Inaugural Midlands Business Summit planned for TUS Athlone on May 15 next
Leading figures from the business world will come together for the inaugural Midlands Business Summit, on the TUS Athlone Campus on Friday May 15.
Under the theme ‘Leading Growth. Building Tomorrow’, the event will be hosted in the Mary Ward Science Building from 9.30am-12pm by the Faculty of Business and Hospitality in partnership with Athlone Chamber.
This flagship regional summit will bring together more than 100 members of the business community, including owners, entrepreneurs, managers and senior decision-makers from across the midlands and beyond.
The summit will explore how enterprises can navigate the intersection of leadership, growth and sustainability, with a focus on purpose-driven leadership, scaling for resilience and embedding sustainability into core business strategy.
Attendees will hear from leading industry figures alongside TUS academic experts, offering practical insight into organisational resilience, ethical leadership and the transition to a low-carbon economy, all grounded in the realities of the regional business environment.
Confirmed Speakers
Martin McVicar, CEO and co-founder, Combilift Ltd, a global engineering leader and former Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2001), will share insights on scaling a manufacturing business from Monaghan to more than 85 countries, sustained investment in research and development, and building a people-driven culture of innovation.
Aoife Beirne, global manufacturing leader with responsibility for 1,100 employees across Ireland, the Czech Republic, Mexico and the United States, and with more than 20 years’ experience and an MBA from UCD, will discuss embedding lean principles, leading transformation, and fostering a people-first culture that balances operational excellence with innovation.
John MacNamara, head of Corporate Sustainability at Bord na Móna, has a PhD in Chemistry and an LLB, andleads the organisation’s sustainability strategy, focusing on renewable energy, circular economy models and ecosystem services. He will address the practical realities of integrating ESG considerations and transitioning to a low-carbon future.
Seadna Ryan, dean of the Faculty of Business and Hospitality at TUS, said: “We are proud to launch this summit as a platform for meaningful engagement between academia and industry. By connecting research with real-world business challenges, we aim to support enterprises in growing sustainably and strategically.”
Tommy Hogan, CEO of Athlone Chamber, added: “This is a critical moment for local businesses. Bringing together more than100 members of our local business community to tackle leadership, resilience and sustainability is a major step forward for the midlands.”