BALLYMALOE ORGANIC FARM SCHOOL

Darina Allen is synonymous in Ireland with the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School, Co Cork, which she co-founded in 1983. A passionate advocate of sustainability in farming and growing, her Ballymaloe Organic Farm School brings students from all over the world to hone their culinary skills at this sustainable, biodiverse Farm-to-Table project. Darina is a founder member of the Irish Farmers’ Market Movement, she is also East Cork Slow Food Convivia Leader, Chair of Artisan Food Forum, and a Farming for Nature Ambassador. A weekly food columnist in the Weekend Section of the Irish Examiner, she is also author of 21 bestselling cookbooks, and is an André Simon Award winner. Darina received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from Listowel Food Fair and was Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the year in 2001.

CEO MYWARDROBE HQ

Coco Baraer Panazza is a French entrepreneur based in London. As CEO of MYWARDROBE HQ (MWHQ), Coco overseas an organisation dedicated to inspiring people to embrace the circular economy through luxury fashion rental and resale.  After earning her MBA in Beijing, Coco moved to the US, working with many of the world’s most renowned brands including LVMH, Kering, Estée Lauder, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bon Marché. Her recent completion of the Harvard Business School online course on Sustainable Business Strategy underscores her commitment to environmental stewardship, aligning with MWHQ's ethos of sustainability in luxury fashion.

FARMING FOR NATURE (IRL)

Founded in 2018, under the auspices of the Burrenbeo Trust, Farming for Nature is a non-profit initiative whose mission is to support, encourage and inspire farmers who farm, or who wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of our countryside. Brigid Barry has been the manager of Farming for Nature since its inception.  Prior to this initiative, she was the manager of the landscape charity Burrenbeo Trust for 9 years, biodiversity officer for Clare County Council and a project officer on numerous conservation projects abroad for the previous 10 years.  Brigid comes from a suckler and tillage farm in Co. Cork.  Her most recent publication, The Farming for Nature Handbook, co-authored with Dr Emma Hart and Brendan Dunford, presents an extensive guide to working in ways that support the land for growers, gardeners and farmers everywhere.

U2

Bass guitarist with U2, acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, Adam Clayton met Larry Mullen, The Edge and Bono at Mount Temple School in 1978. The band’s 15 studio albums have amassed sales in excess of 175 million, and their awards include 22 Grammys, two Golden Globes, and the Amnesty International, Ambassador of Conscience Award. Alongside shared and solo music projects, Adam has written extensively about contemporary art, and in 2022 he presented a documentary titled Francis Bacon: The Outsider which follows the story of the painter’s early life in Ireland. Lauded for his work in helping others with the addiction recovery process, he is also committed to organic and regenerative growing, exploring how the work we do now can help to reverse what has been done.

TD

Cork-born Simon Coveney is an Irish politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1998 to 2024. During this time, he held Ministerial portfolios including Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Foreign Affairs; and Minister for Agriculture. He was Táiniste from 2017 to 2020, during which time he was a prominent figure representing the Republic of Ireland during the Brexit negotiations. Previously, from 2004 to 2007, he was also a Member of the European Parliament. With enormous experience in both politics, and policy, Simon has a BSc in Agriculture and Land Management, and has worked as an agriculture advisor and farm manager.

BURRENBEO TRUST

Brendan Dunford is a founder of, and volunteer with, the Burrenbeo Trust, a charity dedicated to promoting and enabling community stewardship across Ireland. Within Burrenbeo, Brendan works directly on projects including The Hare’s Corner, Farming for Nature, Project ReFarm and the Burren Winterage Weekend. Between 2005-2022 he led the award-winning BurrenLIFE Project and its successor, the Burren Programme. Brendan is a Fellow of Ashoka’s Global network of Social Entrepreneurs and was awarded an honorary doctorate by University of Galway in 2018 for his work in championing farmland biodiversity. He is a regular contributor to the Irish Farmers Journal on sustainability themes and is author of Farming and the Burren and co-author of the Farming for Nature Handbook. Originally from a farming background in Co. Waterford, Brendan has spent the last 25 years living and working in the Burren region in Co. Clare.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

With over 25 years at the forefront of luxury, publishing, and fashion across all continents, Mary Fellowes has consistently been a trailblazer. Notable achievements include launching Vogue Turkey, serving as The Economist's first and only Style Editor, and creating the first sustainable red carpet wardrobes for stars including Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Active in public speaking and thought leadership, 2021, she founded GreenWith Studio, a sustainable innovation consultancy for apparel and textiles. Alongside supporting research on circular fashion, GreenWith Studio partners on youth-focussed programmes and provides companies with the tools they need to future proof and innovate in a sustainable landscape.

BELFAST SCHOOL OF ART

Senior Lecturer at Belfast School of Art, Alison Gault is an internationally renowned designer. A recognised UK Design Council Expert, she is Chair of the Irish Grown Wool Council (IGWC). Championing a regenerative approach to textile design and fashion, she works to guide students, designers, and industry toward responsible and sustainable practices. Her industry collaborations and innovations have gained her international acclaim, with 2023/24’s BIODIRECT project becoming the first all-Ireland InterTrade Ireland Synergy project, highlighting the importance of open innovation in unlocking circular and bioeconomy opportunities. She is also a researcher on flagship projects with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Research Science Council.

THE GALWAY WOOL COMPANY

Blátnaid Gallagher is an Irish organic wool and lamb producer, dedicated to revitalising Native Irish wool and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. In 2016, she inherited Murray Meadows, a farm near Aughrim in East Galway, where she manages a flock of purebred, registered Native Irish Galway Sheep. Wool from this now rare breed was once the raw material for the Iconic Aran Sweater. In 2019, after earning an MSc in Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Blátnaid founded the Galway Wool Co-op, Ireland's first virtual wool growers' cooperative. This initiative aims to counteract the declining population of Native Irish Galway sheep, restore the cultural integrity of Native Irish wool, and establish consistent market routes for native wool and it growers.

SUSTAINABLE FASHION ADVOCATE

Bay Garnett is the queen of “thrifting” and the first stylist to use vintage in British Vogue - on iconic Kate Moss. Bay has been the leader in sustainable fashion for decades and is Senior Fashion Advisor for Oxfam, having worked with them since 2017. She has been creative director for Matthew Williamson, Style Director at British Vogue and consultant to Chloe, Topshop and Louis Vuitton. There are many first curated by Bay - the first luxury pop up with Oxfam alongside Gucci and Prada; the first charity shop in a department store (at Selfridges); the first fashion show using only second-hand items donated by Oxfam and the first Second Hand September campaign starring Stella Tennant and most recently Sienna Miller. She has spoken at COP on ways to decarbonise the fashion industry and has also published a book ‘Style and Substance’. When not styling Kate, Chloe Sevigny or Debbie Harry and collaborating with top fashion photographers Bruce Weber, Tom Craig and Juergen Teller, Bay continues to speak out about creating a more sustainable fashion industry. It’s no wonder she received the ‘ Icon Hall of Fame Award’ this year from TheIndustry Fashion People, Planet and Purpose Awards for ‘bringing vintage shopping into the mainstream fashion and media worlds’. 

STUDENT ACTIVIST AND YOUNG SCIENTIST WINNER

Lilian Gleave is a first-year medical student at University College Cork, and a dedicated advocate for positive change. She focuses on education for sustainable development, working to bridge the gap between knowledge and action in climate change. Passionate about cultivating a sustainable future and amplifying the youth voice, she works to raise awareness and inspire action contributing to a more environmentally conscious and socially responsible world. Lilian won an award at BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in 2022 for her project: "To investigate the world of fast fashion and how to incentivize mending clothes instead of discarding them." She is on the National Action Panel of Spunout, and is a Youth Advisory Panel member for Plan International Ireland, a humanitarian organization dedicated to advancing children's rights and gender equality.

RECOMME

Entrepreneur Tom Grafton is passionate about finding solutions that work to solve today’s urgent issues. As founder of Recomme, he aims to make circular systems work for businesses, and so make repurposing, recycling and reusing a viable and fundamental part of the sustainable fashion chain. A multi-award winning platform, Recomme provides brands and retailers with business appropriate, viable next-stage-of-life solutions for garments, making their transition to a circular business model smooth and effective. Working with Recomme, Tom invests in finding the answers the fashion industry needs to take its next sustainable steps. He is also actively engaged in supporting young people to fulfil their potential.

LONDON EVENING STANDARD

One of the UK’s most decorated journalists, Dylan Jones has worked with The Face and Arena, been a columnist for The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday and The Independent, and was formerly Editor-In-Chief of The Evening Standard. During his editorship of GQ, the magazine won more awards than any other. An acknowledged expert on fashion, Dylan was awarded an OBE in 2012 for services to the arts. As an independent consultant, he has worked for brands including Soho House, Savile Row, The British Fashion Council, St. Martin’s School of Art and Thomas Pink. His knowledge of media, retail, communication and the creative communities has led him to work with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on creative and social fusion projects. A board member of the British Fashion Council from 2011 to 2021, he is currently Editor-At-Large of The London Standard.

SOIL EXPERTS

Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy established The Land Gardeners to research plant and soil health through growing, cutting and designing. Their mission is to work with gardeners and farmers to improve the health of our land, creating beautiful, healthy plants, gardens, and farms brimming with biodiversity and life, all founded on healthy soil. The Land Gardeners have written three books – their latest being The Land Gardeners Soil to Table, which reflects their overriding passion for the link between soil health and the food we eat. Collaborating with the Organic Research Centre on their Feed The Soil project, they are running farm-scale trials of non-chemical ways of feeding the soils, and have recently launched an on-line educational platform SOIL to educate and empower farmers, growers and gardeners. Most recently, Henrietta and Bridget have co-curated Soil: The world at our feet, a ground-breaking exhibition at London’s Somerset House.

MEP & FORMER EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER

Mairéad McGuinness has spent over 20 years working in the EU Institutions, completing her term as the European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union in December 2024. Her focus was on ensuring the strength and stability of the financial sector, so that it can deliver for people, society and the economy; she also prioritised financial wellbeing and financial literacy. Before joining the Commission in October 2020, Mairéad was First Vice-President of the European Parliament, and served as an MEP from Ireland for 16 years. In 2024, Mairéad was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science by University College Dublin (UCD), in recognition of her outstanding achievements as a member of the EU Commission and her contributions to the Agri-Food sector in Ireland and the European Union. Prior to becoming an MEP, she was an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and commentator.

SOSV (USA)

Sean O’Sullivan is Managing General Partner of SOSV, a venture capital firm with $1.5 Billion in AUM. Sean began as an entrepreneur. His first startup, MapInfo, grew to a $200 million revenue public company, popularising street mapping on computers. At NetCentric, he was credited as the co-creator of the term “cloud computing”. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from RPI and a MFA in Film Production from USC. As the founder of the O’Sullivan Foundation, he was the founding funder of Coderdojo and is a principal donor to Khan Academy. Sean is on the board of Khan Academy, the Tyndall Institute, the Autism Impact Alliance, the Brain Foundation, and a number of private companies. Bringing an ethos of ethical sustainability to the projects he gets involved with, Sean is passionate about how creativity, design and technology can contribute to change for good.

THE EDEN PROJECT (UK)

Sir Tim Smit KBE was born in Holland. He read Archaeology and Anthropology at Durham University and worked for ten years in the music industry. Tim is Co-founder of the award-winning Eden Project near St Austell in Cornwall. Eden began as a dream in 1995 and opened its doors to the public in 2000, since when more than 19 million people have come to see what was once a sterile pit turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour. Eden is proud of its success in changing people’s perception of the potential for and the application of science, by communicating and interpreting scientific concepts through the use of art, drama and storytelling as well as living up to its mission to take a pivotal role in local regeneration. It demonstrates once and for all that sustainability is not about sandals and nut cutlets, it is about good business practice and the citizenship values of the future. 

FOUNDER FASHION REVOLUTION

Internationally renowned for her transformative impact on the fashion industry, Carry Somers is a visionary changemaker, fashion designer, social entrepreneur, and campaigner. She co-founded Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, challenging the industry to take greater responsibility. Her work has inspired action and ignited a shift towards transparency, fairness, and sustainability at every level of the supply chain. She also founded the award-winning Fair Trade brand Pachacuti, pioneering radical supply chain transparency, and co-founded the League of Artisans, a non-profit championing artisanal skills as a vital response to global challenges. Today, Carry focuses on her twin passions: textiles and storytelling. Her forthcoming book explores the entwined histories of plants and textiles, uncovering the threads that have shaped our world and the choices defining our material future.