This year's KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition will be hosted by award-winning tech journalist and broadcaster Jess Kelly. As the host of Tech Talk on Newstalk, Ireland's only national radio show dedicated to technology, Jess brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the competition.
Anna Scally, Partner, Head of Technology Media & Telecoms, KPMG Ireland and EMA, said, "We are delighted to welcome an exceptional panel of judges to this year's competition. With their diverse backgrounds in investment, leadership, and advisory roles, we are confident in our ability to pinpoint Ireland's next top tech innovator."
Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, CEO, Infinity Capital
Cyril McGuire is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist based in Dublin, Ireland. He is Chief Executive Officer of Infinity Capital, a private venture capital firm specialising in global technology and software investments. His portfolio includes over 20 high-growth Irish ICT companies, including Movidius (Intel), Soundwave (Spotify), Arconics (ViaSat), and DecaWave (Qorvo), as well as Corlytics, Everseen, Nuritas, and Ubotica.
He previously co-founded Trintech Group plc (Nasdaq: TTPA), where he served as Chairman and CEO, building a global leader in cloud-based software for financial governance, risk and compliance.
Earlier in his career, Cyril was an Investment Manager with Industrial Credit Corporation plc, focusing on IT investment projects.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Studies from UCD, and completed Stanford’s Leadership for Growth programme. He was named Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999.
Vice President For Trust and Safety, Google
Colin joined Google in 2010 and is currently Vice President for Trust and Safety based in Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin. Colin's team focuses on enforcing YouTube's Community Guidelines to protect the platform's viewers and creators from harmful content.
Previously, Colin has held leadership roles in Google’s Global Customer Care team, the Online Partnerships team as well as leading scaled support, operations and business intelligence teams.
Prior to joining Google, Colin was involved with founding and working with a start-up focused on data management and visualization, as a consultant in the energy industry and spent a number of years as a spacecraft systems engineer.
Colin holds a MBA from University College Dublin along with a B.E. and M.Sc. in Engineering from University College Dublin and a M.Sc. in Space Studies from the International Space University, Strasbourg, France.
Partner, Lighthouse Ventures
Caroline Gaynor is a Partner at Lightstone Ventures, focused on new investments in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors from the firm’s Dublin office. She currently serves on the boards of Amber Therapeutics, Volta Medical, Parvalis Therapeutics, ProVerum, and Carrick Therapeutics, and is a board observer for Cerevance and Crystalys Therapeutics. She has previously served on the boards of ALX Oncology, Catamaran Bio and FIRE1.
Caroline is Chair of the Irish Venture Capital Association and serves on advisory boards including BioInnovate Ireland and ARC Hub for Therapeutics. She joined Lightstone Ventures in 2017, bringing over 15 years’ operational experience across the pharmaceutical and early-stage medtech sectors
Founder, Tribal.vc
Conor Stanley is the Founder of Tribal.vc, a Dublin-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage software and technology companies. An experienced entrepreneur and investor, Conor has backed a number of leading Irish and international tech successes, including Intercom, Boxever, Brightflag and NewsWhip.
He is known for investing early and working closely with founders to help them scale globally, drawing on his own experience as a founder and long-standing participant in the venture ecosystem.
Partner & Global Head of TMT, KPMG
Anna Scally is a partner at KPMG in Ireland, specialising in international tax, and serves as the firm’s Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT). In this role, she leads KPMG’s global growth strategy in the sector, helping clients navigate rapid technological change.
With over 20 years of experience, Anna has advised many of the world’s leading technology and media companies, as well as clients in fintech, pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
She is actively involved beyond KPMG as a board member of The Ireland Funds, a member of the Scale Ireland Steering Group, and a founding director of the Fintech and Payments Association of Ireland. She also previously served on the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland.
Global Tech Innovator 2026 is open to Irish tech entrepreneurs and start-ups businesses which are pure technology, tech-enabled, tech-led or tech-driven.
Irish competition entrants will be shortlisted and invited to pitch their innovations and present their growth ambitions to the judging panel and all entrants must be available to appear in person for the Ireland final, which will be held in Dublin on 30th June 2026.
The Irish winner will advance to the Global Tech Innovator final in November. Additional prizes include representing Ireland on the global stage, receiving mentorship from KPMG professionals, and gaining access to exclusive networking events.
Find out more about the competition at www.kpmg.ie/GTI
