Members of LEO Dublin City’s networks will come together for a festive evening of talks and networking in the beautiful setting of the House of Lords room.  The evening will start with a welcoming mulled wine reception.  The night will feature talks by Niamh Bushnell, Dublin Commissioner of Startups and Damien O’Brien, business advisor:

• The Role of the Dublin Commissioner of Startups

• Speaker:Niamh Bushnell, Dublin Commisioner of Startups

• Niamh Bushnell was recently appointed Dublin's first Commissioner for Startups, a role created as a result of the Activating Dublin report spearheaded by Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Dublin City Council. The position has been funded privately through the DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurs.  At the highest level, Niamh's mission as Commissioner is to develop a voice, an image and a platform for Dublin as a great startup city, nationally and internationally. She will work in conjunction with Dublin City Council, Enterprise Ireland, Dublin's universities and Local Enterprise Offices to promote and maximise the potential of the city's startup ecosystem.  Niamh is the co-founder of IDIRUS, a purpose-built peer to peer networking and mentor matching platform. Prior to her appointment as Startup Commissioner, Niamh was the Entrepreneur in Residence at Talent Tech Labs in New York City. She is also an angel investor and mentor at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York (ERANYC).

• Transform Your Business from just Good to Great!

• Speaker: Damien O’Brien, Managing Partner, SME Matters

• Damien is Managing Partner of SME Matters, a successful Consulting Business for SME’s.  He is also Managing Director of Market My Business, a specialist outsourced marketing department for SME’s and CEO of GD Leisure International Ltd.  Damien is the Programme Director for Plato’s Advance Programme and Guest Lecturer with several universities on SME topics including Smurfit Business School. He is a regular speaker to the Plato network on Sales Strategy