After attaining her Bachelor of Commerce (International) degree from University College Dublin, Clare went on to work at Unilever and Boston Consulting Group before spending 10 years at eBay, latterly as VP UK / Greater Europe.

She was appointed CEO of Trainline in June 2014 and has since led a period of rapid growth and expansion across Europe and into Asia.  Trainline now partners with more than 200 train and coach companies, helping customers around world travel in and across 45 countries all in one simple app.  She has also led increased focus in mobile and AI innovation, strengthening Trainline’s data science team and investing in app features to make travel as easy and friction free as possible. 

Clare was ranked amongst ‘Europe’s Top 40 under 40’ leaders in 2012, and in 2018 she was highlighted as one of 50 inspiring women in tech shaping the future.   She is an active mentor in the tech and small business space, and a regular speaker in schools promoting the study of STEM subjects, especially amongst girls.

Clare is married and lives in London with her husband and 3 children.

Tara McCarthy is the Chief Executive of Bord Bia and brings with her over 20 years' experience in the wider food industry. She was previously Chief Executive for Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland's seafood development agency. She has operated in overseas markets such as Germany, France and Belgium for over 10 years. Tara holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with an MBS in Marketing from Smurfit Business School, and is an affiliate of IMD Business School, Switzerland.

Tara succeeded in delivering a number of instrumental initiatives for the Irish Food Industry under the 'Pathways for Growth' programme, working in entrepreneurship and talent development. She was previously Director of the Food and Beverages Division in Bord Bia, and has led a team of senior executives on the development of the seafood, dairy, prepared foods, alcohol and small business sectors.

Tara was awarded Fellowship of the Marketing Institute of Ireland in September 2018.

Laurence Crowley is Chairman of Ecocem Ltd and a director of The Middletown Centre for Autism, The Centre for Democracy and Peace Building and O’Flaherty Holdings.

He has been a director of Aer Lingus, Bord Gais Eireann, PJ Carroll, Rothmans International, Realex Payments and New Ireland Assurance.

Formerly, he was Partner in KPMG Stokes Kennedy Crowley for many years, specialising in corporate reconstruction and insolvency.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. In 2004, he was conferred with an honorary Doctorate in Laws by the National University of Ireland.

In 2009, he was awarded an Honorary CBE by Her Majesty The Queen.

Anna is a recent graduate from Commerce International with French. During her time in the Quinn School Anna was heavily involved in university life. She has a deep commitment to sustainable development and this shone through in her involvement in the UCD community.

She was involved in UCD Volunteers Overseas throughout her four-year programme, both as an officer on the student society committee and as a volunteer in Tanzania, training teachers in ICT skills. She was also involved in Enactus, the student social entrepreneurship initiative, and she was one of three UCD coordinators for the SUAS Educational Development NGO’s festival to raise awareness throughout campus of various global development issues.

She undertook a number of summer internships to pursue her interest in development, including in the Corporate Social Responsibility Department of Haiti’s leading telecommunications firm in Port-au-Prince, and in a social start-up focused on environmental sustainability in Brussels. She spent one year studying in Nantes and has used her French skills to work as a voluntary freelance translator for a number of NGOs.

Beyond her passion for development, Anna acted as peer mentor for incoming students to the Quinn School and represented her fellow French students on the Staff/Student Consultative Forum. As an Ad Astra academic scholar, she was a committee member for the Ad Astra Student Council and was appointed as a mentor for new entrants into the academy.

Anna is currently working as an intern in the Africa Regional Office of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), where she is supporting strategy development, data analysis and reporting. Her experience in Quinn prepared her for this opportunity to gain an insight into development work at a high level.

Before completing his MBA at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Karl graduated with a first-class honours degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from DCU. He went on to work as an engineer with Ryanair and Eirtech Aviation before realising a childhood dream of setting up his own business. Karl worked with over 1,000 clients on a one-to-one basis in his swimming business and also delivered presentations to approximately 10,000 adults in his consultancy role with the National Training Centre.

Having achieved his business goals, he decided to study a full time MBA in Ireland’s leading business school where he was awarded an Aspire Scholarship. Karl graduated with a first-class honours degree in 2018, finishing top of his class. He represented UCD in Yale, Singapore, Vietnam, Virginia and Iceland throughout his studies.

During Karl’s time in Smurfit, he engaged in a variety of extra-curricular activities from volunteering to take up the role of Fundraising Manager for the UCD MBA Rugby Club to acting as a class representative. He represented UCD on the world stage in Virginia where he was part of the men’s team that were crowned the 2018 MBA Rugby World Cup champions for the first time in five years.

Karl’s time in UCD was transformational, he discovered operations is where his strengths lie and is the link between his successful academic and professional career to date. Building on this knowledge he secured a role as Operations Manager with River Island, a leading high street fashion brand.  

Outside of work, Karl is passionate about travelling and has a keen interest in skiing. Karl married Eimear in Malta two and a half years ago and they are expecting their first child in March.