President’s Annual Lunch

***This event is now SOLD OUT. Please contact emile@londonderrychamber.co.uk if you’d like to be added to the waiting list.***

We are thrilled to invite you to the President’s Annual Lunch 2025, hosted at the Ebrington Hotel.

Event Details:
Date: Thursday, 27th March 2025
Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Venue: Ebrington Hotel, Derry

The popular lunch time event is a celebration of business and leadership in the North West. An excellent networking opportunity, the President’s Annual Lunch attracts an audience of 200+ guests comprising leaders with an interest in the economic, political, educational, and social life of the region.

The lunch event will celebrate the theme “An Ambitious Region at Work” and feature a keynote speech from a senior figure in the NI Executive and is kindly sponsored by Ulster University.

Our MC Wendy Austin will lead a panel discussion featuring eminent speakers highlighting recent progress on City Deal, University growth and urban regeneration projects and the impacts these will have in stimulating our region’s economy. The panel will be made up of Professor Liam Maguire, Ulster University; John Kelpie, Chief Executive, DCSDC; and Steven Lindsay, Partner, Cavanagh Kelly. 

Professor Liam Maguire – Pro Vice-Chancellor Research | Ulster University.

Liam obtained MEng and PhD degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University, Belfast.  He joined Ulster University as a lecturer in 1994 and held Senior Lecturer and Reader positions before becoming a Professor of Computational Intelligence in 2007. Prior to being appointed Dean of the Faculty of Computing and Engineering in September 2014, Liam held several senior positions including Head of School and Director of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre.

His research interests focus on data analytics and machine learning with particular focus on bio-inspired approaches. Author of over 250 research papers, Liam has secured extensive research funding and supervised 20 PhD and 3 MPhil students to completion.

Liam is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a chartered engineer with an extensive network of colleagues in the digital and engineering sectors in Ireland.  Liam is the university representative on the Executive Boards of three of the City/Growth deals in Northern Ireland.  He is also a Director of IUL the wholly owned knowledge and technology venturing company of Ulster University, and Director of C-TRIC: the Clinical Translational Research & Innovation Centre in the NW of Northern Ireland.

John Kelpie – Chief Executive | Derry City & Strabane District Council

John Kelpie has been Chief Executive of the Derry City and Strabane District Council since April 2015. He initially led on the establishment of a new Council as a result of a programme of local government reform in Northern Ireland, with a new, larger geographical area and a range of additional powers, functions and responsibilities than its predecessor Councils. John designed an innovative, flexible and responsive staffing structure with a clear vision and purpose to develop a ‘thriving, prosperous and sustainable City and Region with equality of opportunity for all’.

John has led on international best practice examples of place-based leadership within the cross-border North West City Region and the establishment of inclusive, strategic growth partnerships and plans. Recently he also led a City Partnership in securing the largest ever government investment package into the City and Region with the circa £293m City Deal and Inclusive Future Fund to drive innovation and regeneration in Derry and Strabane.

A Derry native and family man, John enjoys hill walking when he manages to secure some free time.

Steven Lindsey – Partner | Cavanagh Kelly

Steven is a Partner with CavanaghKelly, Chartered Accountants where he leads the firm’s Governance, Risk and Consulting team providing a range of consulting and Internal Audit services to clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Steven qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988 and as a Chartered Internal Auditor in 2010 and has worked at a senior level in Health and Social Care in N. Ireland. In 1994 Steven joined the Western Health and Social Services Board (WHSSB) as Chief Internal Auditor.  Steven became Director of Finance and Information with the WHSSB and in 2000, Steven was appointed as Chief Executive of the WHSSB.

From 2006 – 2017, Steven was a partner with mid -tier accountancy practice, establishing and leading the firm’s Consultancy and Internal Audit division. Steven was Managing Partner of the firm from 2010- 2017.

Steven has a keen interest in leadership development and is an accredited associate executive coach with the Academy of Executive Coaching. He has provided coaching services to clients operating at Chief Executive, Director, and Manager level in the Public, Private and Community and Voluntary Sectors. He is an Associate with the HSC Leadership Centre and has developed and delivered modules on the Boardroom Apprentice programme since its inception in 2017.

He was a Trustee of Age NI from 2007 – 2017 and was a Trustee and Treasurer with Verbal Arts from 2015- 2024. Steven is currently, Vice President of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, a Board member with Inner City Trust Capital Projects, a Governor with Foyle College and a member of the Ulster University Magee Taskforce. Steven was High Sheriff of the City of Londonderry in 2011.