MBA Programme Director
With multiple teaching awards to her name, Prof. Michele O’Dwyer has led the Executive MBA programme at UL since 2014. She holds a PhD from the University of Ulster, and has previously run a consultancy investigating marketing issues across a range of industries in Ireland and wider Europe. Her continuing close links with industry contacts help to support her award-winning research, which focuses on performance, innovation, and strategic alliances.
Our triple-accredited MBA programme (AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS) is built upon an immersive learning experience we have been fine-tuning for over 40 years. I challenge our faculty to ignite and empower learning, to inspire, and to really connect with their students. Nothing is sacred when it comes to our students’ learning experiences, and we’re never too proud to adapt and change ourselves in the same way we challenge our students.
Lecturer: Marketing strategy
Prof. John Fahy is an award-winning international researcher and teacher, serving as Professor of Marketing on the Executive MBA programme at UL, and as Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the University of Adelaide. He is the author of over 100 articles on marketing and strategies, the winner of several major international research awards such as the AMA Services Marketing Paper of the Year, and focuses his international lectures on bridging the gap between academic insight and commercial realities. His book, Foundations of Marketing, written with David Jobber, is now in its eighth edition.
Strategic marketing lives in the grey areas. My focus is on equipping students to read them effectively, by developing critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills – gathering just enough context to make the right call and build plans that hold up over the long term.
Lecturer: Managing across cultures: A global perspective
Prof. Michael Morley teaches international and cross-cultural management, with several award-winning publications under his name. He holds the Chair in Management at the Kemmy Business School, and has recently been elected to Fellowship of the European Academy of Management for his contributions to both the Academy and the discipline as a whole. He has also co-authored 15 books, edited an additional 16, and published more than 115 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Lecturer: Economics for the 21st century
Prof. Ciarán Casey is an economic historian specialising in Irish economic policy. He has recently published two books titled, Policy Failures and the Irish Economic Crisis, and The Irish Department of Finance, 1959-1999. He holds a DPhil from Oxford, where he was awarded a Clarendon Scholarship. In his teaching, Ciarán pushes his students to consider business economics both nationally and in a global context – helping them to better understand the symbiotic nature of both economies.
Lecturer: Navigating financial reporting for leaders
Prof. Philip O’Regan’s principal interest is financial accounting, while his background includes archaeology, politics, and inter-faith studies – all of which lend an expertise to his teachings that students will not find elsewhere. He has authored more than 100 academic papers and several books, including Financial Information Analysis, now in its fourth edition.
The hallmark of an exceptional student and leader is a continuous hunger for knowledge and insight. My own background is rich and varied, which allows for a unique insight into my field – I challenge my students to develop their own unique insights using their experiences, learnings, and interests.
Lecturer: Purpose-driven strategic leadership
Prof. Nuala Ryan focuses her teaching on strategic thinking, effective management practices, leadership, and organisational behaviour. Her industry experience in HR practice lends context to her lectures and research, where she has been recognised by both the Irish and US-based Academies of Management for research excellence.
Students learn that effective leadership begins with purpose, is strengthened by evidence, and succeeds through the ability to influence, enable, and strategically guide organisations.
Lecturer: Competitive strategic analysis
Enda Corneille joined our faculty in 2026, bringing a wealth of experience from the Aviation sector, where he led strategic transformation initiatives for a diverse client base. Drawing on this industry expertise and a collaborative approach to teaching, he focuses on ensuring his students have direct, practical insight into how strategic decisions are made in corporate environments.
Lecturer: Strategy execution in complexity
Prof. Catriona Burke is an award-winning scholar featured in various high-profile publications such as Human Resource Management, Human Relations, and the International Journal of Project Management.
Catriona’s diverse experience includes leading extensive organisational change, large-scale operational efficiency projects, and complex regulatory and development programmes. Her teaching centres around equipping students to think outside the box when approaching projects, and to always strive for better results.
Lecturer: Strategy execution in complexity
James brings a unique perspective to our faculty, having completed the Executive MBA himself. With a varied background shaped by his PhD in Environmental Chemistry, he has worked as a Chemistry Lecturer, Project Manager, Governing Member, and the CEO of various businesses in and around Limerick County. His teaching blends the practical knowledge gained as CEO with the theory built throughout his career, instilling strategic methodologies in his students.
Lecturer: Commercial and corporate law
A qualified barrister who runs her own legal consultancy business, Angela Liddy specialises in employment law and contract negotiations. Her classes focus on ensuring students gain a full understanding of the laws and regulations that will affect them and their businesses, while immersing them in practical examples alongside regular coursework.
My focus is on bringing theory into practice – I build my teaching around students applying the theory they have learned to everyday scenarios so they can explore each potential outcome in a controlled setting.
Lecturer: Engaging human talent
Prof. Sarah Kieran has worked as a Management Consultant in Strategic and Organisational Development, and held leadership roles in Strategy, CRM, and HRM in the Telecoms sector. She is founder of the KBS WorkFutures Lab, and the recipient of a Horizon 2020 RISE award for research into the digital transformation of work. She brings this depth of experience to her teaching, equipping students to understand the real value of creating meaningful engagement opportunities for their people.
Appreciating the workings of Human Resource Management and its critical links with business strategy are vital to achieving successful outcomes for leaders. Successful leaders don’t simply navigate HR strategies; they influence and shape them while also appreciating, as a leader of people, they are also HR leaders. In SHRM, we build this critical thinking and aim to move forward with a sense of purpose and impact in this space.
Lecturer: Thesis & International Workshop
Prof. Siobhan Tiernan has a long history with UL and the aviation industry, having completed her PhD on the organisational change outcomes at Aer Lingus. A regular contributor to professional conferences and journals, her research spans airline business strategies, customer perceptions, franchising, and strategic alliances. She currently leads the Aviation Management stream on the UL MBA, and is lead author of Modern Management: Theory and Practice for Students in Ireland, now in its fifth edition.
The thesis is where students move from studying strategy to actually applying it – identifying a real business problem, working through the various strands, and building an argument that stands up to scrutiny. My role is to challenge their thinking at every stage, so what they produce isn’t just academically sound, but genuinely useful to the organisations they go on to lead.
Get in touch with our programme director, Prof. Michele O’Dwyer, to discuss your application.