Brian studied Aeronautical Engineering in UL, graduating with first class honours in 2002. He graduated first place in the university over all engineering disciplines and was awarded the President's Medal for outstanding academic achievement. He was offered a scholarship from the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) but declined to peruse a career in industry. Brian has over 17 years commercial, marketing, strategic and leadership experience in the Olympic, sporting and business worlds. Prior to joining BioInnovate he served as Head of Commercial & Marketing at Connacht Rugby. There he led all revenue generation and strategic marketing for the organisation. He also served as the commercial lead on the Executive Steering Committee of Connacht Rugby’s new Stadium and High-Performance Centre project. He played a critical role in securing government and debt funding for the €34 million project. During his four-year tenure in Connacht Rugby, he achieved record commercial revenue growth and implemented a new commercial and marketing strategy for the organisation. He also sat on the Board of Directors for Galway City Chamber. Before that, Brian spent 13 years living in Canada, and working globally in numerous roles for the international governing body for the Olympic sport of triathlon. Brian headed up the global commercial and marketing programme for the sport overseeing record growth in participation and revenue. While there he created and scaled numerous multi-million dollar business ventures for the organisation, including software, hard goods and event based businesses. He successfully prepared and led the pitch to get new disciplines on the Olympic and Commonwealth programmes. He served as a strategic advisor to the board and president. Before that, he served as Director of Global Projects and Director of Media, Communications & Television. He has also started several private ventures of his own in the media, digital and sporting apparel spaces. Recently Brian qualified as an Executive Leadership Coach. A native of Tipperary, Brian has two children and now lives in Galway. His passions include snowboarding, mountain biking and his family.