Mar 7, 2022

Bronagh Riordan, head of data and analytics at Primark , has been announced as the chair of the industry steering board at Cedar, Ireland's centre for applied artificial intelligence. Headquartered at Nexus CD, Cedar is a joint initiative between Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland with more than 90 member companies across a wide span of industries, and it is one of only 30 digital innovation hubs in the EU specifically focused on AI. Cedar's primary purpose is to bring innovations in the fields of AI, machine learning and data analytics into companies to help them build new products and services, develop their in-house capacity in AI and give them a sustained competitive advantage Riordan, who has more than 20 years of experience as a data professional, becomes the first female chair of any of the eight technology centres in Ireland with her appointment. She has been on Cedar's industry steering board, which supports the centre director in determining the overall vision and strategic direction for the organisation, for the last three years. In her current role, Bronagh leads on delivering data & analytics strategy and solutions for Primark , and prior to this was director of the Global Analytics Centre of Excellence for Deutsche Bank and head of data science for Car Trawler . Cedar has been established to bring AI technology and knowledge to Irish business. (Pic: Getty Images) "I am honoured to be taking up the mantle as Chair of the Cedar board and my role is to support the team at Cedar with regards to its overall vision and strategic direction and to provide strong leadership to the board," Riordan said. "I want to supercharge the board and leverage the experience of each individual member to help drive the centre’s innovation agenda. "I am also very proud to be the first female chair of any technology centre in Ireland, increasing the visibility and representation of women in critical technical Data & Analytics roles and pushing forward the diversity and inclusion agenda in this space.” Cedar director Edward McDonnell said: "We are delighted to appoint Bronagh as chair of our Industry Steering Board. Since she joined our board three years ago, she has brought her energy, enthusiasm and practical perspectives to the board and we look forward to her tenure as Cedar expands its national profile. "Cedar actively pursues diversity in its workforce and we are delighted that such a high-calibre individual as Bronagh will chair the board and be such a positive role model for everyone." Photo: Primark head of data and analytics and new Cedar industry steering board chair Bronagh Riordan. ___