Judges & Judging

An independent judging panel of recognised and expert industry professionals will determine the winners of the Foreign Direct Investment Awards 2016.

Our focus is to deliver a balanced judging assessment from industry leaders who will bring their extensive knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise to the judging process ensuring that the winning entries are truly outstanding and worthy of receiving an FDI Award.

The panel is carefully selected to ensure the Awards judging process is fair and objective. The Judges are bound by a strict confidentiality agreement and are required to declare any conflict of interest in entries over which they deliberate, in which case that entry will be reallocated. The integrity of this process lies at the very heart of all that we do.

We recognise and respect the sensitive nature of the information submitted in the entries. Submissions are not disclosed or discussed outside the judging process. We do not publish the names of companies, organisations or individuals that have not been shortlisted for an Award, nor will we reproduce any information from your entry unless prior permission is given.

A comprehensive judging process has been put together to decide the worthy winners of The FDI Awards for 2016:

Judging Process

After the closing date for receiving submissions, all entries will be sent for the first round of review.
Entries will be carefully scrutinised with the best selected to go forward to the shortlist for each category.
The shortlist of finalists will be published on the Awards website.
Judges are divided into a minimum of two panels, ensuring any potential conflict is avoided.
The judges will score each of the entries allocated to them against a predetermined set of scores.
Scores are then collected and collated, with the entrant receiving the highest overall score being declared the winner of that category.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony. The judge's decision is final and no correspondence, telephone, email or communication of any kind will be entered into in relation to decisions reached.

2016 Judging Panel

A distinguished panel of judges based in Ireland will decide the winners of the 2016 Foreign Direct Investment Awards. The judging panel includes:

Joanna Murphy - Chief Executive Officer, ConnectIreland
	Joanna Murphy is the Chief Executive Officer of ConnectIreland – an incentivised referral programme appointed by IDA Ireland to deliver the Succeed in Ireland Initiative. A business development specialist, Joanna has advanced ConnectIreland’s brand engagement and extended its reach through partnerships with leading global organisations, such as GAA, DAA and many more. She has a wealth of entrepreneurial experience and prior to joining ConnectIreland founded and ran two companies in the construction and civil engineering space. Joanna leads ConnectIreland’s international marketing growth and has worked on countless successful marketing campaigns since joining the ConnectIreland leadership team in 2013, initially as Project Manager before subsequently taking up the position of Chief Operating Officer. In July 2015 she was appointed as Chief Executive. Joanna holds a first class honours degree in business studies from the Irish Management Institute.
Gerard O’Neill - Chairman, Amárach Research
	Gerard O’Neill is Chairman of Amárach Research. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and was previously Business Planning Manager in An Post. He leads the strategic consulting practice in Amárach, working with senior management teams to create resilient strategies for the future. Gerard was appointed a member of the National Statistics Board in 2014. The Board is responsible to the Government for developing its statistical strategy. He has served as a director of the Irish Internet Association and was previously chairman of the Marketing Society. Gerard was also a co-founder of Hireland.ie, the job creation initiative. He is a Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and his book – 2016: A New Proclamation for A New Generation – is published by Mercier Press.
David Pierce - Former Deputy CEO, Ulster Bank
	Prior to retiring from Ulster Bank in 2010, David Pierce served as Director of Sales both domestic and International. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, David joined Ulster Bank in 1978 following 5 years at Deloitte’s training as an accountant, working with many Ulster Bank businesses in senior management roles. He has developed three start-operations within the bank from a greenfield situation. Currently working as a Business consultant, David is involved with Dublin Chamber over 30 years, serving as President in 2004 and also President of Chambers Ireland 2006/2007. David has served as a director for a number of organisations including the Irish Heart Foundation, the World Trade Centre and Corcoran Jennison Europe.

Judges & Judging

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