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Judges Panel 2026

Meet the
Judges

An independent panel of founders, investors, operators and ecosystem leaders evaluates every entry. Our judges bring decades of combined experience across technology, finance, scaling and Irish enterprise.

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The Panel

Judges Panel 2026

David Crimmins
Co-Founder & CEO, Global Health Capital
LinkedIn

David Crimmins is an entrepreneur and senior business leader with extensive experience in founding, building and scaling businesses across healthcare, financial services and technology.

He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Global Health Capital (GHC), an Irish fintech company transforming how medical professionals access business funding.

Throughout his career, David has held senior executive and commercial leadership positions across startups, high-growth businesses and established international organisations. His experience spans business strategy, fundraising, commercialisation, operational transformation and international expansion.

Previously, David was CEO of Webdoctor (Medihive), an Irish digital healthcare business, and held senior leadership positions with ResMed, a global leader in digital health and medical technology, GloHealth and MedServ. These roles provided extensive experience in developing new markets, scaling operations, building strategic partnerships and bringing innovative healthcare solutions to market.

Having worked on both sides of the startup journey, as a founder seeking investment and as an executive responsible for delivering sustainable growth, David brings a practical understanding of the challenges entrepreneurs face. He has particular expertise in identifying market opportunities, developing commercially viable business models, securing investment and translating ambitious ideas into scalable businesses.

David is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and the role startups play in challenging established industries. As a judge at the National Startup Awards, he is particularly interested in businesses that demonstrate a clear understanding of the problem they are solving, genuine differentiation, strong commercial potential and the ambition and resilience to build something of lasting value.

Amy Neale
Delta Partners
LinkedIn
General Partner at Delta Partners, Ireland's leading venture capital firm with a three-decade track record of backing visionary founders. At Delta, Amy leads investments in early-stage companies spanning diverse sectors, championing entrepreneurs who are shaping the future and building high-impact businesses. She serves on several startup boards and is a vocal advocate for a more inclusive tech ecosystem. Previously, Amy was Senior Vice President at Mastercard, where she led the global fintech team and founded the award-winning Start Path programme, supporting hundreds of startups that have collectively raised billions. Originally from the UK and now based in Dublin, Amy began her career in academia and holds a PhD in Computational Linguistics.
Stephen Minogue
MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland
LinkedIn
Director at MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland, the private equity firm backing ambitious Irish SMEs, where he has spent almost a decade investing in and supporting growth companies, first as Investment Manager and as Director since 2020. A chartered certified accountant (ACCA), Stephen sits on the boards of several portfolio companies, including as Non-Executive Director of Mitchell McDermott and Virginia International Logistics and as a board member of Travel Department, and previously served as Non-Executive Director of Cruinn Diagnostics.
Carole Donaghy
Remedy
LinkedIn
Award-winning innovation and financial services leader with senior experience across Virgin Money, Commonwealth Bank, American Express, NatWest and the Central Bank of Ireland. Carole has delivered enterprise-scale transformation and business impact, establishing the Central Bank's Innovation Sandbox Programme and Innovation Data Challenge, and launching major customer loyalty programmes across international markets. A Columbia Executive MBA, she now advises fintech and high-growth businesses through her consultancy, Remedy, helping founders navigate regulation and bring bold ideas to market.
Cillian Sugrue
Elkstone
LinkedIn
Investment Associate at Elkstone, focused on sourcing and identifying new investment opportunities. Before Elkstone, Cillian spent 3.5 years at Enterprise Ireland working on early-stage investments in software and food/agri-tech, where he led investments in 30+ companies across pre-seed and seed. He was previously co-founder of a VisionAI startup in the MarTech space backed by Techstars, Nvidia and others, and in another life set up a chain of hospitality venues in the West of Ireland. Cillian is active across the Irish startup and venture ecosystem, speaking at startup events and mentoring companies across the island.
Dr Rosalind Beere
Furthr
LinkedIn
Business consultant with Furthr and founder & CEO of sustainable tea brand Chi Fit. Known as "The Innovation Strategist," Rosalind has spent over four years in Ireland's startup ecosystem mentoring and championing founders, with a particular focus on supporting female entrepreneurs. She also lectures in strategy and entrepreneurship and is a frequent speaker and panel moderator, including at Dublin Tech Summit.
John Neeson
McCann FitzGerald LLC
LinkedIn
Corporate Partner at McCann FitzGerald LLP, specialising in M&A, joint ventures, restructurings and, in particular, private equity and venture capital transactions across the technology, medical devices, pharmaceutical and renewable energy sectors. A Trinity College Dublin law graduate, he is co-head of the firm's Start-Up team and, with Rory O'Malley, a driving force behind the Start Strong programme.
Aedamar Howlett
Former VP, The Coca-Cola Company
LinkedIn
Accomplished global business leader with an exceptional executive record across marketing, commercial and general management roles, powered by a conviction that world-class marketing and innovation accelerates business growth. Aedamar held numerous senior executive positions within The Coca-Cola System, leading transformation and innovation programmes, and brings a blend of big-brand experience and start-up/consultancy thinking. A Trinity College Dublin economics graduate with a Stanford Digital Accelerator programme and an IoD Diploma in Company Direction, she is a Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and The Marketing Society (London), former Chair of the Irish Beverage Council (IBEC), an Independent Director of Cricket Leinster and a Governor of Wesley College Dublin.
Tony Dignam FCA
Agile Executives
LinkedIn
Founder and CEO of Agile Executives, Ireland's largest network of fractional executives and mentors working with ambitious scaling SMEs. A commercially strong leader who has consistently improved the financial and operational performance of the businesses he has worked with, Tony is a strategic thinker with a proven capacity for leading change and delivering outstanding results, with experience in acquisitions, sales, restructuring, turnarounds and attracting new business. His career achievements have been delivered through process improvement, employee engagement, integrity and innovative approaches to transformation. With a passion for business and for sport, he brings senior executive experience across FMCG, retail, food services, hospitality, technology and sport in Ireland, the US and Europe.
Fiona Doyle
Agile Executives
LinkedIn
Strategic sales leader with more than 20 years' experience leading sales and account management teams across professional services, financial services and technology. As Fractional Chief Commercial Officer with Agile Executives, Fiona works with founders and SMEs to access funding, grants and senior expertise to grow and scale their businesses. She helps organisations, particularly fast-growing SMEs, professionalise their sales operations, strengthen go-to-market strategy and build sustainable revenue growth, specialising in sales enablement, sales excellence, sales transformation and interim or fractional sales leadership, from designing playbooks and processes to optimising pipelines and key accounts, setting clear KPIs and coaching teams to deliver measurable results. Her leadership style is focused on building positive, collaborative and inclusive cultures while mentoring and developing talent. Fiona is passionate about backing start-ups and supporting founders to own the room, communicate their vision and tell their story with impact, and brings valuable commercial insight to the National Startup Awards together with a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing ambitious early-stage and scaling businesses.
Michael Cronin
Cronin & Co
LinkedIn
Founder of Cronin & Company, the Dublin-based accountancy firm he established in 1978 and grew into one of Ireland's leading practices. Now a team of over 70 professionals and a member of Russell Bedford International, the firm offers audit and assurance, taxation, business advisory, company secretarial and dedicated start-up support to companies of every size and sector.
Lorna Duffy
Microfinance Ireland
LinkedIn
Head of Marketing and Channels at Microfinance Ireland, the not-for-profit, Government-backed lender that provides loans of up to €50,000 to micro-enterprises that cannot secure funding from mainstream banks. Lorna works closely with referral partners including the Local Enterprise Offices, AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB to ensure small businesses know about and can access this vital support.
Glen Hynes
Cronin & Company
LinkedIn
Director and Partner at Cronin & Company with over 20 years' experience in professional practice. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), Glen is known for his hands-on approach to client service and his ability to navigate complex financial and corporate compliance matters, supporting start-ups and scaling businesses alike.
Eileen Carroll
Púca
LinkedIn
CEO at Púca, the Irish messaging tech company she joined in 2001 when it was an early-stage startup. With thirty years in the technology sector, Eileen understands the personal, professional and regulatory challenges of building and growing technology businesses. In recent years she spearheaded the redevelopment and launch of Púca's enterprise SMS platform, strengthening its position as a trusted messaging provider in the Irish market. She is also Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of Prommt, an Irish paytech scale-up with a growing international presence.
Michael O'Dea
Enterprise Ireland
LinkedIn
Senior Development Advisor in the High Potential Start-up (HPSU) unit at Enterprise Ireland. Michael works directly with Ireland's most ambitious early-stage companies, advising founders on scaling internationally and accessing Enterprise Ireland funding and supports as they build innovative, export-focused businesses.
Paul MacGabhann
Local Enterprise Office Dublin City
LinkedIn
Business Advisor with the Local Enterprise Office Dublin City, Paul works directly with start-ups and SMEs, helping them develop business strategies, access funding and build strong foundations for growth. With more than 30 years' experience across business development, marketing and commercial roles, he has supported organisations at every stage of their growth journey. A graduate of University College Dublin (UCD), Paul is committed to helping ambitious founders turn opportunities into lasting success.
How It Works

The Judging Process

01

Longlisting

Every entry is reviewed and the strongest applicants in each category advance to a longlist, narrowing the field to the most compelling startups for closer examination.

02

Shortlisting

Every entry is scored against published criteria with identifying details removed, so each startup is assessed purely on merit.

03

Live Judging

Shortlisted finalists present to category judges in Dublin, where the panel probes traction, team and growth potential in person.

04

Winners Decided

Category winners are decided by consensus, and the Grand Prix — Startup of the Year is selected from those winners by the full panel.

NSA 2026

Entries are closed —
the judging begins

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