Irish Roundtable in the Valley

Aoife Ní Mhuirí is the Founder and CEO of Salaso Health Solutions Ltd. (salaso.com), a Health Technology company headquartered in Ireland with offices in the UK and US. 

Aoife started her healthcare career as a chartered physiotherapist in the HSE in Ireland working across several acute and community services. She holds a BSc (hons) in Physiotherapy and an MSc in Sports Medicine from Trinity College Dublin and has over two decades of professional clinical physiotherapy and exercise physiology experience in physical rehabilitation, lifestyle medicine and chronic condition management. Her professional interests center around patient activation and engaging patients with evidence-based physical therapy, lifestyle medicine and exercise and physical activity programs for scalable, accessible healthcare. She lectures on the Adapted Physical Activity Program at the Munster Technological University (MTU) in Tralee, Co. Kerry which holds the UNESCO chair for inclusion of persons with disability in sport, physical education and activity.

In 2011, Aoife established Salaso Health Solutions, (salaso.com) an award-winning Health Technology company, which has developed a clinically validated digital therapy platform for preventing and managing injuries and chronic conditions using exercise and physical therapy. 

The company is a global leader in digital therapy and virtual rehabilitation and its’ platform is used to support existing and new care delivery models for remote rehabilitation, care at home and effective population health management.

Award: Equality Diaspora Ambassador Award 2023

Betty Yee stepped down as Controller of the State of California in January 2023, after eight years in post.

She will be a Gubernatorial candidate in California in 2026.

Betty has 35 years of experience in state and local finance and tax policy.  She was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, representing close to 9 million Californians.  Prior to this, Betty served as the State’s budget director.

As controller, Betty has been on the side of the community— holding government accountable, working to ensure income and retirement security, protecting our environment, and taking on big companies more interested in lining their pockets — to make sure the doors of opportunity continue to stay open so every Californian can fulfill their dreams, raise their families, and thrive.

Brian Glynn is a strategic partnerships leader specializing in bringing enterprise AI technologies to market. Most recently, he was VP Revenue and Partnerships at Confirm, an AI-powered performance management platform, and part of the GTM team at Runway during its launch from stealth. He previously held partnership and business development roles at AI Robotics leader Covariant (acquired by Amazon) and Trōv (acquired by Travelers Insurance).

Brian spent seven years with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in Silicon Valley, managing portfolios of startups expanding into the US market. He currently advises Output Sports, a wearable sports tech spin-out from University College Dublin, on US growth strategy and serves on the Mt. Diablo Unified School District AI Task Force. He lives in the East Bay and is a member of the Responsible AI Institute.

Ciaran Sheehan is Managing Partner at Clarendon Executive, Northern Ireland’s leading executive search firm. He brings more than three decades of experience in executive search and board advisory, specialising in C-suite and non-executive appointments across the private, public, and third sectors. As a key strand of their executive search focus, Ciaran and the Clarendon Executive team have built deep connections with the Irish diaspora, successfully attracting internationally-based leaders back to Northern Ireland to advance their careers.

Beyond executive recruitment and a range of other business interests, Ciaran is a long-standing champion of youth entrepreneurship. He served as Chair of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland for seven years and now leads a US-based philanthropic foundation – Friends of Young Enterprise Foundation Inc.  The purpose of this Foundation is to raise funds and donations through networks and connections within the Irish Diaspora to help young people, especially those from deprived areas, to get engaged in entrepreneurship and build the confidence and critical skills to become empowered to create their own opportunities. 

Colm Ó Riain coordinates philanthropic strategy and hiring to support the growth plans of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute in Berkeley, CA . After 15 years working in the video game industry at companies including Electronic Arts and Activision, he moved into philanthropy work at Zynga.org and Harmony Project before joining MIRI in 2016. He has a master’s degree in AI from the University of Rochester and a joint honours bachelor’s in Mathematics and Computer Science. The Machine Intelligence Research Institute carrys out foundational mathematical research to ensure smarter-than-human artificial intelligence has a positive impact.

Colm is also a professional violinist and composer and ws hailed as a “genius fiddler” by Mike Scott of The Waterboys,

In the USA, which he currently calls home, he has enthralled audiences on stages as diverse as CBGB’s in New York to Fillmore West and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.  

Colm thrives when creating bridges not just between musics but also to other art forms and has composed music for both film and modern dance.   

Originally from Ballycastle, County Antrim, Conn Mulholland is a serial entrepreneur and innovator dedicated to solving real-world challenges through technology, logistics, and construction. After moving to San Francisco in 2006 and launching a contracting business during the 2008 recession, he has founded multiple startups—embracing both successes and failures in his relentless pursuit of innovation.

As Founder of Castle Innovations Inc., a general and electrical contracting firm specializing in custom smart home integrations, Conn has built a reputation for delivering high-quality, technology-driven homes that seamlessly blend craftsmanship with modern automation.

Among his other achievements, Conn is the inventor of SolderM8, a revolutionary tool that simplifies LED strip light installations for electricians. Now sold in multiple countries, SolderM8 has gained global traction, enhancing efficiency and precision in electrical work.

Today, Conn leads a team of software engineers at Bengine, a company revolutionizing the auto parts industry. By harnessing both technology and advanced AI agents to source auto parts and coordinate delivery, Bengine significantly reduces vehicle downtime—initially serving DIY mechanics at racetracks and now expanding to large private and government fleets. This innovative approach ensures rapid access to critical components, minimizing costly delays from breakdowns and repairs.

A passionate racer and extreme sports enthusiast, Conn thrives on competition and innovation. His entrepreneurial journey embodies the resilience and ambition of the Irish business community, and he remains committed to solving problems through creative, forward-thinking solutions.

Gary Gilchrist is Vice President of Software Architecture at Oracle for the Oracle Health Suite, where he and his team lead architecture and design for Oracle’s AI based Oracle Health EHR and its component systems in the Oracle Cloud. This involved completely reimagining the systems architecture for today’s electronic health records management around Oracle’s latest cloud native services for runtime, data management, UX and AI, while still working alongside existing critical systems of record at hospitals and clinics.

Gary left Belfast back in 1993 to start his career at Oracle working on Oracle Networking and Database Security. He went on to hold senior engineering roles at BlackBerry and Adobe where he led innovations in mobile and enterprise security, and rejoined Oracle again in 2020. He lives in San Francisco where he enjoys foggy hill walks and always discovering something new about the diverse history of his adopted city.

Jacinta is a globally recognized technology leader, named as one of the top 50 most influential women in technology by Silicon Valley Global magazine.

Jacinta is a category creator and has deep expertise in bringing game changing AI technology to market. She has led all go to market functions including sales, marketing, business development and customer retention for AI companies for 15 years. She was Global SVP Sales and CMO at Cloudmark, a company that applies AI to provide messaging security for 2 billion online users and brand protection for major banks and retailers. Most recently she ran go to market for LeoLabs, a company that applies AI to monitor and predict all satellite traffic in space. She has contributed to several exits achieving valuations ranging from $150M to $12.3B.

In addition to her full-time roles, Jacinta is an advisor to companies on GTM planning and exit strategies. 

Jacinta has also been a long-term board member and ambassador of M3AAWG, a global working group that fosters cooperation between international governments and commercial entities to increase global online security.

Now living in San Francisco, Jacinta is originally from County Clare and graduated from Dublin City University with a degree in International Marketing and Languages. 

Jennifer Byrne is General Partner at Grit Capital Partners, an early-stage, specialist venture fund investing in Applied AI across FinTech/InsurTech, Commerce, Media, and MarTech. In 2024, she co-founded the Female Investors Club in Los Angeles and New York, a community advancing women in technology investing through leadership development, education, and deal flow.

Previously, she co-founded and led Quesnay Inc., a strategy and innovation firm known for global accelerators and executive programs. Quesnay partnered with major corporations including Farmers Insurance, Hearst, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Paramount, Prudential, Thomson Reuters, and Verizon. Quesnay also launched the world’s largest Female Founders in FinTech & InsurTech accelerator, evaluating 500+ women-led startups from 78 countries, which collectively raised over $1.8B.

Earlier, Jennifer held executive roles at American Express and Verizon. At Verizon, she launched its innovation division, oversaw a multi-billion-dollar mobile application portfolio, led the rollout of 4G services, and championed investments in Siri and Twilio, alongside partnerships with Amazon, Facebook, Google/YouTube, and Twitter.

She serves on the Duke University SoCal Board, co-chairs the Duke Women’s Forum SoCal, and has been recognized on Innovate Finance’s Powerlist, NYC Inspiring FinTech Females, and more. A Duke graduate, she speaks Spanish, Italian, and French.

Laura Hilgart is an effective advocate with experience serving a wide range of clients on both coasts. Before joining New Deal, she worked as a lobbyist for SF Platinum Advisors and at O’Neill and Associates – a public affairs, government relations, and crisis communications firm in Boston. 

Previously, Laura worked at the French Consulate in Boston, Senator Kerry’s Office in Washington D.C., and the Associacion de Igualdad y Justicia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is currently a member of the Urban Land Institute, the SF Bike Coalition, SPUR, Leadership San Francisco, the Alliance Francaise de San Francisco, and the Associate Board of Generation Citizen. Laura graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations.

Matt Regan is Senior Vice President of Public Policy whose responsibilities include promoting the Bay Area Council’s legislative and political agendas at the local, state and federal levels. Matt has lead responsibility for the Council’s federal, state and local government relations work and oversees a four-person team focused on 21st century energy and communications infrastructure and water policy. Matt has over 15 years experience working in the political arena and prior to joining the Bay Area Council Matt worked as a contract lobbyist, an in-house Government Affairs specialist for a large bank, a State Assembly legislative aide and a field organizer for several high profile elections across the Bay Area.

Matt is a native of Derry. He attended the Middlesex University School of Law in London where he earned his LLB and the University of Ulster School of Business where he graduated with a Post Graduate Degree in Marketing.

Micheál Smith, from County Armagh, is Ireland’s Consul General in the Western United States. 

Prior to moving to San Francisco, Micheál was Director of Global Ireland in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

He led Ireland’s Embassy/Consulate expansion, Ireland’s presence at Expo 2020, the development of ireland.ie, and campaigns to increase Irish citizen engagement with Ireland’s global role, among other initiatives

He started his career as an Economic Analyst in the Department of Communications and Energy based in Dublin before taking up a First Secretary role in the Embassy of Ireland in Singapore. Micheál went on to establish IDA Ireland’s first ASEAN office, which he led for 3 years.

Micheál then moved to help drive IDA Ireland’s efforts in the US, focusing on the US Mid-West, South and South-East.

Micheál holds a BSC in Management (Business & Economics) from Queen’s University Belfast and a MSC in Economic Policy Studies from Trinity College Dublin. He is married to Claire and they have four children – Sophie, Senan, Conan and Oisín.

Rachael Healy is a Scottish/Irish PhD candidate in cultural anthropology at Stanford University who works on memory, class, youth and colonialism in Northern Ireland. Her research explores themes of teenage life, care, and intergenerational trauma within a West Belfast neighbourhood. She has an MA in Anthropology and Sociology from the Graduate Institute Geneva and a BA in Global Health and Social Medicine from King’s College London. Outside of her university work, she has worked for several years in various health advocacy and youth work roles in South Africa, Palestine, London and Scotland.

I am an astrophysicist by training, and now I work with Andrew Ng and a team of passionate educators and A.I. experts to build educational experiences that deliver industry-relevant skills and serve to grow and connect the global AI community.

Ryan studied astrophysics at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, eventually getting a PhD in the field. However, having discovered that the academic life was not for him, transitioned to tech, and specifically educational technology and online learning in 2016. He is now at his third online education company (http://Deeplearning.ai ) he has worked at since leaving academia.

Sandy brings his diverse background in aeronautical engineering, physics education, qualitative research, and UX design to his work as a digital product strategist, guiding the development and execution of innovative solutions.  Throughout his career he’s focused on unraveling complexity, successfully launching elegant, streamlined solutions in education, finance, health, science, as well as AI and automation.

As Sr. Director of Strategy & Innovation at Unosquare, Sandy leverages his extensive experience collaborating with product and engineering stakeholders across diverse sectors to define strategic visions, prioritize key initiatives, and steer digital initiatives that foster transformative results.   

Successful entrepreneur and senior executive, 25 years experience building great companies in online and mobile sectors

Specialties: Big Data, Market Research and Intelligence, Mobile Applications and Content, Digital Media, Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications, Speech Technology, AI

AI executive at Google driving intelligent operations at global scale. Former Deloitte and Accenture leader with deep consulting pedigree. Startup advisor and board director focused on building AI-powered platforms that transform industries.

I transform organizations through Artificial Intelligence. At Google, I lead AI-powered operations for Search, embedding Generative AI, LLMs, and automation into core systems to deliver predictive resilience and intelligent automation at global scale. These AI-first processes touch billions of users daily.

With leadership experience at Deloitte and Accenture, I combine consulting pedigree with hands-on technology expertise to drive transformation across Fortune 100 clients and startups. I’ve scaled platforms worth hundreds of millions of dollars, delivering measurable impact through AI solutions for online safety, content integrity, and workforce intelligence.

At Accenture, I led developer ecosystems globally and built a software engineering team that created a suite of groundbreaking AI tools for content moderation — among the first of their kind — alongside an AI-enabled workforce management platform used by tens of thousands of agents worldwide.

At DigiMod, I scaled AI-driven trust & safety services and launched proprietary platforms supporting enterprise-scale Big Tech clients.

At Deloitte, I advised Fortune 100 clients on embedding AI into telecom, media, and technology transformation — and led the design and delivery of OTT platforms for Discovery Channel, Sky Sports, and ITV, reshaping how digital content is created, distributed, and monetized.

Today, I advise the cybersecurity startup PhishCloud, shaping AI-powered Cyber Fusion services, and serve as West Coast Chair of Young Enterprise Foundation, mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

My mission: to fuse executive leadership, startup agility, and AI innovation to transform organizations at scale.

Shawn Flynn is the founder of Silicon Valley Highpoint Capital (SVH Capital), where he and his team uses AI and technology to help in the steps of the transaction process. He began his career in Beijing, China, founding, scaling, and successfully exiting a company before returning to the U.S. to work with fast‑growing Silicon Valley startups to established overseas public companies. He specializes in mergers & acquisitions, raising growth capital, and secondaries.