Ireland Portugal Business Network Podcast series

In this podcast, we sat down with Afghani-born Aziza Akrami and Moroccan-born Hind Falah to talk about their inspiring, remarkable journeys from their respective homelands to arrive at Porto Business School, where they currently study. We discuss their initial motivations to pursue higher education, adapting to life in Portugal, their passions and aspirations, what it’s like embracing a new culture, what keeps them hopeful and motivated, and how their idea of "home" has evolved along the way.

Hind is an investment professional specializing in frontier markets who started her career as a trader and now leads in...

As AI rapidly shifts from buzzword to backbone of modern business, the need to adopt it strategically—and understand where to find investment—has never been more urgent. Therefore, we’re excited to introduce the fourth and final panel of the day, featuring case study presentations from Philippe Brodeur, Barry Flynn, and Martin Duffy—three professionals who are applying AI in practical, high-value ways across very different domains.

Philippe Brodeur, Founder and CEO of Overcast HQ, brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of video and technology. His Video Content-as-a-Service (VCaaS) platform helps distributed teams st...

Titled “How to Start with AI and Investment Opportunities for AI Startups,” the third panel will explore how founders, SMEs, and innovators can move from AI curiosity to execution, with the added lens of investment readiness. Moderated by IPBN member and Strategic Growth Advisor Carlos Justino, the discussion will feature three leaders at the forefront of AI adoption, business innovation, and scale-up strategy.

Carlos Justino, an experienced AI Adoption & Strategic Growth Advisor, will guide the conversation. With a career built on helping businesses harness data, hyper-personalised marketing, and technology to drive sustainable growth, Carlos brings a practitioner’s pers...

The IPBN's June 17th Dublin Innovation Conference featured speakers and panelists from different sectors to bridge the gap between theory and practice, the first of which focused on new EU regulations in AI legislation as a framework for SMEs to discover tools to help them remain compliant with Agatha Bulha, Stephanie Prenderville, and moderator Lee Bristow.

Agatha Bulha is a lawyer at José Bulha International Law Office from Faro, a representative to the Council of Europe, and a member of the European Young Bar Association. As a business-minded professional, Agatha has always believed in the power of c...

Panel 2 of the IPBN Innovation Conference focuses on AI case studies regarding sustainability and data analysis.

JC Durbin, Head of Innovation and AI at IPBN Executive Partner, Ardanis, introduces the panel and delivers a case study from the company. JC is a seasoned leader and engineer with broad experience guiding projects from design to production. With a robust technology background and diverse industry experience, he excels at identifying and solving complex challenges, inspiring high-performing teams, and driving ambitious goals to success.

The next case study centered around “Decarbonising Business: AI Solutions for Net-Zero Goals” with IPBN...

In this episode, we spotlight the powerful keynote statements delivered at the Second Innovation Conference in Dublin by two thought leaders shaping the future of AI: Lee Bristow and Martin Duffy.

Lee Bristow, author of "The Human AI Alliance" and serial tech founder, explores what it means to build responsible AI. With expertise spanning RiskTech, automation, and information security, Lee advocates for transparency, ethics, and safety in AI adoption. In his keynote, he challenges us to think beyond the hype and focus on a more human-centered approach to technology. Lee recently led an insightful IPBN Masterclass, and...

AI is everywhere—but is it truly a strategic priority for your business, or just another tech trend? In this practical and insightful masterclass, Stephanie Prenderville, Founder of SP Consulting, cuts through the AI hype and helps you assess whether AI can meaningfully accelerate business results, reduce operational friction, and enable future agility.

The Masterclass, entitled "Is AI a Strategic Imperative – and If So, Why Now?" will allow listeners to get clarification on AI queries through real-world case studies and a clear, business-focused framework.

As interest in relocating to and investing in the Algarve continues to grow, so does the demand for clarity around the various incentives and residency schemes available in Portugal today. To address this, we opened out Member Meet Member event in the Algarve with a focused and informative panel discussion followed by networking opportunities. Our expert panel explored and clarified several key programs, including:

The discussion was moderated by Sharon Farre...

Check out the podcast taken from the online Masterclass on the EU Pay Transparency Directive, coming into effect in 2026. In this session, three IPBN members shared their expertise on the legal, practical, and strategic implications of the new regulations, ensuring you are ready to meet compliance standards and avoid penalties. Listen as they decode the legal requirements, discuss practical steps for compliance, communicate upcoming changes, and more!

Listen to this exclusive online Masterclass with IPBN member Lee Bristow, author of Human AI Alliance. Lee explored essential governance strategies to help businesses confidently adopt AI in this Masterclass entitled "Prepare Your Business for AI." Lee walked the audience through implementing governance frameworks to ensure fairness and equity in AI systems (Reducing Bias). Lee also touched on ways to develop safe, secure, and responsible AI practices (Reducing Fear) and how to Navigate AI regulations like the EU AI Act with transparency and trust (Eliminating Uncertainty).

Listen to an exclusive online Masterclass with IPBN member Lee Bristow, author of Human AI Alliance. In this episode, Lee explores essential governance strategies to help businesses confidently adopt AI and walks the audience through implementing governance frameworks to ensure fairness and equity in AI systems (Reducing Bias). Lee also touches on ways to develop safe, secure, and responsible AI practices (Reducing Fear) and how to navigate AI regulations like the EU AI Act with transparency and trust (Eliminating Uncertainty).

Today's podcast is with Raquel Pinto, a career and leadership coach with over 15 years of experience in career and management coaching. Raquel helps people achieve career goals and hone their leadership skills in order to broaden their scope and determine the next best steps for their professional lives. In this episode, we look at Raquel's "Five traits"—strategic thinking, accountability, influence, agility, and self-leadership as they apply to AI tools, imposter syndrome, hiring managers, and daily exercises for leaders.

Check out her website here: www.raquelpinto.com for more information or DM Raquel on her LinkedIn Profile wi...

Today on the podcast we welcome Jo James from AmberLife, a motivating and results-focused Business Coach, Author and Trainer, empowering you to take your business to the next level, while ensuring you maintain the balance you value in life. In this podcast we discuss confidence in a business context, her book Make Mondays Matter, helping entrepreneurs grow sustainably with AmberLife, maintaining momentum, and more.

See Jo's website for more details about how she can help you grow your business at www.amberlife.com

The book, Make Your Mondays Matter is Available on Amazon, here http...

Listen to this conversation between IPBN member Brian Shanahan of Informita and Carlos Justino of the UAlg Tech Hub that focuses on the objectives of understanding the impact of the recent tariffs on SMEs with the aim to help minimize the impact on business with some practical advice for both businesses and consumers alike.

IPBN member company and host of the upcoming Member Meet Member event in Porto, FinTrU, has grown significantly in Porto, now with over 200 employees. In this podcast, Telmo Fernandes, the Site Lead at FinTrU shares what initially attracted the company to Portugal and how the expansion has contributed to the company's success. We cover a variety of topics from Telmo's experience with expansion and talent acquisition including:

• FinTrU’s Success in Portugal

• Portugal as a Business Solution for Irish Companies

• Talent Pool & Workforce

• Infrastructure & Business Environment

• Educational Institutions & Cultural Fit

•...

Claire is a publicist specializing in thought leadership campaigns for founders and venture capitalists in the technology sector.

In this session, Claire covers:

Join us today to hear the whirlwind story of Otonomee, what inspired its creation, key milestones, global teams, remote-first expansion, challenges and benefits of scaling internationally, current partnerships, and Otonomee's exciting future plans as told by Hilary O'Shea, COO of the company.

Check out this panel conversation about Sustainable AI-Scale Data Centres with Innovative Cooling and 100% Renewable Energy with: India Branquinho de Oliveira, Sustainability Manager at Start Campus | Delivering Al-Scale Data Centre and Luis Adolfo, Director, Skanstec Engineering, IPBN Executive Partner, moderated by IPBN member Kayleigh Ann Myles, ESG & Sustainability Lead @ Lawler Sustainability, winner of this year's IPBN Business Success Award.

Listen to this exclusive conversation about the Vertical Farming Revolution and Farming Sustainability. This talk focused on the VF opportunities within cities and what Farming Sustainability means with John Paul Prior, Chair of the IPBN Porto and Director of Sales Strategy and Technical Development at Farmony, and Patrick FitzGerald, Ceo & Founder Beotanics, a plant genetics and plant based food ingredient development company & Board Member of The Irish Food Board.

In the first panel discussion, Siobhán Finn, CEO of Community Enterprise Association Ireland (CEAI), spoke about efforts to foster entrepreneurship in rural communities while Laetitia Arrighi de Casanova, Director of B Lab Portugal, shed light on how the global B Corp movement is reshaping business practices with a focus on social and environmental impact. The conversation was moderated by IPBN Board Member Susan Cabeceiras of Konceptness. Listen to the podcast to follow the conversation on Community Development and Urban Planning, creating local communities where people connect around technology, regeneration, and togetherness.

The host of the IPBN's Sustainability Conference, Chitra Stern, co-owner of Martinhal Resorts and the United Lisbon International School, shared insights on how sustainable business practices have been embedded into their developments in Portugal. She said, “My husband, Roman, and I came to Portugal 26 years ago for both business opportunities and lifestyle,” Stern recalled. “Building sustainability into our ventures has been a long-term priority.”

Stern also reflected on the challenges and achievements of the Martinhal Sagres Beach Resort, which opened in 2010, highlighting efforts such as preserving natural landscapes, installing solar panels in stages, capturing and recycling rainwater, and brin...

Joining us today is Raquel Horta, the Co-Founder of Partnium Services, a company dedicated to helping businesses scale efficiently through tailored, on-demand services. With over 25 years of experience in operations, strategy, project and program management, and business transformation, Raquel Horta is no stranger to working seamlessly with many different organizations. She has seen firsthand the challenges that businesses face - bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and resource gaps - and she's passionate about providing practical solutions that drive real impact. And that’s why she co-founded Partnium Services: to bridge these gaps while helping businesses accelerate growth without unnecessary overhead. Let's see wh...

Joining this podcast is Video Production Specialist José Nunes of IPBN executive media partner RXL Studio who will be present at the upcoming 6th Annual Sustainability Conference in Lisbon to make sure out AV is top notch. RXL has covered several IPBN conferences thus far and, on our side, we can say that they excel at what they do. From interviews to images, to drone footage, we have been more than pleased at the result so we wanted to give José the opportunity to talk a little more about the production industry, AI editing tools, customer preferences, and more.

Tony Redondo takes a look at what client issues regarding the integrated subjects of currency exchanges and international payments he has seen over his career, and what he did to ensure Cosmos can help solve these pain points.

Tony Redondo is a seasoned professional with over 39 years of experience in the financial services industry and a qualified Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Having held senior management roles across various banks and brokerages, he founded Cosmos Currency Exchange in 2020. Cosmos offers a unique service for clients needing to make or receive currency payments in over 35 currencies...

The last Masterclass of the year looks ahead to 2025! We are inviting all our members from all the IPBN's active regions to listen to a member/expert from Porto, Lisbon, Algarve, and Ireland to listen in on the talk about what business opportunities they see in their respective regions for 2025.

The guest speakers have all been chosen for their knowledge of local businesses and SMEs, which should be very helpful in preparing your objectives and strategy for 2025. These four guest speakers are key business players and leaders who bring business to their regions and therefore have a...

What does business culture look like after the pandemic? Every organization should define their company culture, but what does that look like in this new workplace reality? Sharon Dehmel, company culture coach, and Brett Putter, author and Founder/CEO of CultureGene discuss new business landscapes, working remotely, what has transpired as companies look at hybrid solutions, and how leaders should be handling their teams.

Have a listen to the IPBB's first panel discussion from the Tourism Conference in Porto, 2024. This panel dove into the opportunities and challenges related to exploring and developing tourism in Northern Portugal's and Ireland's coastal and interior regions with special guests Francisco Calheiros and Miriam Kennedy, and moderated by John Paul Prior.

Francisco de Calheiros is The President of Associação dos Amigos do Caminho Português de Santiago, an association for the promotion and protection of the Portuguese Way to Santiago de Compostela, that was founded in 1998. He is also head of the ancient Calheiros Family and...

Rita Marques is Consultant, Invited Faculty Member and Program Director at the Porto Business School, Champion of the Innovation Tourism Hub and Former Secretary of State for Tourism. She sat down with IPBN board member Rachael Milne to discuss her work in attracting and retaining talent in tourism, her goals for the future of the sector, and what Porto is doing to up its game.

The Ireland Portugal Business Network (IPBN) held the 3rd edition of its annual Tourism conference Thursday November 14 from 9h to 13h at WOW ART GALLERY, located at the main square of the culture complex. Beginning with words of welcome were Geoffrey Graham, Chair of the IPBN Board and Senior Partner at EDGE International Lawyers, followed by an opening statement by Adrian Bridge, CEO at The Fladgate Partnership and owner of the WoW, and concluding with words from Luís Pedro Martins, President of Porto and North of Portugal Tourism Board on the basic strategy of promotion of the region.

In this episode, Ellis Dixon sits down with certified brand architects Meg Kypena and Barbara Monahan to drive awareness among small business owners about the UnBox Brand Workshop Series. One is a former story brand guide based in North Carolina, and the other has a background in graphic design background and a level 9 qualification in designing for sustainability and is based in Dublin.

In this conversation, Barbara and Meg will share the journey that inspired UnBox and their mission to offer a thoughtful, strategic approach that helps small business owners discover their brand's unique essence and confidently...

"The future of digital asset management lies in innovative technology. Our cutting-edge auto-trade system represents this future, designed to navigate the digital asset market's complexities. Explore with us how technology is redefining investment strategies".

Listen here to the IPBN online Masterclass with IPBN member Sean Kelly, CEO at Akrido Digital Assets and find out how busy Executives can efficiently manage their investment portfolios.

In this 1 hour Master Class including Q&A, Sean provides fantastic tips and insights on making you feel more confident about leveraging technology to drive your financial growth.

Sean has...

"We are driven by the belief that citizens have the right to be better informed, that access to independently-sourced facts is not only essential for democracy but is also a fundamental human right. Transparency is at the center of everything we do".

In partnership with our Media Partner The Portugal News, we invited all our members to a very exciting Conversation with a Leader featuring Gerard Ryle, Executive Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) at the Auditorium of the Embassy in Lisbon on Thursday, October 3.

Gerard Ryle is the Pulitzer Prize and...

Masterclass 3 - Leaving a Positive Legacy: Creating Shared Value and Positive Impact

In this final session, Liliana explored how organizations can go beyond sustainability to create shared value and impact for all stakeholders. Participants gained insights into how to leverage their organization's resources, expertise, and influence to address pressing societal and environmental challenges while driving business success.

Topics included:

In this episode, Arnold Delville, General Manager of the IPBN speaks to IPBN member Filipe Pinho Pereira, Founder and CEO of Crowdclass, a Tech startup that helps companies grow community engagement, and brand loyalty with digital experiences powered by Digital Collectibles and NFTs. Filipe has a very interesting marketing concept, which he details on today's conversation. Get ready to hear several key aspects of his new superfan-based marketing concept, the Membrz.Club, a new generation superfan monetization platform across concerts, event promoters, curators and more!

Meet the Co-Founders of Golf Concept, Estela Sargento and Ana Massapina, two friends with extensive experience in corporate events, who discovered a common passion in Golf. Estela brings a passion for organization, communication strategies, and brand activation to the table, thanks to the skills she developed working in tourism and marketing in the hotel business. 15 years ago, she pivoted to the golf industry where she has worked in customer service, the commercial area, as an events organizer. Ana Massapina, comes from an entrepreneurial background that has focused on golf from day one. She has organized national and international events...

In this new episode, we chat with Lee Bristow, an expert in risk, compliance, governance, and leadership with a specialization in the intersection of AI and humans in the workplace. With over 30 years of experience, Lee is dedicated to helping leaders navigate the complexities of the AI revolution and fostering a more human-centric workplace. Originally from South Africa, Lee is the author of The Human AI Alliance: Meditations for Leaders and is currently based in Ireland, looking toward Portugal as the site of his next professional adventure. Here he speaks with IPBN Board member and Founder of PinkRoom, Már...

Mario Gago is an IPBN Board Member, Board Member of SubVisual Digital Group, and Co-Founder of PinkRoom based in Coimbra, a company that builds mobile digital products. Mario is here to discuss what Pink Room does, why mobile apps are essential to clients, what SubVisual Group is doing to innovate the business landscape, talk about his recent stint in the USA with YTILI, and discuss the differences between the Portuguese and Irish ecosystems.

Check out the second of the three-part Masterclass series entitled: "Building Thriving Organisations: Integrating Ethical and Regenerative Practices into Strategy and Operations" with Liliana Domingues of Amarna Vida.

This session focuses on practical strategies for integrating conscious and regenerative business practices into organizational strategy and operations. Participants will learn how to align beyond sustainability goals with business objectives, identify key drivers of business performance, and overcome common barriers to implementation.

Topics include:

Elise Slotte is the owner of the company Evolspiration and a representative for the IPBN member An Even Better Place to Work in Portugal. Elise has joined the podcast to discuss leadership and employer branding in the workplace, how to motivate employees, and how bp2w can help facilitate good decision-making and attract quality employees.

In this episode of the IPBN Podcast Series with IPBN executive Partner Vellozo Ferreira Advogados' own Paula Costa, we look at workers' rights in Portugal, how to prepare yourself for employment within the country, and other things companies should know when moving to Portugal, bringing their own workers, or hiring a local Portuguese team.