supported governing bodies, rights holders, athletes and brands across the sports landscape, offering a grounded perspective shaped by leadership roles in both agencies and industry. He brings a thoughtful, collaborative approach to every project, with a strong belief in the power of sport to connect, inspire, and deliver results.

Maeve Buckley
Director of Leading Sport.
Maeve specialises in performance and grassroots sport and has worked with FIFA, UEFA, FIBA and the IRFU amongst others. Maeve is a previous Board Member of the Sport Ireland Campus and the Federation of Irish Sport and is regularly voted one of the Most Influential Women in Sport (sportforbusiness.com).
She previously worked in international marketing roles with Orange, Salvatore Ferragamo and Bord Bia, based in Amsterdam, Milan and Madrid. She holds an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and has a BA (Hons) degree from University College Cork, and speaks French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Shane Califf
Head of the Organisational Development & Change Unit at Sport Ireland.
Currently leading the Organisational Development & Change Unit, Shane supports Sport Ireland-funded bodies in the area of organisational development, learning and development and workforce strategy. Prior to this, Shane served as Director of Governing Bodies, overseeing major partnerships and funding relationships across the sector.
With deep expertise in public policy delivery, large-scale grant management, and governance, Shane holds a broad suite of professional qualifications in areas including Business Administration, Sports Law, Governance, Human Resources, Mediation, and Executive Coaching.

Brenda O Donnell
CEO in Active Disability Ireland.
Through her role Brenda aims to increase the profile of Active Disability Ireland, building on the strong foundations and its vital partnerships across the sport, disability, health and community sectors. She promises to continue the strong connections and relationships that have been established over the years with all of Active Disability Ireland’s funding and supporting partners. Working closely with all team members within Active Disability Ireland her role will focus on operational effectiveness aligned to the organisations strategy, continued leadership through example under good governance, continued Influencing and challenge of local and national policy and strengthened support of the creation of choice and opportunity through direct engagement with people with disabilities.

Ronan McCormack
Group Marketing Manager – Planning & Sponsorship | Marketing at Dalata Group Hotel.
has previously worked for HEINEKEN Ireland and Sony PlayStation. He has managed several high-profile sponsorships across various sports, working with leading organisations like EPCR, World Rugby, UEFA, and the GAA.

Catherine Tiernan
Commercial Director of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

Tom Fox
Co-Founder of 53Six.
Before 53Six, Tom led the sports and mobile verticals at Twitter for the UK and Ireland.

Geraldine McTavish
Disability in Sport lead at Sport Ireland.
Prior to this, McTavish served as Outdoor Recreation Manager at Sport Ireland, following a five-year tenure as Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Manager at the GAA. In that role, she led initiatives promoting inclusive participation in Gaelic Games family, including programs for individuals with disabilities, intercultural engagement, and LGBTQI+ inclusion. She was instrumental in expanding the GAA’s “GAA for All” initiatives, such as Wheelchair Hurling and Camogie, and the “All Stars” inclusive club program .
McTavish’s earlier career includes development roles with Special Olympics Ireland, Dublin Gaelic Football, and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. Her leadership in inclusive sport has been recognised with her inclusion in the Sport for Business “50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport” lists in both 2021 and 2022 .
In her current role, McTavish is tasked with implementing Sport Ireland’s disability inclusion strategy, collaborating with national governing bodies, local sports partnerships, and community stakeholders to foster a more accessible and equitable sporting environment for all.
