Join us at Bord Bia HQ in Dublin for our Ireland Regional Conference on 29 September
MBW’s Regional Conferences are a day of inspiration, connection & collaboration for our community. Hear from keynote sessions, insights from MBW’s new Gender Representation Report, industry insight, and have dedicated time for networking and personal development with a professional coach, designed to help you build confidence, capability and connections. This year’s theme ‘Turning Ambition into Action’ will focus on how we turn good intent into actionable progress for ourselves, no matter what our ambition looks like.
We’re excited to bring together a line-up of senior leaders and industry experts who will share practical industry knowledge, real experiences, practical lessons and the decisions that shaped their careers.
We’ll share the full agenda closer to the event, but you can expect a mix of keynote sessions, industry insight, and dedicated time for networking and personal development with a professional coach, all designed to help you build confidence, capability and connections plus the usual dose of MBW inspiration!
We will be running three other regional Conferences in Birmingham, Bradford & Belfast over Sep & Oct, with a very similar agenda. The aim is to deliver our events near to where our community are based, and ensure that we enable as many people to attend as possible. If you are unable to make this date, please consider attending our other conferences taking place in the other three locations.
CEO, Manor Farm

International Insights Specialist, Bord Bia


Trading Director, Marks & Spencer
Laura Harper is Trading Director for M&S Food in Ireland, leading the Commercial and Franchise performance of the business across the market. Since joining M&S from Aldi, she has established herself as a highly capable and trusted leader, recognised for her pace, ownership and delivery focus.
After studying Law and Accountancy at Queens in Belfast, Laura chose to follow a career in the diverse and challenging world of Retail. Having started as an Area Manager with Aldi, she progressed into a Buying Director role- before taking the leap to M&S in 2023 based in Dublin.
M&S is transforming and Laura has played a central role in driving performance and strengthening alignment across the Irish business, with a clear focus on combining group strategy with local market relevance. With a strong bias for action, she develops high-performing teams, creating the conditions for long-term, sustainable growth.

Director of Sustainability and Quality Assurance,, Bord Bia
Deirdre is Director of Sustainability and Quality Assurance, (Origin Green) in Bord Bia where she is responsible for the strategic development and management of national quality assurance and sustainability programmes for the Irish food and drink’s sector. Prior to her appointment, Deirdre was Head of Sustainability for Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland where she led the development and implementation of their first sustainability strategy. Deirdre has also held positions with leading dairy exporter Ornua, Nestle Switzerland, and Metro Group. Deirdre worked as a management consultant and in financial services before moving into the food industry. Deirdre has served as a member of the board of Sport Ireland since 2021.
Deirdre Ryan represented Ireland in the women's high jump at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
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