Steve Young, CEO, ACi
Steve served 20 years in UK law enforcement investigating economic crime specialising in the pro-active investigation of Banking Fraud, Bribery & Corruption, Whistleblowing and Money Laundering. This was followed by 6 years at Citigroup Inc. as EMEA Regional Director of Investigations, and 8 years as Barclays Bank Plc, Global Head of Investigations for Investment Banking & Wealth Management. Currently Head of Fraud & Investigations in Group Compliance at Lombard Odier, based in Geneva. To date, 40 years of international economic crime experience in both a law enforcement and corporate environment.
John Walsh, ACi Country Head, Ireland
John Walsh is a seasoned investigations and security professional with over 30 years of experience spanning corporate security, fraud prevention, and law enforcement. Currently serving as Head of Investigations at eir, he manages fraud incidents, loss prevention, and high-profile investigations while implementing security programs and collaborating with regulatory bodies. His career includes key leadership roles as Operations Director at Global Risk Solutions, Senior Security Manager EMEA at Mylan Pharmaceutical, and management positions at G4S Secure Solutions, where he oversaw major security contracts for financial institutions and government bodies. Prior to his corporate career, John served 22 years in the Irish Defence Forces Military Police Corps, participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions and establishing law enforcement policies for the Irish Air Corps.
Joanelle O’Cleirigh, Partner, Arthur Cox
Joanelle is a Partner in the Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Investigations Group and co-leads the White Collar: Litigation and Investigations Group. With extensive experience in complex litigation, investigations, and inquiries, Joanelle has advised on Ireland’s most significant Tribunals of Inquiry and Commissions of Investigation. Her expertise also spans fraud and asset recovery, criminal and civil litigation, regulatory, and internal investigations. She works for a broad range of clients, particularly those in the healthcare, life sciences and regulated sectors. Joanelle is the Irish member of ICC Fraudnet, a founding member and Chapter Leader of the WWCDA Ireland Chapter, and Co-chair for the European and Latin American Regions (WWCDA). She serves on the Irish Government’s Advisory Council against Economic Crime and Corruption.
Attorney General of Ireland Rossa Fanning
Rossa Fanning was first appointed as Attorney General of Ireland on 17 December 2022, and was re-appointed to that position on 9 April 2024 and again on 23 January 2025. Prior to his appointment, he was a Senior Counsel at the Irish Bar with a varied caseload spanning commercial law, judicial review, defamation and privacy law. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1999 and became a Senior Counsel in 2016. He is a CEDR Accredited Mediator and was admitted to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2019. He was awarded BCL and LLM degrees from University College Dublin and holds an LLM from the University of Michigan.
Patrick Horan, Partner, Arthur Cox LLP
Marsha la-Pierre, Global Head of Ethics & Compliance, Centrica Energy
Sean Donaldson, Country and Events Manager, ACi
Sean is an innovative senior corporate security specialist with expertise in compliance, ethics, audit and investigations. He has over 15 years’ international experience spanning private and public sectors in multicultural environments. He safeguards corporate reputation, drawing on acquired business acumen and vast corporate security experience. He mitigates risk to organizational assets. He has significant experience in workplace investigations and fraud & corruption initiatives. He has deep expertise in conducting international investigations, including anti-counterfeiting cases. His earlier career was as an investigator and analyst in the US & Spain. He has a Masters degree in Law, and is qualified to advanced level in Investigations, Criminology, Security & Leadership. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor and experienced interviewer.
Jonny Davies, Investigations Senior Manager, Microsoft
Jonny is an investigator in Microsoft’s Business Conduct Investigations team for the EMEA region, based in the UK. After starting his career in various audit and technology risk roles at PwC, Jonny has spent over ten years in investigations, from public practice to his current, in-house role at Microsoft. Across these different roles, Jonny has investigated several high-profile cases involving bribery and corruption risks, fraud and allegations of misconduct in public office. Jonny also has a keen interest in emerging technologies and is a member of Microsoft’s global working group exploring the use of AI in investigations. Jonny is a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW.
Barry Robinson, Head of Forensic Services, BDO Ireland
Barry leads BDO’s Forensic Services team in Ireland and has specialised in the area of forensic accounting and investigations since 2001. He joined BDO in 2019 and is one of Ireland’s most experienced forensic accountants. He has worked on some of the most complex and high-profile forensic cases in Ireland. He has given evidence in Court and provided his expert opinions at mediations.
Jonathan Taylor, Lawyer, Whistleblower & INTERPOL Red Notice Survivor
Former corporate and in-house lawyer, FBI informant, key witness in Brazil’s notorious Carwash corruption mega-scandal, victim of a spurious Interpol Red Notice, and recipient of the 2021 Blueprint Prize for Whistleblowing. Jonathan has had an eventful decade since he first helped unearth evidence of multi-million-dollar corruption at his former employer, Dutch listed multinational SBM Offshore, in 2012. Jonathan offers a unique insight into corporate fraud, how not to manage a crisis, cross-border investigations, and the life changing risks that whistleblowers face when they dare expose the wrong-doing of the corporate and political elite. A leading whistleblower of the twenty-first century, Jonathan is a confident and engaging speaker who has a compelling, truth is stranger than fiction, story to tale. He is happy to talk about his personal experiences and but also offer a thorough understanding of corruption at the highest levels of international society and how the world is ill equipped for whistleblowers.
John Devitt, CEO, Transparency Ireland
John is an ethics and communications specialist by training. He holds a first-class Masters degree in Ethics from Dublin City University, is a graduate of European Studies at the University of Limerick and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and is a PhD candidate at the University of Galway where he is researching professional anti-corruption practice. John founded TI Ireland in 2004 and has led TI Ireland’s whistleblowing research and support programme since 2009. He is author or researcher on numerous reports and guidance on the topic of whistleblower protection, ethics and anti-corruption standards, and has advised the Irish Government, United Nations, Council of Europe, and European Commission amongst others on whistleblowing legislation and procedures.
Louise O’Byrne, Partner, Arthur Cox LLP
Louise is a Partner in the Employment Law Group. She has a broad practice covering all aspects of employment law, both contentious and non-contentious. Louise regularly advises employers on complex and often high-profile investigations. Louise is also on the Board and Nominations and Remuneration Committee of Barretstown and the Governance Committee of the Rotunda Hospital.
Jacqueline Ho, Employment Counsel, Eir
Jacqueline Ho is the Employment Counsel at eir which has an employee population of over 3300 across a diverse range of business areas. With more than 13 years of experience in employment law, Jacqueline provides strategic legal counsel on a range of workplace matters including dispute resolution and policy development. Jacqueline played a key role in drafting and updating the eir Speak Up policy as well as the Code of Ethics, promoting a transparent and accountable workplace culture. Jacqueline is a member of the eir ESG Committee and sits on the Governance sub-group. Jacqueline regularly advises HR and investigation teams on handing complaints, disclosures and investigation procedures to ensure compliance with legal standards and best practices.
Carol Ann Casey, Founder, CA Compliance
Carol Ann is an experienced HR Compliance & Governance Specialist with a proven track record in handling sensitive and contentious issues, as well as providing strategic insight as a Chartered Director. She is a proficient Independent Investigator with a longstanding successful record working on contentious issues within the wide-ranging employment and governance disciplines Carol Ann is a Statutory Independent Adjudicator providing independent determinations and external oversight of regulatory committees As a Chartered Director, she brings a wealth of expertise relating to people, governance, compliance, risk and strategic oversight.
Karen Trant, Director of Customer Policy and Protection, Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU)
Karen joined the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in 2006. Karen was appointed Director of Energy Networks and Legal in 2018 and more recently has been appointed as Director of Customer Policy & Protection a new division within the CRU. Karen has responsibility for Retail Markets, Active Customers & Clean Energy Package including Smart Metering. Karen also has responsibility for Customer Care, Compliance and Enforcement and remains Director of Legal which provides advice to the organisation on all legal matters. Karen is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast where she completed an LLB in Law and is a qualified solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland. Karen also holds an Advanced Diploma in Corporate, White Collar and Regulatory Crime (Kings Inns) and a Diploma in Regulatory Law and Practice (Law Society of Ireland).