Meet the Team
Keynote PCO is a full-service conference management company, with all project management services provided by our skilled staff. We are a specialist for research and association conferences taking place in Ireland.
We adopt a flexible partnership approach, in which our team are an integral part of the overall operation of the event, in order to maximise the benefit of our experience for our client, sponsors, delegates and others involved in the conference. Our individual staff members have managed many of the largest conferences to have been held in Ireland, and we carry the highest international marks of quality for our work.
Noel Mitchell
More about Noel
Noel has over 25 years of international conference management experience, both as a PCO and as the association host and a published scientific speaker. This brings the balanced perspective of both the role of the conference organiser, and the needs of the association and delegates.
In addition to a PhD in Experimental Physics, Noel is a Certified Meeting Manager with Meeting Planners International. He is a recognized leader in the international meetings industry, and is a former Council Member of the International Association of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO), current Treasurer of the World PCO Alliance, and Chairperson of the Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers.
Noel is very passionate about delivering the best possible advice and service for our conference clients and delegates. His greatest thrill is winning the big international bids for Ireland!
Siobhan O’Hare
More about Siobhan
Siobhan graduated from DIT with a BSc in Management in 1992 and spent several years working in the Conference and Banqueting departments of key Dublin city centre hotels, before moving to the Association Conference area in 2004. For more than a decade, Siobhan has managed some of the largest landmark events to be held in Ireland. Siobhan completed an MSc in Executive Leadership in 2009 and uses the skills developed to oversee complicated projects.
Siobhan likes nothing more than balancing a challenging conference budget and her favourite time in every conference is the Conference Dinner.
Leone Mitchell
More about Leone
After graduating with a PhD in Biochemistry, Leone worked as a business consultant in the IT and telecommunications industries and as a project manager in the events industry. Leone is a Director of the company and manages our abstract systems and other scientific services. She really enjoys the whole process of abstract submission from designing the submission website through to producing an online programme of abstracts.
Leone loves that first glimpse of the printed programme book!
Rachel O’Hare
More about Rachel
Rachel graduated from UCD with a BA in History and Greek and Roman Civilization. She spent several years working in customer relations, before moving to the events arena in 2006. She quickly established herself in the association conference area and since then has worked as a project manager. Rachel joined Keynote PCO in 2010 and has worked on a large variety of conferences, both national and international.
Rachel’s favourite thing when organising a conference is managing the budget.
Kasia Mahony
More about Kasia
Kasia holds a BSc in Tourism Marketing from DIT and a Diploma in Event Management from DBS. She began her career in the hospitality sector with the Hilton Hotel Group, where she developed a strong foundation in client service excellence, commercial awareness, and event operations.
She joined Keynote PCO in 2012 as Delegate Services Manager and was promoted to Project Manager in 2016. Over the following years, she successfully delivered large-scale international congresses, strengthening her expertise in stakeholder engagement, operational leadership, and strategic event delivery. Her ability to align commercial objectives with client needs naturally led her into business development, where she played a key role in bid preparation, sponsorship strategy, and exhibition sales growth.
Appointed Director of Business Development in 2024, Kasia now leads the company’s revenue growth strategy and oversees sponsorship and exhibition development across the majority of Keynote PCO’s portfolio. She drives new business acquisition, develops competitive bid strategies, and cultivates long-term partnerships with international associations, committees, and industry stakeholders. Working closely with clients, she helps shape congress strategy, identify commercial opportunities, and ensure events deliver measurable impact and lasting value.
Passionate about creating meaningful, high-quality experiences, Kasia thrives on the energy of live events and the satisfaction of seeing months, and often years, of strategic planning successfully brought to life.
Jackie McGann
More about Jackie
Jackie has over 10 years of experience in the association conference industry, where she has successfully managed numerous conferences and events for various organisations. Jackie graduated with a BSc in Hospitality Management from the Dublin Institute of Technology.
During her time in the association conference industry, Jackie gained invaluable experience overseeing all aspects of conference planning, from site selection and supplier coordination to budget management and logistics.
After a successful career progression, Jackie made the conscious decision to take a career break to focus on raising her family and moved abroad living in the UK and Denmark before returning to Ireland.
Jackie has recently returned to the professional arena as a senior project manager for Keynote PCO. Her decision to resume her career is a testament to her passion for the conference industry and her desire to continue contributing her expertise in a senior role.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Jackie enjoys running and staying active.
Daire McCafferty
More about Daire
Daire brings over 10 years of experience in association and congress management, working with a diverse portfolio of international clients and delivering events across a wide range of destinations, from Hamburg to Hyderabad. With a strong foundation in customer service, he has developed exceptional client relationship management and problem-solving skills through many years in the hospitality and events industry.
He is passionate about creating seamless on-site experiences and takes particular pride in supporting both local and international clients in delivering successful events across Ireland.
Daire holds a Master’s degree in Single Honours History from UCD, awarded in 2012, and combines his academic background with practical expertise to ensure every event is executed to the highest standard.
Giselle Lima
More about Giselle
Giselle is a key component in the Keynote Support Team in managing the delegate interactions for your event, managing the onsite delegate services. She is the front line of delegate interaction. Her experience and customer care ethos is key to delivering a successful event.
Giselle graduated from NCI with a MSc in Entrepreneurship. Along with her degree and her years of experience in project and hospitality, she brings many different skills to the team.
When not focusing on welcoming our client’s delegates to Ireland, she loves meeting friends and spending time with her family!
Jean Curley
More about Jean
Jean has over 20 years’ experience in the residential property sector in Ireland and qualified as a full member of the Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (now the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland). In 1998 she joined David Daly Management in a property management capacity, and for over a decade had responsibility for renting and managing more than 60 apartments on both short- and long-term bases in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
Jean brings a wealth of administrative expertise to Keynote PCO, which coupled with excellent customer service experience, makes her a valued member of our Delegate Services team.
Geraldine Byrne
More about Ger
Geraldine is a BComm graduate of UCC and a qualified Chartered Accountant, completing her accountancy training with KPMG in Cork. After completion of her training contract, she was appointed financial accountant with Coca-Cola Distributors Ireland where she remained for 4 years. She subsequently joined Johnson & Johnson Medical Ireland as Finance Manager and, over 13 years of rapid growth for this business, held various senior positions with responsibility for finance, customer service, operations and projects. She commenced work with Keynote in September 2009.
Geraldine enjoys the challenge that complicated conferences present.
