Paul is the Chief Executive of Skillnet Ireland, the Government organisation responsible for spearheading workforce development for the enterprise sector in Ireland and for driving innovation and competitiveness through industry-led upskilling.
Skillnet Ireland partners with companies and industry groups empowering business itself to determine its skills needs and talent priorities. Responses and programmes are then co-designed and co-funded between Skillnet Ireland and industry. By combining Government and private sector investment, the Skillnet Ireland approach incentivises talent development and drives quality and impact in the programmes delivered. Through its joint-investment model with industry, Skillnet Ireland invested €86M in Ireland’s workforce in 2023 supporting over 29,000 companies nationwide. Its enterprise led approach to talent development has received international recognition as a best practice model from the OECD, the EU Commission, the ILO amongst others.
Paul has 20 years executive level experience spanning the private and public sectors, specialising in organisation development, public affairs, corporate governance, and human resources. He is qualified with a degree in Economics and an MBA from Dublin City University. He is an adjunct lecturer in Human Resources and regular media commentator on workforce development and future skills. Paul is a member of Ireland's National Skills Council and National Training Fund Advisory Group.

Diana Stephenson is BC Hydro’s Senior Vice-President of Customer and Corporate Affairs. She joined BC Hydro in December 2021 and has nearly two decades of electricity industry experience in Western Canada’s regulated and competitive electricity marketplaces. Diana’s team works directly with customers, stakeholders, Indigenous Nations, employees, regulatory bodies, and our shareholder – the provincial government – to support our customers, conservation and teams within our organization.
Before joining BC Hydro, Diana served as Vice-President, Public Affairs & Sustainability with ENMAX Corporation. During her time with ENMAX, she led the organization’s public affairs, shareholder relations, environmental, social and governance (ESG), branding, governance, communications, executive projects, organizational change management and community portfolios.
From 2010 to 2012, she was the Chief Governance Officer for Mountain Equipment Co-op, where she held a range of organizational and stakeholder accountabilities. She also worked for BC Hydro and the former BC Transmission Corporation from 2001 to 2010, holding roles in corporate governance, regulatory affairs and executive project management.
Diana currently serves on the board of WaterAid Canada, part of a global not for profit organization working to increase access to and awareness of the critical need for clean water, sanitation and hygiene in economically challenged and marginalized regions across the world. She is also a member of the management board for Invest Vancouver.
Diana holds a Bachelor of Sociology from Simon Fraser University and a corporate governance designation from the Institute of Governance Professionals.