Meet the Team
Senior Management Team
Orla Callan | President & CEO
Orla Callan is CEO and President of Innopharma, with overall responsibility for its Education and Technical Services divisions. She leads the senior management team in shaping the company’s strategy, developing its people and partnerships, and supporting the evolving education, training and technical needs of the life sciences, manufacturing and technology sectors.
With over 30 years’ experience spanning further and higher education, workforce development and skills strategy, Orla has led the design and delivery of large-scale training programmes through close collaboration with industry, government bodies and education providers. Her experience encompasses lecturing, accreditation, curriculum development, employer engagement and quality assurance.
Orla is an active member of the BioPharmaChem Ireland (BPCI) group and sits on the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) steering committee for BioPharma. Through these roles and her wider industry engagement, she contributes to national discussions on workforce readiness, upskilling and future skills needs. She is committed to connecting education and industry to create opportunities for learners, strengthen workforce capability and support business growth.
Sandra Mooney | Director of Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Programmes
Sandra Mooney is Director of Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Programmes at Innopharma Education and a member of the College’s senior management team. She has responsibility for academic affairs, quality assurance and the oversight and enhancement of undergraduate programme provision, working closely with academic teams, learners, industry and external education partners.
Sandra has extensive experience across both higher education and industry. Since joining Innopharma Education in 2013, she has held senior roles spanning academic quality assurance, programme development and management, learner experience and institutional enhancement.
Finbarr Sheehy | Director of Postgraduate Programmes and Research
Finbarr has over 25 years of experience at senior levels within the Semiconductor and Pharmaceutical industries. He was director of continuous improvement & training with Wyeth, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Prior to Wyeth, he was skills training manager, with Intel Ireland, Co. Kildare. He also held the position of test development engineer with Analog Devices Incorporated, Limerick. In 2008, he established Business Excellence.ie and currently works with businesses across several sectors (including Pharma) in Ireland to drive business improvements. Finbarr’s expertise is in the following areas: strategy development, process improvement, creativity & innovation, lean thinking, six sigma, process measurement, training design & delivery, competency assessment, change management and neuro linguistic programming.
Ann Ryan | Director of Industry Engagement and Training
Ann has over 20 years’ experience working in the pharmaceutical industry across various commercial roles and disciplines including microbiology, immunology and veterinary medicines. Over the past 10 years Ann has specialised in the area of training and education, working closely with pharmaceutical and MedTech organisations in relation to training needs analysis, training design and delivery. This role involves assisting organisations to plan, develop and coordinate customised training programmes specifically tailored to their needs. In addition, as a programme manager and lecturer, Ann works closely with Innopharma Education students managing all aspects of programme management from induction to graduation. This involves assisting students transition into industry roles, and developing learner’s key transversal skills in critical thinking, problem-solving ability and team leadership. Ann holds a BSc in Pharmaceutical Technology, a BBs in Management, a MA in Education and Training and is currently completing a PhD, specialising in training effectiveness in regulated environments. One piece of advice Ann would give a student looking to kick start or progress their career in the STEM Sector is to recognise the importance of passion and enthusiasm. Many employers will hire for the attitude and will train for skills. If you have the right attitude, it will always take you further than qualifications alone.
Darren Byrne | Chief Financial Officer
Daren joined Innopharma in Oct 24 and holds a B.Comm and M.Acc from University College Dublin, a Diploma in Corporate Governance from the University of Glasgow and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Darren has over 30 years commercial and operational experience in investor led businesses across a variety of sectors. As CFO at Innopharma, Darren Byrne is responsible for financial strategy, commercial performance and supporting the sustainable growth of the education and contracting businesses. He provides financial leadership across the organisation, helping align investment, operations and business strategy.
Luke Kiernan | Director of Technical Services
Luke has over 25 years experience within the pharmaceutical industry, having worked with Pfizer, Wyeth, Elan and Gerard Laboratories prior to joining Innopharma in 2012. Luke has held various management roles, in Technical Services, Validation, Process Development, Regulatory Affairs, Analytical Development, QC and QA. He now leads the Technical Services division at Innopharma supporting the (bio)pharmaceutical and Med Tech industries with technical resources under a contract basis. Luke also lectures on modules such as QA, GMP, Validation, PAT and Technology Transfer.
Ian Jones | President Emeritus
Dr Ian Jones is the Founder of the Innopharma Group. He has worked for the past 30 years supporting high-tech manufacturing (particularly (Bio)pharma and Agri/FoodTech) where he has become a global thought leader on Industry 5.0 and the associated technologies and skills strategies to drive the digital transformation of these key industries. Ian holds a PhD in Process Analytical Technologies from Technological University Dublin and has studied Strategy, Leadership and Innovation at the Harvard Business School, Boston and Accelerated Growth Strategies at Judge Business School, Cambridge, UK. Ian also sits as adjunct Professor within the Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering at University of Limerick, Ireland. Ian is driven by the mission to lead a team of educators and scientists who help people and businesses succeed in hi-tech manufacturing.
Admissions Support Team
Michelle McCoy | Registrar
As Head of Examination & Assessment Michelle has responsibility for the implementation of all examination and assessment policy and procedures. She works with the academic staff to ensure all our learners are assessed fairly, transparently and the method of assessment is credible to fairly assess the learning outcomes. She commenced her career with Innopharma Education in 2015, as a Programme Manager based in the Cork Region, managing the admissions of learners onto programmes and supporting them throughout their studies and career progression. Prior to this she worked in senior roles in Financial Services for 17 years.
Peter Jones | IT Manager
Peter Jones has over 25 years’ experience working in the IT industry with over 20 years’ experience in IT management working in companies such as British Telecom and Vodafone. He has been with Innopharma for over 10 years managing all of the IT systems, access and networks as well as supporting students through any IT support they need.
One piece of advice Peter would give a student looking to kick start or progress their career in the STEM sectors would be to utilise all the IT systems to upskill their knowledge. Network with all the people they come into contact with during their time as a student and to upskill on time management, it will assist them in reaching their goals.
Colm O’Connor | College Librarian & Research Specialist
Colm is College Librarian and Research Specialist at Innopharma Education, where he leads library, research and knowledge-support services. He established the College Library, including its library management system and institutional repository, and teaches research skills, information literacy, referencing, academic integrity and responsible AI use.
Colm is Editor-in-Chief of Innopharma Insights, supporting research publication across learners and staff. He also contributes to programme development, quality, accreditation and research supervision.
He previously spent 12 years at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, holds Master’s degrees in History of International Relations and Library & Information Studies, and has published in the Irish Medical Journal, Emergency Medicine Australasia and An Leabharlann.
Dr. Jenny Manning | Head of Academic Programmes
Jenny holds a PhD in Physiology and a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience from UCC, and is an Innopharma alum (Level 8 SPA in Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing). Her industry experience includes roles at MSD, DePuy Synthes and Merck, spanning vaccination-product technology transfer, quality systems, process improvement and validation.
Jenny leads the BSc in Process Technologies and the Higher Diploma in Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing, the BSc and BSc (Hons) in Process Digitalisation where she provides academic oversight. She designs new programmes and develops modules in digital communications, technical writing, data visualisation, GMP, MedTech and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. She serves on the Academic Council, contributes to assessment, academic integrity and AI, Teaching and Learning workflow groups, and is an Editor of Innopharma Insights.
Victoria Buckley | Head of Teaching & Learning and Learner Support
Victoria is Head of Teaching & Learning and Learner Support at Innopharma Education, where she helps shape the strategic development of teaching, learning and the learner experience. She is responsible for lecturer development, learner engagement and support, and academic quality enhancement, and contributes to the College’s academic governance.
Victoria’s career spans education and corporate learning and development in the US and Ireland. She began as a secondary school teacher in the US, taught English with a South Korean organisation while completing her Master’s, and later held senior English language teaching roles in Ireland, then moved into the corporate sector as Head of Learning and Development before returning to education.
She holds an MPhil and an NFQ Level 9 qualification in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Her interests include inclusive education, digital and blended learning, and empowering educators so every learner has the support they need to succeed.
David Barry | Marketing Manager
David has over 25 years’ experience in marketing management, working across a variety of industries including education, construction, tourism and motors. Prior to joining Innopharma in 2024, he held Marketing Manager roles with leading commercial and consumer organisations, where he was responsible for all communication, promotion and branding activities, both online and offline. David now leads the Marketing Team managing student recruitment, supporting learners to find the right programme to build careers in Life-Sciences. He holds a B.Comm from University College Cork and a HDMP from University College Dublin.
Programme Support Team
Mary Jane Phelan | Programme Manager
Mary Jane manages the Level 6 Food Science & Technology and Level 6 Operational Excellence, Dublin programmes for Innopharma Education. Having previously worked in Warner Lambert and Pfizer for 10 years Mary Jane gained an in-depth knowledge of the pharmaceutical manufacturing, sales and marketing industry. Mary Jane holds a BA (Hons) in HR and Business Strategy and PR/Marketing qualifications. Mary Jane successfully transitioned to the Education sector joining Innopharma Education in 2016 and currently manages and mentors students as they work to achieve in some cases life-long goals to achieve their degree or make that career change into a new industry.
Jennifer Campbell | Programme Lead
Jennifer is a UCD graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Nutrition, and also an Innopharma graduate of the MSc Food Business Management and Technology Programme. She additionally holds QQI level 6 qualifications in in Advanced HACCP Design and Validation, and Food Standards Auditing.
Prior to joining Innopharma, Jennifer spent 5+ years working in the Irish food industry beginning in Aryzta Food Solutions in various Quality Assurance roles. Additionally, she held the position of Assistant Quality/ Technical Manager for one of Ireland’s largest bread bakeries for a number of years. Currently, Jennifer holds the position of Programme Manager at Innopharma Education with responsibility for the growth, continuous improvement and management of the food science and food business management programmes.
