Meet Our Judges

Meet our independent Judging Panel for the Northeast Business Excellence Awards. We sincerely thank the judges who give their expertise and time on a voluntary basis to support the Awards. 

Joe Harlin

Joe retired from Wavin Ireland as Business Development Manager after 47 years of service. During his time in Wavin, he has been involved in direct sales, project sales, merchandising, key account management and business development. Joe has 20 years’ experience in training staff in product knowledge and sales techniques.

Anne Reilly

Anne Reilly is the Founder and former CEO of Paycheck Plus, Ireland’s multi award-winning payroll outsource company.  Anne steered Paycheck Plus to become one of the Top 10 ‘Great Places to Work’ in Ireland. On completion of the sale of Paycheck Plus in 2022, she retired from the business to pursue other business and investment interests.

Anne has been recognized in Irish and global commercial circles. Currently a Non-Executive Director on a number of Boards, Anne delights in Mentoring business owners and management.

Gerry Leydon

Gerry is a qualified accountant with 35+ years’ experience working in Finance, Supply Chain and General Management for MNC companies in Ireland and UK. His most recent role was with Coca-Cola and was responsible for the Drogheda and EMEA Concentrate Supply Chain operations. In recent years, Gerry has become actively involved at national, regional and local level with a number of Not for Profit and Community organisations. These include Drogheda Alzheimer’s, Teaching Council of Ireland, North Leinster Citizens Information Service and Drogheda Tidy Towns”

Lorna Coleman

Lorna worked as a self-employed business consultant in the commercial & not for profit sectors in Ireland and abroad in a career spanning over thirty years. From grant writing to business startups she has a broad range of expertise. Her particular interest is in developing human capital in the workplace. She holds a Masters in Education from Dublin City University.

Sarah Mallon 

Working in the enterprise support and project management space for almost 20 years Sarah has worked with a wide range of businesses from pre start to those exploring expansion and innovation across a wide range of industry sectors. She has worked with individuals and companies on local, national and European projects to help enhance their entrepreneurship capabilities.

Tony Campion

Tony Campion

Tony recently retired after a 40+ year career. Having worked primarily in HR he held a number of senior positions with Coca-Cola, Pfizer and the Motorola Corporation. Tony is particularly interested in the dynamics of Leadership and motivation  and is currently volunteering as a Station Manager with the RNLI.

James Kiernan Chambers Ireland

James Kiernan

James Kiernan joined Chambers Ireland in 2006 and is responsible for commercial and Chamber development.  His main task is in the support of the Chamber network of 41 Chambers and for coordinating the commercial activities of the national Chamber.  He is the main point of contact for advertising, event sponsorship and membership.

James holds a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing from the Dublin Institute of Technology and an MBA from IBAT.  Prior to joining Chambers Ireland James worked in marketing and finance positions in Ireland and Australia.

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