TIME & LOCATION
About
Chair
SPONSOR
Panel
CEO, Animation Ireland
Ronan McCabe is the CEO of Animation Ireland, the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios. He has 30 plus years experience in the media industry and has a proven track record in the development and commercialisation of intellectual properties in Ireland, Britain, Europe and the USA. He is the former managing director of Double Z Enterprises, an award winning production company that produced shows both in Europe and the USA. During his career he has worked in the areas of financing projects; negotiating of rights, formats, licensing/merchandising and co-production deals with broadcasters, SVOD’s, promoters, music labels, licensees, advertisers and distributors. Ronan has built strong relationships with key industry stakeholders both domestically and internationally. He regularly attends and presents at markets, festivals and industry gatherings at home and abroad. Ronan is on the board of the Galway Film Fleadh (Festival) and a number of industry steering committes. Ronan is a mentor through Enterprise Ireland, Screen Ireland Skills and Local Enterprise Offices. He has has devised and delivered courses for various organisations and has participated in High Potential Start Up and Commercialisation funding panels for industry stakeholder
CEO, Screen Producers Ireland
Susan was appointed CEO of Screen Producers Ireland in January 2021 and has over 20 years of experience in the creative industries at senior management level, most recently as CEO of the national St. Patrick’s Festival and previously as Director of Communications & Marketing at The Gaiety Theatre. As CEO of the festival, she worked closely with the Department of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and government agencies to create an award-winning, world-class festival which is recognised as strategically important to the national agenda. Susan has built a high-level network focused on the promotion of Ireland and its creative industries nationally and worldwide. Susan is a graduate of Trinity College and DIT with a BSc in Marketing & International Business. Susan is Chair of the British Irish Chamber Culture, Art, Sport & Tourism committee, and a member of the steering committee for the Screen Ireland supported National Talent Academy Film, an initiative for developing and driving opportunities for diverse and regional screen talent in film and television on a national level.
Producer, Doubleband films
Dermot Lavery is an award-winning director, producer and executive producer with DoubleBand Films, the Belfast-based independent production company he co-founded over 30 years ago. He is responsible for a wide range of highly acclaimed documentaries for broadcasters such as the BBC, RTE, and Channel 4, many of which have enjoyed international distribution including on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. DoubleBand’s credits include the critically acclaimed and award-winning feature documentary ROAD, narrated by Liam Neeson and LOST LIVES, a landmark film on the Troubles in Northern Ireland featuring an ensemble cast of Irish actors, including Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleeson, and Ciaran Hinds. Dermot has previously served as the Northern Ireland representative on the Council of UK industry trade body PACT and on the Board of Northern Ireland Screen. He is currently producing Fréwaka, a north-south Irish language feature film made as part of the CINI4 funding initiative with support from Screen Ireland and CnaM.
Director General of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce
John McGrane is the Director General of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce which he co-founded in 2011 to bring together the business and cultural communities of both islands. With over fifty years’ experience serving entrepreneurs and organisations across Ireland and Britain, John’s interests weave through commerce, culture and community. He is also the Executive Director of The Family Business Network, Founder and CEO of Kmend.com (a new online resource serving arts and business), a Board Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company and Chairman of the Board of the Irish Film Institute. He has led numerous public policy initiatives including the Irish Government’s Forum on Philanthropic Funding of the Arts and the creation of Ireland’s National Concert Hall Quarter.