Shannon Chamber is governed by a Board of Directors that meets monthly to consider policy and plan strategic direction. The role of President is rotated on a bi-annual basis.
Eoin Gavin
Managing Director, Eoin Gavin Transport
Email: eoin@eoingavintransport.com
Eoin is President of Shannon Chamber.
A native of Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, Eoin set up Eoin Gavin Transport in 1998. The company now exports/imports products for a wide range of customers/sectors to markets in Ireland, the UK, Europe and worldwide.
Eoin was President of the Irish Road Haulage Association for 2 terms (2011-2013 & 2013-2015). Prior to that, he served as Council member, branch chairman and national executive secretary. In his time as President, he served on two working groups of various departments: finance transport revenue and environment, established by the then Minister for Finance, which delivered a fuel rebate for the haulage industry and the complete overhaul of the road tax system for trucks, brining Irish hauliers’ cost base in line with the rest of Europe.
In 2015, Eoin worked with Limerick Co Co on an EU-funded project delivering a project for linking Foynes Limerick port to other strategic ports in Europe and creating credible trade routes between similar ports in Europe.
Mark Nolan
Managing Director, Dromoland Castle Hotel
Email: mark.nolan@dromoland.ie
Mark has served as Managing Director of Dromoland Castle since 1996, adding the post of Managing Director of The Dromoland Collection in 2009. He works closely with the balance of the seven-member Board to maintain Dromoland Castle’s sterling reputation as one of Europe’s finest resorts and, most recently, to welcome the Inn at Dromoland to The Dromoland Collection. A graduate of the GMIT, Mark also sits on the regional advisory board of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation; the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance and Clare Tourism Forum.
Mark is Vice President of Shannon Chamber and chairs the Chamber’s Transport Committee.
Helen Downes
Chief Executive, Shannon Chamber
Email: hdownes@shannonchamber.ie
Chief Executive of Shannon Chamber since 2008, Helen Downes has spearheaded many new Chamber initiatives to promote and encourage business growth and economic development in the Shannon area. These initiatives, which involve linkages with national and international business organisations in both the public and private sectors, have led to increased Chamber membership,.
Shannon Chamber currently has over 300 member companies drawn from a wide cross-section of business sectors that employ approximately 10,000 people in the Shannon hinterland. Helen is responsible for representing their interests to key influencers and stakeholders, achieved through voicing membership concerns on issues that affect or impede enterprise development at local, regional and national levels.
The Hospital, Co. Limerick native sits on the board of Chambers Ireland, is an active member of its Human Resources Policy Council, and a member of the Mid -West Action Plan for Jobs’ Implementation Committee
Prior to joining Shannon Chamber, Helen was HR Business Partner with Thomson Financial (Ireland) Ltd, where she managed day-to-day HR activities, including Health & Safety regulations, across multiple sites.
Kevin Thompstone
Managing Director, the Thompstone Group
Email: kevin@thompstonegroup.com
Kevin is ex officio President of Shannon Chamber, and also chairs the Chamber’s CEO Forum.
An experienced economic development practitioner and consultant, Kevin has successfully conducted assignments in Armenia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Jordan, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Uganda and the UAE. He served as CEO of Shannon Development from 2000 to 2008, where he worked for 23 years and served in key senior management roles. He has recently been advising government, investment agency and commercial clients on business park, technocity and special economic zone projects in Armenia, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
Ian Barrett
Managing Director, Care About You Ltd.
Email: ianb@cregg.ie
An accountant by profession Ian is currently Managing Director of Care About You Ltd, which is part of the Irish-owned Cregg Group which has offices in Shannon, Athlone, Galway and Cork: he was previously Managing Director of Resilience Health which was part of the TTM Healthcare Group of which he was previously Group Finance Director.. Prior to joining TTM Healthcare, Ian held Head of Finance roles with major multinational organisations (Alcoa, Samsung and Avocent); senior operational roles with Avocent (Head of International Operations) and Affinion International (Chief Operations Officer).
Ian’s familiarity with both large-scale multinational and medium-sized Irish organisations provides a valuable insights for Shannon Chamber Members – be it the challenges they face or the opportunities available to them.
Ian has been a director of Shannon Chamber for over 10 years and has been responsible for developing the Chamber’s pre- budget submissions to Government. Ian is also a past President of the Chamber.
Vivian Farrell
CEO, Modular Automation
Email: vivian.farrell@modularauto.ie
Vivian is the CEO of Modular Automation, an international leader in the delivery of advanced industrial automation solutions for highly regulated Blue Chip MedTech manufacturers. Vivian has a track record in Marketing and Customer Experience Leadership in the commercial, property and telecommunications industries.
Siobhan Roche
General Manager, PTG (Precision Tool Group)
Email: sroche@ptgtools.com
Siobhan is the General Manager of PTG (Precision Tool Group), a worldwide group of companies owned by Precision Castparts (PCC), a US aerospace manufacturing company. She is based in SPS International that has been manufacturing in the Shannon Industrial Estate for 60 years.
A Wexford native and graduate of the University of Limerick with a BBS in Finance/IT, Siobhan trained with KPMG Dublin and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Chartered Tax Advisor and studied advance Leadership programme at Ross School of Business in the University of Michigan. Prior to joining PCC, Siobhan worked in a variety of senior management positions with several US Multinational manufacturing companies including Cabletron Systems, Flextronics and Fulflex International.
Edmund Jennings
Managing Director, CREGG Group
Email: edmund@cregg.ie
A microbiology and biochemistry graduate from the National University Galway (BSc, HDip in Ed, Dip QA.,) Edmund Jennings is managing director of the CREGG Group – a group of independent companies involved in automation, European sales, outsourcing, recruitment, and resources, that collectively trade under the Group banner.
A director of Shannon Chamber of Commerce, Shannon Foynes Port Authority, and Western Business Park, Shannon, Edmund’s non-business interests extend to active involvement in party politics, volunteer work with community development and sporting organizations.
Órlaith Borthwick
Manager, Careers and Employability Service, TUS
Email: Orlaith.Borthwick@tus.ie
Órlaith is currently manager of the Careers and Employability Service at Technological University of Shannon. She previously led Ireland’s most successful Regional Enterprise Plan and Action Plan for Jobs in the Mid-West Region on behalf of the Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation, working across the local authorities of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary. Other roles held include the Mid-West Regional Skills Forum Manager for the Department of Education & Skills. Órlaith has a background in Economics, Public Affairs and Financial Services before she moved into Economics, Public Affairs. Órlaith holds a Ph.D. Economics.
Claude Costelloe
Director of manufacturing Operations & Supply Chain
Email: claude.costelloe@dmireland.org
Claude is the Director of Operations and Supply Chain at ‘Digital Manufacturing Ireland’.
An Industry-led organisation – Digital Manufacturing Ireland is part of a Government strategic initiative, which will support Irish-based manufacturers to adopt and deploy new technologies to improve their competitiveness.
Claude has over 25 years’ experience in operations leadership roles in the MedTech sector, and prior to joining DMI he was Site Director at Zimmer Biomet with responsibility for both its Ireland manufacturing facilities. An engineering graduate of the University of Limerick and a holder of a Black Belt in Lean, he is a strong advocate of continuous improvement as a key strategy to improve the competitiveness of any organisation. At Zimmer Biomet, Claude’s focus was on using continuous improvement as an enabler to improve all elements of the business around quality, delivery, lead time, and cost. A Limerick native, he is very keen to ensure that the Mid-West is a vibrant, growing ‘centre of excellence’ for continuous improvement enabled by the Mid-West Lean Network, as a means of sustaining and growing investment in the region.
Ray O’Driscoll
Chief Operating Officer (COO), Shannon Group Plc
Email: Ray.ODriscoll@shannongroup.ie
Ray O’Driscoll is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Shannon Group. Shannon Group was founded in 2014 and is the holding company of Shannon Airport Authority, Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage. Ray is a Board member and has overall responsibility for the operational and commercial performance of the three group companies.
Ray is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), holds an MBA from the University of Westminister, London, a Diploma in Strategy from Smurfit Business School and is a IOD Chartered Director (CDir). Prior to joining Shannon Group, Ray was Finance Director of Barry Group, one of Ireland’s largest wholesale and retail solutions providers. Previous to this, Ray was Chief Financial Officer of Eurologic Systems Ltd, one of Ireland most successful indigenous technology companies. Ray worked in London as Finance Manager for Marathon Oil (US Oil Inc) and trained as an Accountant with EY.
