An Irish Roundtable in the Magic City

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.

Anna Horner is the Americas Marketing lead at Options IT. She began her career in Belfast, working with Northern Irish marketing agencies, before joining Options. A year later, she relocated to New York City to drive the company’s Americas marketing efforts. Anna specializes in event execution and client, partner and vendor relationship management. She is dedicated to understanding client perspectives and marketing Options’ product offerings to meet their needs. Anna is also passionate about advancing women’s opportunities in the workplace and plays a key role in the Options Global Women in Tech initiative.

Arie Nakhmani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He joined the department in 2013. Prior to that, he completed his postdoctoral training at Georgia Tech and Boston University. His research interests include biomedical signal analysis, computer vision, machine learning, and robust control. He leads the ANRY Research Lab where undergraduate and graduate students work on brain signal decoding, lung CT analysis, correlating vital signs to clinical outcomes, and other projects. Dr. Nakhmani has published with his students and collaborators over 140 peer-reviewed works and contributed to 30 funded research projects. He authored a textbook on Modern Control which is a finalist of the PROSE award. Also, he and his team are the winners of the “Dream Phase” of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) challenge, Infrastructure Vision 2050. Dr. Nakhmani is a co-founder of Spiromatics company and was named the Most Prolific Inventor of the Year 2023 by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Colleen McClure is an assistant professor of Industrial Distribution at UAB. She earned her Ph.D. in Marketing from Oklahoma State University. Dr. McClure teaches distribution analytics, operations, and management at the undergraduate level. She also serves as the advisor for the Society of Distribution Leaders and Internship Coordinator. Her research, focusing on topics such as buyer-supplier relationships, frontline employees, sales, and well-being, has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Dr. McClure also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for various marketing journals.

A Birmingham native, with over fifteen years of experience, Cornell is a seasoned executive with in-depth expertise and education. A Morehouse College graduate with a BA in Economics, an MBA from Mercer University and numerous certifications in management, economic development, and entrepreneurship from universities and institutions across the United States.

He successfully worked to build coalitions among regional economic development organizations in his service area and efficiently managed over $20 million in federal investment, yielding a $1.5 billion impact in private investment that created 4,000+ jobs. 

Cornell currently serves as the Director of the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity (IEO) for the City of Birmingham, which is responsible for creating economic vitality through innovation and inclusive growth.

Recently, Cornell was announced as a recipient of the Development Counsellors International (DCI) 2023 Economic Development 40 Under 40 Award, recognizing rising stars under 40 years old in the economic development industry. He was also newly recognized for the second time among 30 Rotarians that were featured by the Birmingham Business Journal as part of the Birmingham Power 60, which highlights the Magic City’s most influential executives for 2023.

Daniel Adamek is a prominent advocate for mental health and a distinguished leader in science and technology in Huntsville, Alabama. As the Executive Director of Little Orange Fish, a Huntsville-based non-profit, he champions mental health awareness and access to quality care. Since its founding in 2013, Little Orange Fish has worked to enhance public understanding of mental health’s critical role in personal and community well-being.

In his role as Chief Science Officer at CohesionForce, Daniel oversees innovative research and development, transforming creative ideas into practical software solutions. His work focuses on modeling and simulation, control systems, and knowledge management for government and commercial clients.

Daniel’s dedication to community engagement is evident through his founding and co-founding of several non-profits, including Little Orange Fish and Nexus Energy Center. Nexus Energy Center promotes public education on residential energy efficiency. Additionally, he has been involved in initiatives supporting retraining displaced workers, advancing K-12 education for jobs in advanced manufacturing, and fostering biotech education and workforce development.

As an active musician and ardent supporter of the arts, Daniel plays an integral role in Huntsville’s cultural scene. A U.S. Army veteran who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and a B.S. in Biochemistry from Florida State University. Daniel is also a devoted father of three and grandfather of two.

Deon Gordon has served since 2017 as President & CEO of TechBirmingham, the trade association and convening voice for the area’s tech industry. He also led TechAlabama, their affiliated 501(c)(3), when it partnered with Apple in 2020 to officially launch Ed Farm, a national digital skills initiative focused on advancing excellence and access in the “K to career” pipeline as well as training learners to either fill — or create — the jobs of the future.

Prior to his current role, he served as Director of Business Growth for REV Birmingham, a place-based economic development agency. While there, he helped steer the creation and launch of Reveal Kitchen, the state’s first restaurant incubator for aspiring restaurateurs.

His civic engagements include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Futures Fund (a $25 million, early-stage venture fund), Innovation Depot, TECNA (the Technology Councils of North America), and Birmingham Bound. 

Gordon was named by the Birmingham Business Journal as a “Top 40 Under 40 for the Decade” in 2019 and was listed by the same publication in “Birmingham’s Power 60: The Magic City’s Most Influential Executives” in 2020 and 2022.

As an enterprising kid, he sold his artwork to classmates during bus rides. In high school, he created websites at night. His interest in entrepreneurship and technology were shaped in Birmingham but sharpened at Auburn. He is a proud 2019 class participant of both Leadership Birmingham and the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard.

In his spare time, he can be found traveling, cooking, reciting Outkast lyrics, or stubbornly advocating for the Oxford comma.

Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting and a MBA from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Father, Serial Entrepreneur, 2x Startup Founder, Co-founder of Birmingham AI, Contract Professor for the UAB Collat School of Business Entrepreneurship Department, Mentor and Coach for Goodie Nation, a non-profit organization, and crowned “The Birmingham Ambassador”
Areas of focus: Startups, Business strategy, Organizational Design, Market and Consumer Research, Finance, Investing, Growth Strategy, Product and Software Development, AI/ML & NLP, Fundraising, Recruiting, Pitching, and Mentorship.

As President and CEO of Unosquare Giancarlo Di Vece believes software engineering is not only a science, it’s also an art. This refreshing viewpoint, along with his leadership and passion for technology, globalization, and IT recruitment talent, has led to thousands of business projects successfully completing their digital transformation initiatives with Unosquare in creative and pioneering ways.

Giancarlo focuses his organization’s efforts on the financial services and life sciences space, as he trusts that these are the organizations that impact the way people live and interact with one another every day. Under Giancarlo’s direction, he and his team actively seek the best talent and then places them into processes and practices for distributed agile augmentation. His goal? To make today better than the past, and help companies move their projects towards the future.

Always looking for a challenge, Giancarlo started gainfully buying and growing businesses at a young age. At the age of 21, he purchased a small craft company dedicated to the North American market and transformed it into a 100-person operation selling to some of the largest retailers in the US. In 2013, with a background in industrial engineering, he decided to move into the technology industry by joining Unosquare and quickly embraced his role of transforming the organization to align with client needs.

By helping organizations understand their projects, manage their talent, and realize their process, Unosquare has been named one of the 100 fastest-growing private businesses in Oregon for four years in a row and one of the fastest-growing US companies on the Inc. 5000 list for three years in a row. Giancarlo’s enthusiasm and contributions have been sought out as inspiration for others, and he is often invited to write and speak on the topics that influence the industry.

Greg Canfield serves as Managing Director of Economic Development at Burr & Forman. In this role, he works closely with the firm’s Economic Development Team, which includes lawyers across five states. The team handles economic development matters regarding site selection, incentive negotiation & implementation, choice of entity & tax structure, construction, real estate, environmental permitting, contraction negotiations, and government relations.

Prior to joining Burr, Greg served for twelve years as Secretary of Commerce for the State of Alabama. During Greg’s service he secured more than $70 billion in new investments, creating 180,000 jobs; launched Commerce’s successful rural development strategy; and led trade missions to 30 countries. His efforts resulted in recognition in the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers’ Association Hall of Fame and the Southern Automotive Manufacturers’ Alliance Hall of Fame.

Greg also served as a State Representative for the State of Alabama from 2006-2011. During his tenure, he served on the House Leadership Team and as Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Small Business.

Greg attended the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he earned his B.S. in Finance. Greg has been married to his wife Denise since 1983, and they are the parents of Rachel Canfield Young and John Canfield.

Laurence Moroney is the Director of AI at Arm, focussed on the next generation AI developer experience. He’s a best-selling author, award winning researcher, and regular speaker on the keynote circuit. Having spent over three decades working on AI in various forms, including stints at Google and Microsoft, Laurence is also a fellow at the AI Fund, where he helps startups navigate the complexities of adopting fast-moving technology.

Elizabeth “Liz” Pharo has a passion for realizing the goals of rising companies to help them improve, expand, and take off. As the CEO and Chair of our board and past chair and advisor to numerous successful companies Liz is known for her talent in harmonizing business objectives with a company’s vision, mission, and aspirations for its customers and community. Beyond her work helping Divorce.com reduce the time, cost, and trauma of the typical divorce process, Liz is dedicated to the growth and development of her own community and serves on the boards of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Venture for America, and Blight-Free Birmingham. Liz enjoys running and spending time with her family at Lake Martin.

Matt McGuire is a seasoned technology leader with a passion for driving innovation and growth in industries like human resources management, identity theft protection, personal data privacy, and external cybersecurity. With several decades of experience in both individual contributor and engineering leadership roles, he has been fortunate enough to design and implement comprehensive SaaS solutions and build high-performing global development teams. Matt strives to share his knowledge and insights to help others navigate the evolving landscape of data and artificial intelligence, strongly believes in servant leadership, and is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow

Mike Shaw has a unique blend of technology experience and public service.  His career in Information Technology spans over 27 years. Since 2005, he has been the Chief Technology Officer at Mutual Savings Credit Union. He has held the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification since 2002 and has significantly contributed to the tech community through his roles on the Hoover City Schools RC3 Technology Advisory Committee, the Tech Birmingham board of directors, and the Birmingham Infragard Board of Directors.  While in City Government, Mike formed the Hoover Technology Round Table, a series of meetings fostering collaboration among local tech professionals.

Mike also represents District 47 in the Alabama House of Representatives, including Vestavia Hills, Hoover, and other parts of Jefferson County. Elected in 2022, Mike serves on several committees, including State Government, Financial Services, Ethics and Campaign Finance, and is a co-founder of the Alabama-Japan legislative exchange. Additionally, Mike is a member of the Governor’s AI Task Force and the State Blockchain Study Group, contributing to the strategic planning and implementation of emerging technologies in Alabama.  

Before his state-level involvement, Mike was a prominent figure in Hoover’s local government. He was elected to the Hoover City Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. During his tenure, Mike focused on technology and infrastructure improvements, serving as the Council appointment to Planning and Zoning, Annexation chair, Chairman of the Technology and Telecom Committee, and Liaison to the Municipal Court.

Mike graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1990 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Auburn University in 1995. Mike and his wife, Shelley, have lived in Hoover for over 20 years. They have two grown children, Melodi and Canon.  After spending 2 years as an English  teacher in Japan, Melodi is pursuing a career in library science. Canon is studying Computer Science at Auburn University.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Miller Beale Girvin is the Chief Operating Officer at the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.  As part of that role, she oversees multiple programming priorities of the EDPA, including its innovation and entrepreneurship efforts and talent retention work. Alabama Launchpad, Investor Connector events, FuelAL engagement with summer interns, and strategy and program development with Innovate Alabama all fall within her scope. Prior to joining EDPA, she served as the founding CEO of the Alabama Capital Network, which connects the state’s best entrepreneurs to a network of early-stage investors.  

She served as a member of Governor Ivey’s Innovate Alabama Commission, where she led the subcommittee on finance and infrastructure and currently sits on the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority (ADEA). Miller serves on numerous innovation advisory boards around Alabama and is a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham.  She is a 2018 graduate of the Alabama Leadership Initiative and a 2019 graduate of Leadership Birmingham.  

She and her husband Josh, a serial entrepreneur, have two daughters, Hamilton and Bibb and enjoy cooking, traveling and watching girls’ sports.

Richard Waterson is the Founder and CEO and of Hayward Hawk, a leading recruitment agency specializing in tech talent. The company is headquartered in Belfast but recruits across the UK/Ireland and the US. With over two decades of experience in the technology sector, Richard has an extensive background in software engineering, product development, and technology leadership.

Before founding Hayward Hawk, Richard held senior positions at several high-profile recruitment agencies in London and Belfast, where he spearheaded innovative projects and played a pivotal role in scaling organisations from startup to fortune 500. His expertise spans across various domains including Software Engineering, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.

Originally from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Richard moved to the US to attend university in Wisconsin. Upon returning home, he has worked to maintain business relationships across the Atlantic, aiming to expand Hayward Hawk throughout North America.

Ryan is the VP of Digital Solutions at Allied Benefit Systems and President of Medxoom, a recent acquisition by Allied. His career has been laser focused on advancing member experiences in healthcare for both major commercial insurance carriers and young startups alike. In his current role, Ryan is currently exploring how AI can provide a strategic edge for Third Party Administrators and deliver better healthcare outcomes for those suffering from chronic conditions. 

Sam is a recognized leader in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, currently serving as the Founding Engineer at Shopsense AI, an innovative startup featured by TechCrunch and CNBC for its AI-powered solutions that connect television audiences with top retailer brands. At Shopsense, Sam drives the engineering vision and strategy through AI, anchoring the technology as a profit driver across multiple business units.

Before joining Shopsense, Sam relocated to Richmond, Virginia, in 2020 to take on a pivotal role at CarMax. There, he led high-impact teams focused on Computer Vision and Generative Large Language Models, contributing over $75 million in annual revenue while reducing infrastructure costs by 80%. His leadership at CarMax highlighted his ability to blend technological innovation with tangible business results. While at CarMax, Sam was recognized for his contributions to technological innovation in Richmond through a 2021 nomination for `Richmond AI Innovation of the Year` for his work in the Computer Vision space.
 
Throughout his career, Sam has consistently pushed the boundaries of AI’s potential, demonstrating a keen ability to identify and nurture tech talent while delivering transformative results across industries.

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.   

Sarah Kavanagh took up her post as Consul General of Ireland in Miami in October 2022 and is leading the establishment of Ireland’s first Consulate General in Florida. 

She comes to Miami from the Human Rights Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin where she served as Deputy Director.  Prior to joining the Department in 2020, Ms. Kavanagh served as Special Adviser to the Minister for Justice and Equality (2017-2020) and Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (2014-2017).  From 2005-2014, she worked for in the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament of Ireland) in a range of policy, strategy development and political communication roles.

Ms. Kavanagh is originally from Galmoy, Co. Kilkenny.  She holds a Barrister-at-Law Degree (2012) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies (2010) from the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, Dublin.  She also holds Masters Degrees in Political Communication (Dublin City University, 2017) and Politics (University College Dublin, 2021) and a BA Degree in History and Politics (University College Dublin 2020).

Thomas Dowling is the Head of Faculty of Engineering and Computing at Atlantic Technological University, Donegal Campus. With extensive experience in academia and leadership, he oversees the strategic direction, academic programs, and research initiatives within the faculty. Thomas’s expertise spans curriculum development, faculty management, and industry collaboration, ensuring that the university’s offerings align with industry standards and technological advancements. His leadership focuses on enhancing student outcomes, promoting research, and integrating emerging technologies into the curriculum, making him a key figure in the university’s academic and strategic initiatives ensuring the faculty remains at the forefront of technological advancements and industry needs.
 

Timothy Brundle is an internationally recognised leader in research and technology strategy, policy, investment, and management. He holds the position of Director of Research & Innovation at Ulster University, in which role he directs Ulster’s research strategy, governance, and administration, and guides its economic impact through venture capital investment, business partnerships and intellectual property commercialisation. He also holds the position of CEO of Innovation Ulster Ltd, Ulster’s venturing and investment company. As a senior leader at Ulster, he directs a team of 72 research management professionals and manages £1.5m of spend each week on research and innovation.

Tracy DeBerry has dedicated the majority of her engineering career to supporting NASA and other US Federal Agencies, where she crafts innovative solutions to enhance software, processes and communication. Beyond her professional endeavors, Tracy finds immense fulfillment in giving back to her community. She volunteers with Little Orange Fish, a Huntsville-based mental health advocacy nonprofit. In other volunteer roles, she has participated in an animal therapy program with Layla (her beloved Sheltie) and has shared her expertise teaching workshops at a small business incubator. Tracy is committed to empowering others and fostering positive change.

Will is an entrepreneur & founder in Birmingham who cares deeply about moving Birmingham forward. Will co-founded DevClarity, an AI-based platform whose mission is to help development leaders unlock the best version of themself. Will also co-founded Birmingham AI, an AI meetup group that regularly has 150+ attendees at the Innovation Depot. Birmingham AI’s goal is to accelerate Birmingham’s adoption of AI for all. Will previously was CTO of NXTsoft, a FinTech connectivity company based in Birmingham that was acquired in December 2022.