26 MAY, 2016, 9am – 1pm
GIBSON HOTEL, DUBLIN 1

Avril Bannerton leads up a team of Events Specialist, organising and promoting large-scale consumer events and exhibitions.
An expert in sponsorship management, Avril designs unique features within events to complement and promote various quality consumer brands; successfully merging commercial interests and consumer entertainment.
In June 2006, in association with Brand Events UK and Channel 4, Avril Bannerton brought Taste of Dublin to Ireland.  The event took place in Dublin Castle and attracted 13,600 visitors.  The four day festival celebrated the capital’s finest food and drink and featured twelve of Dublin’s most prestigious restaurants and chefs serving their signature dishes.
Taste of Dublin was so successful that it moved to a larger venue in Iveagh Gardens, off Harcourt Street, with twenty top restaurants and over 30,000 visitors, every June. It is now established as a key event in the Dublin social calendar with its line up of gourmet food, celebrity chefs, food tasting, cookery demonstrations, tutored wine tastings, music and entertainment.
In 2014, Avril returned to manage the 9^th Taste of Dublin event. This event proved to be the most successful Taste of Dublin to date with attendee and revenue numbers up by a 1/3rd on the previous year.   Taste of Dublin 2015 proved more successful again in terms of both sponsorship engagement and attendee levels. Planning for Taste 2016 is already underway and responses to date suggest that it will be even more successful.
Avril was proudly awarded Image Businesswoman of the Year 2010.

Jill is Managing Partner of Core Media’s sponsorship consultancy, Livewire and is a board member of the Core Media Group. Livewire is another example of Core Media’s diversification beyond its media business. Already, less than one year old, Jill and her team are helping property owners realise true commercial value through new sponsorship packages and rights expansion via digital and content assets. Equally Livewire helps multiple brands gain real and measurable value from their partnerships in sport and entertainment. Previously Jill was deputy Managing director at Starcom and, together with the MD, more than trebled that business by winning major accounts such as Musgrave, National Lottery, An Post, AIB, Heineken and UTV Ireland, as well as winning Agency of the Year in 2012.

Sian Redmond is Head of Marketing Partnerships for Live Nation Ireland. Having worked with Live Nation for six years she is responsible for the portfolio of sponsorships for 3Arena, The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and in partnership with Festival Republic and MCD managing sponsors across all of their outdoor festivals including Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Marlay Park Concerts, Slane, Punchestown Music Festival, Longitude, Electric Picnic and New Year’s Festival Dublin. In her role she has overseen the rebrand of The O2 to 3Arena, worked on the naming rights for the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and worked with Heineken to agree and implement a multi asset sponsorship across ten venues and festivals. Sian manages partnerships for brands in ten different categories working on activation and customer engagement to meet brand objectives. Sian began her career working on large scale events before starting with Live Nation Ireland in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, then moving across the Liffey to 3Arena where she is now based.

Feargus Dunne is a lecturer in event management and tourism at Institute of Technology Tralee, Co. Kerry. In his role, he lectures in event management to students on various degree programmes across a wide spectrum from adventure tourism to multimedia studies, as well as supervising Masters Research in the festival/ events area. He is actively involved in research on issues relevant to the festival/events industry in Ireland, and is currently examining the role of government/ government agency funding in assisting the Irish festival/events sector. In spring 2015, he was selected to lecture on an EU programme on managing successful events from elite to grassroots sport, in Malta.
Feargus assists various Irish festivals/ events with training and volunteer needs in an advisory capacity, and organises small scale events at IT Tralee and in his local community. He has also written opinion pieces on issues in the events industry, for the popular news site The Journal.ie

Helen joined Business to Arts in 2016 and is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to optimise coverage that enhances the visibility and impact of the organisation’s many programs, services, and events.
Helen has a strong background in arts management. Prior to joining Business to Arts, she was Assistant Manager of the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, overseeing all operational, contractual, and financial aspects of productions, events and conferences. Having worked as Senior Marketing and Press Officer prior to this, Helen developed and implemented strategic marketing campaigns and sponsorship opportunities for international and national productions. In the past she has also worked for Dance Theatre of Ireland, EventHaus Ltd. and IMG Artists, London.
Helen graduated with a Masters in Cultural Policy & Arts Management from University College Dublin in 2011 having previously obtained a Bachelor in Laws (LL.B) from Trinity College Dublin. She is an Associate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (ARIAM, 2006) and received a piano performance diploma from the London College of Music (Dip,LCM 2004). She is also an Associate and full teaching member of the Royal Academy of Dance, London.

Claire joined Business to Arts in 2012 as Office Administrator and Moderator of projects on Fund it. With a career spanning many aspects of the arts, Claire has previously worked with Rowan Yarns in Edinburgh (Design Consultant); the Events Department of The Edinburgh University Student Association; and the Education Department of The National Gallery of Ireland.
As Moderator of projects on Fund it, Claire guides and supports all Project Creators through their fundraising campaigns, from submission to completion. Her work has ensured Fundit.ie retains one of the highest success rates of any reward-based crowdfunding site in the world, and has seen the success and reach of Fund it continue to grow.
Claire graduated from UCD with a BA Honours in Art History and Film Studies; is an Adobe Certified Associate in Web Communications; and holds a Certificate in Fundraising from Fundraising Ireland.

Michael Johnson was appointed CEO of Microfinance Ireland (MFI) in 2014. He previously worked as CEO of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board for 18 years. Under his leadership MFI has grown from lending €2M a year in 2013 to achieving nearly €6M in lending 2015 .This lending, delivered in partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices, is now supporting over 1,900 jobs.