Jeanne Kelly

Ms Kelly, a founding partner of Browne Jacobson’s Dublin office, has spent the last year as vice-president of the Chamber and is also outgoing chair of its ICT committee. She will now lead the organisation alongside vice-president Marie Doyle, president at Deloitte Northern Ireland.

The BICC was founded in 2011 ahead of the historic visit of the late Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland and the subsequent state visit by President Michael D. Higgins to the UK.

The aim of the Chamber is to champion the €100 billion annual trade between the UK and Ireland which directly sustains over 600,000 jobs. Members of the bilateral Chamber include Barclays, Deloitte, KPMG, the Open University, Trinity College Dublin and Zurich among others.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms Kelly said: “I am truly honoured to be elected president of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, at a time of great change and progress in British–Irish trade and relations.

“In a post-Brexit and Windsor Framework era, this is now moment to grasp the vast opportunities presented for collaboration and trade across these Islands. It is a volume of trade now exceeding €100bn per annum primed with further opportunities in areas such as technology, energy, sustainability, research and financial services.

“I want to build on my predecessor Maree Gallagher’s legacy to ensure the Chamber puts the nuts and bolts of trade at the forefront of its agenda, that means more regional engagements, greater networking opportunities and a laser sharp focus on addressing any potential trade barriers north–south, east–west across these islands.

“The return of the Chamber’s annual conference on October 12th will illuminate the potential of this critical trading relationship.”

Browne Jacobson Ireland is led by Ms Kelly with fellow founding partners Ciarán Markey, Declan Cushley and Anthony Nagle. The firm recently relocated its Dublin office to 2 Hume Street, the heart of the city’s central business district, as it aims to triple its headcount.

The focus of the Dublin office is on providing a market leading integrated end-to-end TMT practice covering digital transformation, data and IP including disputes and regulatory investigations for international and domestic clients doing business in and through Ireland and the EU.