About MII
Marketing Institute Ireland (MII) is the professional body for marketers in Ireland. We provide marketing professionals with a pathway to professional success through education, certification, networking and professional development.
Since 1962, we have supported marketing professionals in developing their capabilities, advancing professional standards and driving business success.
What Marketing Institute Ireland Does
Marketing Institute Ireland is the professional body representing marketing professionals in Ireland. Our mission is to provide marketers with a pathway to professional success.
To achieve this, we provide the knowledge, recognition, community and professional standards that help marketers excel in their careers. As a result, they can deliver greater impact for their organisations.
We support both individual marketers and organisations. Through our services, marketers can develop skills, build credibility and create opportunities for growth.
Whether you are beginning your marketing career, progressing into leadership or building capability across your organisation, MII provides the support you need to succeed. In addition, members gain access to valuable resources, learning opportunities and professional connections. Our goal is to help marketers achieve professional success.
This means success for the individual, success for the organisations they serve and, ultimately, success for the Irish economy.
How Marketing Institute Ireland Supports Marketers
At the heart of everything we do is our commitment to building a strong community of marketers. Marketing Institute Ireland connects professionals across industries, encouraging collaboration, knowledge sharing and the exchange of best practice to help marketers and organisations succeed.
MII offers a wide range of opportunities for marketers to learn, connect, develop and gain professional recognition, including:
- National Marketing Conference – Ireland's premier marketing conference, bringing together internationally recognised experts and industry leaders to share insights, trends and practical strategies shaping the future of marketing.
- Professional Services and Certification – Helping marketers develop expertise, benchmark skills and gain professional recognition through assessment, certification and capability development pathways.
- Marketing Education Programmes – Developing and delivering educational programmes in partnership with TU Dublin, including postgraduate and Master's-level qualifications that support career progression and lifelong learning.
- Training and Professional Development – Providing online and in-person training programmes focused on the skills marketers need today, including artificial intelligence, digital marketing, social media and emerging industry trends.
- Lunch & Learn Sessions – Delivering practical insights from leading practitioners in concise, accessible sessions with learnings that can be applied immediately in the workplace.
- Corporate Training Solutions – Offering bespoke, MII-accredited in-house training programmes tailored to the needs of member organisations and their teams.
- MII AIM Awards – Managing Ireland's most prestigious marketing awards programme, recognising and celebrating excellence in marketing and the successful application of marketing to business challenges.
- Advocacy for the Marketing Profession – Promoting the value of marketing and championing its contribution to business performance, innovation and economic growth across Ireland.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – Championing a marketing profession where everyone is recognised, respected and valued, and promoting the role of marketing in representing Ireland's diverse society.
Our Team
We are made up of a small executive team of dedicated individuals with a lifetime of marketing experience. The executive team is responsible for membership, education, training, the MII AIM Awards, MII National Marketing Conference, MII Lunch & Learn events and many other services.
Shane Mc Gonigle
Chief Executive Officer
Shane leads the MII Executive team and is responsible for the delivery of our strategy. He will champion our Purpose as we strive to “strengthen the standing of our profession and educate, enable and empower you as marketers at all stages of your career”. He brings a wealth of international experience and marketing expertise to the role, having held senior positions in marketing agencies and client companies for over 30 years. In additional, he has held positions including director of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland, Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster, External Examiner at the TU Dublin and is a former President of IAPI.
Caitríona Ambrose
Áine Plunkett
Leah Golding
Grainne Phelan
Rose Ellen Kavanagh
Lisa Sweeney
Karen Hendy
Elaine Kirwan
Fionn Riordan
Our Board Members
The executive team reports to the Marketing Institute Ireland Board of Directors, led by our Chair Mr. Mark Nolan. The board set the strategy and meet up to five times per year as a group to review strategy, objectives, and performance.
Mark Nolan
Deputy Managing Partner | Genesis
Mark is Deputy Managing Partner of Genesis, a leading strategy advisory firm specialising in value creation through customer and market strategy and organisation engagement. Its clients include leading Irish and international companies and organisations.
Mark holds BSc in Marketing from TU Dublin. Prior to Genesis, Mark has led research and insight agencies connecting data and insight with marketing and business strategy for many
of Ireland’s leading organisations and marketing professionals. He continues this work with Genesis leading complex strategic, brand and growth engagements with C-suite and SMT leaders for many of Ireland’s most respected and ambitious organisations.
Etain Kidney
Head of School, Marketing and Entrepreneurship | TU Dublin
Dr Etain Kidney is Head of the School of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), where she leads strategic academic development and external engagement across a broad portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in marketing, enterprise and business practice. Her teaching spans customer insights, consumer behaviour, digital marketing, brand management and enterprise, and she supervises doctoral research in areas including inclusive entrepreneurship and responsible marketing practice.
Etain holds a PhD in Marketing from TU Dublin, an MA in Higher Education, an MSc in Business & Entrepreneurship and a BA in English & Philosophy, complemented by professional qualifications in analytics and third-level teaching and learning.
Beyond academia, she is a Non-Executive Director of the Dublin Simon Community, where she chairs the Marketing and Fundraising Committee, and a Trustee of the Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre, supporting community empowerment and inclusive practice. She also serves on the Commercial Committee of Hockey Ireland and contributes to strategic insights for the broader non-profit sector.
Suzanne Quinn
UK Customer director | tesco
An experienced marketer with a deep passion for the pace and challenge of retail, Suzanne specialises in building customer-focused business strategies and high-performing teams in cultures where people can thrive.
Before taking up her current role, Suzanne was Customer Director at Tesco Ireland, where she led customer strategy across one of Ireland’s largest retailers. She previously held senior leadership roles with Woodie’s, including Chief Commercial Officer and Marketing & Digital Director, and has also held senior marketing roles with Tesco Ireland and Dunnes Stores.
Throughout her career, Suzanne has built extensive experience across marketing, customer strategy, brand propositions, trade marketing, digital and commercial leadership. She holds an MSc in Marketing Practice from University College Dublin and brings valuable insight to the MII Board on the role of marketing in driving customer engagement, business growth and retail performance.
Catherine FitzGibbon
Chief People Officer | Core
Catherine Fitzgibbon is Chief People Officer at Core, where she leads the people strategy for Ireland’s largest communications company, shaping culture, talent development and organisational growth across multiple disciplines including strategy, data, research, creative and media. In her role she drives high-performance workplaces, championing employee wellbeing, continuous improvement and inclusive leadership as core business enablers. Over her nearly two decades with Core she has played a pivotal role in building and sustaining a high-trust, people-centred culture that underpins the company’s success and its long-standing Great Place to Work accreditation. Catherine’s expertise lies in aligning people strategy with business goals, fostering engagement at every level and leading transformational HR practices that support both organisational performance and individual career progression. She is known for practical, thoughtful approaches to culture-building — from embedding people priorities into planning cycles to co-designing initiatives that meet employees where they are throughout their careers.
Pat Mannion
Commercial Director Ireland | JCDecaux
Pat Mannion is Commercial Director Ireland with JCDecaux, the largest outdoor advertising corporation in the world which every day reaches more than 410 million people across the planet. Here in Ireland the company is ‘out of home’ market leader with offices in Dublin and Belfast. Since joining the business 15 years ago, Pat has been instrumental in a series of innovative developments that have underpinned the company’s leadership position, and he has led his team to wins at the All Ireland Marketing Awards on a number of occasions. Pat had previously spent over a decade in advertising sales management in both print and radio, including a significant period with Communicorp’s independent radio station 98FM. Pat is a Fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland.
Allen Kiernan
Financial consultant and Freelance Finance Director
Allen Kiernan is a financial consultant and acts as a freelance Finance Director for a number of small and medium companies.
Prior to that, Allen was Chief Financial Officer of BBDO Dublin (formerly Irish International Advertising), one of the largest marketing and communications agencies in the country, where he spent the majority of his working career.
A Chartered Accountant by training, Allen started his career in Deloitte, before moving into industry.
Allen also works with Enterprise Ireland as a business mentor, helping to guide companies from all sectors navigate the perils of Covid and beyond. He also delivers training courses to members of the Small Firms Association on topics such as ‘Accelerating Growth’ and ‘Increasing Business Value’
Allen is the Honorary Treasurer of The Advertising Benevolent Society, a charity which looks after those in the advertising and marketing community who are going through difficult times.
He is also a director of Medicinema Ireland, a charity which looks to improve the recovery of hospitalised children through the medium of film.
Fiona Curtin
Marketing Director | HEINEKEN Ireland
Fiona has over 20 years’ local and international experience in brand management, innovation, and marketing. She has held many senior roles across industry-leading companies such as Tourism Ireland, C&C, AIB, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard and Heineken in Ireland and globally.
Fiona is a UCC graduate, holds an MSc. & MBA from UCD and is a Certified Director with the Institute of Directors. She is a member of the Marketing Institute and a former President of the Advertising Association of Ireland.
Fiona is passionate about consumers, brands, innovation, and business growth.
Our Strategy and Governance
Marketing Institute Ireland is a registered charity, and we are exclusively focused our members interests, developing and delivery events, education and training programmes that help to build their professional competence and commercial capability.
The financial year for MII runs from July 1st to June 30th and the Annual General Meeting of the charity is typically held in November each year where the audited accounts are presented, and a review of the organisation and activities are provided. Full members are invited to attend the AGM.
MII Cork Committee
MII Cork is a volunteer committee dedicated to promoting marketing across the region. Reporting to the CEO, the committee connects Cork’s marketing community through insights, collaboration, and professional development – helping marketers learn, grow, and succeed together.