Who We Are

Company: FinTrU

President From 2023-2024

Greg is an Executive Director of FinTrU. FinTrU is a multi award winning Regtech company who specialise in working with global investment banks in the areas of Compliance, KYC, Legal, Risk and Controls and Operations.

Greg has over 25 years experience in the financial services industry, with a background in business banking, retail banking and global investment banking. He has worked across a number of  functions including compliance, financial crime risk, regulatory control and regulatory change management. Greg is a member of FinTrU’s senior leadership team and is head of FinTrU’s Derry / Londonderry office.  

Previously, Greg was head of Ulster Bank’s Financial Crime Risk team, heading up the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Bribery and Corruption functions. He holds a BSc in Psychology and MBA from Ulster University and an International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering. He is also a qualified Prince 2 project management practitioner. 

Company: Fleming Steel Limited

Started: 2016

Andrew joined the Board of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce in 2016 and draws on his experience within the transport sector, family business, and the sports sector.

Company: Cavanagh Kelly Accountants

Steven is a Partner with CavanaghKelly, Chartered Accountants and leads the firm’s governance, risk and consulting department.

Steven qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988. In 1994 Steven joined the Western Health and Social Services Board (WHSSB) as Chief Internal Auditor. He then became Director of Finance and Information, and in 2000 was appointed as WHSSB Chief Executive.

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

Steven is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, a qualified Executive coach and and holds a BSSc in Accounting and Economics. He was a Trustee of Age NI from 2007 – 2017, a member of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce from 2006 – 2016 and is currently a Trustee with Verbal Group and a Governor with Foyle College.

He rejoined the Chamber board on 1 January 2019.

Company: White Horse Hotel

President From 2022-2023

Having graduated from Cambridge University, Selina’s career started at The Times Newspaper where she worked in international sales including 6 months in Dubai setting up the UAE edition commercial operation, as well as a stint in the US to advise on the set up of the New York edition. She then worked at The Economist, setting up ‘The Ideas People’ digital advertising network across Europe. Selina’s business skills led her to launch a fashion business (The Season Hats) with her husband, designer Paul Stafford.

The Season Hats went on to show at London and Paris Fashion weeks, winning awards through Headonism and Newgen. Meanwhile, Selina has taken on the family business and is currently the Managing Director of the 4-star White Horse Hotel where she in undertaking a refurbishment of the hotel, already resulting in a new bar and restaurant, and the addition of Spa facilities.

As President of Junior Chamber International (JCI Derry) 2020, Selina won awards for Most Outstanding Local President, Extempore Champion and was a member of the Winning Debate Team. In 2021 she was awarded Most Outstanding Immediate Past President.

In 2021/22, Selina was Chair of The LegenDerry Food Network. She sits on the Hospitality and Tourism Skills ‘Attract’ committee, and is a Director of Les Foyer Des Artistes as part of her commitment to developing Tourism in Northern Ireland.

Company: Allstate NI

President From 2021-2022

Aidan is a Director in Allstate and will be leading the Allstate Business Line Enablement Technology group within Allstate Northern Ireland whilst continuing his Leadership role within Allstate Canada, where he currently holds the position of Director of Production Health.

Aidan, based in Allstate NI’s Derry office, is driving production support strategy and vision for Allstate, through his global organisation across 3 different timezone.  Since graduating from Queen’s University B.Eng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Aidan has worked in a number of global organisations including Ericsson, NEC, Answer Financial, Encompass Insurance and Allstate.

He has lived in global locations including around Europe, South America and Australia. He brings almost 25 years of Software Engineering experience to the role and has built out teams comprising of many different engineering disciplines, including Developers, BAs, Product Managers, Test Engineers and Infrastructure Engineers.

Company: Dawn McLaughlin & Co.

President From 2020-2021

Dawn is the principal of the progressive, award winning accountancy practice, Dawn McLaughlin & Co. She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, a Chartered Accountant and has a BSc (Hons) in Accounting and Economics. Dawn trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse where she managed the SME department in the North West branch before establishing her own practice.

For the past 34 years Dawn has specialised in advising locally owned and managed SME’s throughout the UK and Ireland. Dawn is currently Chair of the Chartered Accountants North West Network, she has been the Chair of the Institute of Management – NW Ulster Branch, a member of the Regional Board for Northern Ireland and also on the Member Services Committee of the Ulster Society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland as the NW representative and a member of the Board of the local leadership team of Business in the Community.

She was founder member of the Support My Business NI Initiative providing mentoring and workshops on a pro bono basis to Northern Ireland businesses.

Company: Danske Bank

Redmond is Regional Manager of Danske Bank in the North West. A former President of Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, as well as past President of Londonderry Junior Chamber.

A career banker, having joined the industry in 1986 and worked through most roles to his current position. Redmonds time in banking has allowed him to gain a wealth of experience across the banking sectors, including Branch Banking, Business and Corporate Banking, and Mortgage Services.

Having worked throughout Northern Ireland, Redmond is delighted to be now based in Derry-Londonderry. He has a keen interest in supporting the business community in the North West. Giving his experience on the boards of Noribic, Limavady College and NW Board of Young Enterprise. He has also been on the board of Foyle Foodbank and has worked to fund raise for Children In Crossfire.

Company: Ulster University

Started: 2022

Professor Malachy Ó Néill is Director of Regional Engagement at Ulster University.

Professor Malachy Ó Néill completed his BA and PhD at Ulster University and was Head of Irish in St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt before returning to the University in 2008 as Lecturer in Modern Irish. He was appointed as the inaugural Head of School of Irish Language and Literature in 2012. His research focuses on Irish language sources of the Ó Néill dynasty, pedagogical development in modern Irish, and Irish language theatre.

Company: Curtis Opticians

Paul is an optometrist and partner in Curtis Opticians.

He returned home in 1997, after training and working in London, and became a partner in the family business in 1999, the third generation to do so.

Curtis Opticians, based in Carlisle Road, is a multi-award winning independent opticians originally established in 1928 by Harold P Curtis.

Curtis Opticians provide eye care and optical services to all sectors from both sides of the border, including corporate, private, NHS, and the HSE in Donegal.

Company: Consult HR

Started: 2019

Julie Pollock owns Consult HR. After spending 12 years working for a large manufacturing company and heading up the HR Department, she was expecting baby number four and facing redundancy.

Shortly after this she launched Consult HR, specialising in helping managers and business owners with their staffing problems. The company is in their 10^th year of business and have a built a strong reputation based on client satisfaction, stopping clients making costly mistakes and providing instant solutions to staffing queries being our strengths.

Julie volunteers on a number of boards locally and just recently joined the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce Board.  She has a keen interest in the difficulties that employers are currently facing which are having a detrimental impact on their bottom line.

Company: Seagate Technology

Started: 2019

Damien is Executive Director of Engineering at the Seagate Technology facility in Derry.

He joined the company in 1994, and has held a number of positions in Process Engineering, Technology Transfer, Product Analysis and Six Sigma business improvement.

Since 2004 he has led the Process Engineering team of around 200 scientists, engineers and technicians engaged in product development and volume manufacturing of recording heads for computer hard drives. The Springtown facility is one of only five such sites in the world.

Damien is a native of this city, returning home when Seagate set up their facility in 1994.

He is a non-executive director of Irish Manufacturing Research, a cross-sector organisation supporting advanced manufacturing in Ireland. He is also currently a member of CBI Northern Ireland Regional Council.

Company: North West Regional College

Started: 2022

Leo Murphy is the Principal and Chief Executive of the North West Regional College (NWRC).

With almost 30 years’ experience in the further education sector. He was Head of Curriculum in Omagh College from 2000 and he took over the role of Deputy Director at the merged South West College based at the Fermanagh campus in 2008. He also has served on a number of public bodies and forums relevant to Education, Enterprise and Innovation.

In August 2014 he was appointed as Principal and Chief Executive of North West Regional College, one of the six Regional Colleges in Northern Ireland. The North West Regional College is the largest provider of education and training in the Sub Region.

As Chief Executive, Leo plays an active role in key City and Region Economic and Innovation Forums, in particular with the Regional Council, Ulster University, Invest NI, Londonderry Chamber, Letterkenny Institute of Technology and Donegal County Council through the North West Corridor.

Leo is currently on the Board of the Derry City and Strabane City Deal. He also represents the FE Sector on a number of forums including the NI Skills Council and Matrix Panel.

Company: McCambridge Duffy

Started: 2022

Company: Catalyst

Natasha, in her role as Innovation Lead at Catalyst, oversees Corporate Innovation within the Open Innovation team.  Her role places her at the forefront of innovation strategy and collaboration.  Natasha collaborates closely with organisations, helping them define their innovation objectives and subsequently developing and executing tailored strategies to realise these goals.  She focuses on three key areas: Corporate innovation Culture, Innovation Practice, and Innovation Strategy

Natasha is a graduate of Ulster University, holding a LLB with Law with Economics and an MSc in Communications Advertising and Public Relations.  Her professional journey has a strong commercial focus spanning across various sectors.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Natasha is deeply committed to the growth and economic development of the North West Region.  She champions collaboration and knowledge sharing as catalysts for progress and actively promotes partnerships among businesses, the public sector, and academia to drive collective advancement in the North West.

William McColgan and his sister own and operate McColgan’s Quality Foods, a 3rd generation family business in Strabane.

William started out in financial services, working as an actuarial consultant with Mercer in Dublin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Philadelphia. He has been a director at Liberty Mutual and Manulife, and grew an EdTech start-up spun out of Princeton University.

Clare is a dynamic CEO with over two decades of experience in innovation, mentoring, project management and funding and in particular across the tech and creative sectors.

As co-founder and CEO of AwakenHub/ AwakenAngels, she leads efforts to empower women entrepreneurs and investors to transform the startup landscape across Ireland. Clare’s strategic leadership extends to Innovate-NI, where she drives sustainability and entrepreneurship in local businesses.

Known for her strategic operational acumen and commitment to fostering entrepreneurial talent, Clare is a trusted advisor to startups and investors alike. She was recognised as ‘Northern Ireland Business Personality of the Year 2016,’ and continues to be a driving influence in shaping Ireland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.