October 2026 Networking Event
Meet Three Award Winning Entrepreneurs
followed by Networking
Time and Date: Tuesday 6th October 2026 17.45-20.30
Venue: Radisson Blu Royal, Dublin 8
This networking event will be an excellent opportunity to hear three outstanding entrepreneurs, Siobhan McCarthy, Founder, Pochette, 2025 Winner of Solopreneur of the Year and Katharine Deas, Founder, Oriana B, 2025 Winner of Rising Star Award and Paola Shanahan, Founder, Irish Weddings in Italy, share their stories so far and tips for other entrepreneurs.
Tea/coffee and sandwiches will be available before the talks and the evening will finish with networking over wine, soft drinks and cake.
Please register now through this link.
Speaker Profiles
Katharine Deas, Founder, Oriana B
Katharine Deas founded Oriana B (www.orianab.com), a furniture and design studio and ‘Emporium of Amazingness’ according to The Irish Times. Originally from London, Katharine had a long corporate career that included leading the UK’s first low carbon commercial property fund, sitting on the board of the London Stadium and management positions in several technology ventures. She is a seasoned business leader with many years of corporate management experience which she couples with a deep love of great furniture and European decorative arts. Since 2019, she has grown Oriana B from scratch pivoting from selling vintage pieces to a fully fledged interiors brand with over 250 unique products and a busy international interior design studio housed in a brand new showroom in Baldoyle, Dublin 13.
Oriana B products are available in some of Ireland’s most prestigious retailers including the 1933 Furniture Company in Navan and Browsers in Limerick as well as worldwide through a network of interior designers. Katharine leads a talented team of creatives in her mission to deliver cosy, decorative yet functional interiors designed to be occupied and enjoyed.
Siobhán McCarthy, Founder, Póchette Design
Siobhán McCarthy is the founder and designer of Póchette Design, an Irish handbag and accessories brand she launched in 2024, born from a lifelong love of handbags and a frustration with never quite finding one that had everything she wanted.
Before taking the leap into entrepreneurship, Siobhán began her career in science before moving into education. When she was unable to find a teaching position in physics and chemistry, she took a role with the Irish Brokers Association, where she discovered a love of marketing and communications. When she later moved to Berlin, she decided to pursue this new direction and went on to build her career across technology, marketing, eCommerce and business operations.
In Berlin, she worked for a technology start-up before going on to build her career with multinational companies, including Kellogg’s, where she managed marketing technology and eCommerce initiatives, including being part of the team that developed its first direct-to-consumer business. She later joined Coca-Cola, where she managed operations and strategic initiatives for its EMEA technology team.
While her corporate career gave her a wealth of experience in technology, strategy, leadership and driving growth, Siobhán always had a strong creative side. Eventually, she decided to combine the two and build something of her own.
Póchette was created around a simple idea: why shouldn’t a handbag be as individual as the person carrying it? Designed in Ireland and handcrafted in Portugal, Póchette bags combine style, functionality and customisation, giving women the freedom to create a bag that works for their lives and reflects their own style.
Siobhán is passionate about innovation, creativity and collaboration, and about building a brand that puts thoughtful design and the customer at its heart. Her ambition for Póchette is simple: to create beautiful, thoughtfully designed bags that make life a little easier — and bring a little more joy to the everyday.
Paola Shanahan, Founder, Irish Weddings in Italy
An Irish wedding has a life of its own. Paola Shanahan brought that spirit to Italy.
Social, generous and full of humour, music and storytelling, an Irish wedding has a particular energy that draws everyone into the celebration. Italy became its natural match: beautiful landscapes, extraordinary food, craftsmanship, hospitality and a culture that understands very well how to celebrate.
Irish Weddings in Italy began in 2000 with one request for help with an Irish wedding in Italy. What started as a simple gesture grew, over more than 26 years, into a business working across the Italian peninsula, with extraordinary venues, trusted connections and a team of professionals and artisans across Italy who have grown with it
Italian by birth and Irish by heritage, Paola has spent those years building connections between two countries that understand celebration rather well.
Today, Irish Weddings in Italy is still shaped by the same principles that started it: people first, connections over contacts, and the belief that insight counts for a great deal.
