Economic Forum 2025

Minister John O'Dowd

Minister of Finance

Department of Finance

Marie Doyle

Senior Partner

Deloitte

Marie is a Partner with Deloitte in Northern Ireland and has over 20 years’ experience working across a wide variety of public and private sector clients. Marie is the Belfast Senior Office Partner for Deloitte, leading our amazing 1,300 strong workforce in the city. She also leads our work in the Northern Ireland market and our island of Ireland collaboration. Her underpinning skillset is in technology enabled transformation and she leads the Deloitte Technology and Transformation (formerly Consulting) practice in Northern Ireland also. Marie is the recent former President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce and the first to hail from Northern Ireland. She holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Queen’s University Belfast. Marie is mother to four children and married to Brian.

Kate English

Chief Economist

Deloitte Ireland

Kate English is a Director, Head of Real Estate Research and Economist at Deloitte. With an undergraduate and master’s degree in economics from University College Cork, Kate analyses the real estate market through an economic lens, conducting data driven research across both the commercial & residential property markets in Ireland. She is also a regular commentator on global macro-economic trends, fiscal policy, capital markets, demographics and employment trends. She regularly presents market updates internally and externally, as well as frequent media engagements, through national broadcast and print.

Richard Ramsey

Professor of Practice, Economics & Policy

Queen's Business School

Richard Ramsey is a well-known face and voice in Northern Ireland, commenting on a range of economic and business issues over the years. Following a decade in various economist posts within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Richard spent over 17 years within Ulster Bank and was Chief Economist from 2009-2024. In May 2025, Richard was appointed Professor of Practice in Economics & Policy at Queen's Business School & the William J Clinton Leadership Insitute. Richard is also a non-executive director on the board of the Belfast Waterfront & Ulster Hall.

Matthew Hall

CEO

Belfast City Airport

Matthew joined Belfast City Airport as Chief Executive in August 2021 and serves on its Board of Directors. Prior to joining the airport, Matthew was the Commercial Director of David Lloyd Clubs with responsibility for all commercial activity across their 122 UK and European clubs. In 2011, Matthew joined London City Airport as Chief Commercial Officer responsible for all for all commercial, marketing, CSR and communications activity. He spent 11 years with American Airlines, starting his career with United Airlines in 1992.

Dr Sara Venning

CEO

NI Water

Dr. Sara Venning has led Northern Ireland Water as Chief Executive since 2014, following her appointment as Director of Customer Service Delivery in 2010. She is known for driving operational excellence, innovation, and customer-focused transformation. A strong advocate for sustainability, she has shaped NI Water’s strategic direction in infrastructure resilience and digital advancement. A former President of the Institute of Water, she now serves as President of the WaterAid NI Committee, supporting global access to clean water and sanitation. Sara holds a Master’s in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science in Economics in 2023 for her services to business and commerce.

Chris Conway

Group CEO

Translink

Chris Conway is Group Chief Executive of Translink, which is the main public transport provider for NI, providing Rail, Bus and Coach services across the region. Chris is a Member of Business in the Community (BITC) NI Advisory Board, a Member of Ulster University Council, and a Member of CBI NI Council. He is a Chartered Company Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Chris previously worked for Tata Steel in the UK&I and for Nortel Networks in EMEA.

Ronan McKeown

Future Networks Director

NIE Networks

Ronan is a Chartered Electrical Engineer who has worked in the Electricity Industry for 20 years. Over the course of his career, he has worked across a number of jurisdictions including Australia, GB and Northern Ireland. His experience includes Asset Management, renewable project delivery, regulation, network automation, as well as being a Senior Engineering consultant. Ronan joined NIE Networks in 2015 and worked in a number of Asset Management roles. His first Executive role was as Customer & Market Services Director in NIE Networks. This role is responsible for the majority of customer facing functions within NIE Networks, ranging across Network Connections, Digital Transformation, Market Operations and Customer Service. During this time, he has brought forward improvements in overall customer service metrics, NIE Networks’ Digital platforms and developing and delivering a Vulnerable Customer Strategy. Ronan’s current role is as Future Networks Director responsible for the DSO transition and rollout of Smart Metering in Northern Ireland

David Jones

Head of Real Estate

Tughans

David is Head of Tughans' Real Estate team and has led the group since 2016. With a workload split equally between England & Wales and Northern Ireland, David is experienced across all areas of commercial real estate, with a particular focus on development, investment, and large-scale landlord and tenant work. He has played a pivotal role in many of the most significant real estate transactions in Northern Ireland in recent years, including the first private sector student accommodation development at John Bell House in Belfast (subsequently having been involved in about 90% of the PBSA schemes in the city) and the first major build-to-rent scheme at Loft Lines in Titanic Quarter. David is recognised for his expertise in structuring complex, large-scale development projects, not only in Northern Ireland, England and Wales, but also in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. He is a genuine dealmaker, known for bringing together contacts and enabling new projects. David served on the committee of the Northern Ireland Commercial Property Lawyers’ Association and has also contributed to the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s updated General Conditions of Sale. David is also part of the Belfast City Region Place Partnership - a joint public/private sector led initiative focused on activities that help to ensure Belfast and NI more widely is positioned to continue to attract investment and deliver on inclusive growth.

Carol McTaggart

CEO

Clanmil Housing Group

David Cain

Head of Infrastructure

AIB

John McDonald

Director

Graham Investment

Michael Donnelly

Director

Strategic Investment Board