WHO WE ARE

**Ian Hannon**

Managing Director
Ian has over 20 years of sales and leadership experience across a broad range of industries, including B2B, retail and the motor trade, working with leading brands such as Audi, Lyreco, Windsor among others. Ian benefited early in his career from Sales and Leadership training, and believes this was one of the key factors in his career development.

Marius Smith — **Marius Smyth**

Director
Marius has over 20 years of experience in Sales, Management and Executive Leadership, having spent most of his career in technology companies including various leadership positions with Google and currently as VP of International Sales and Operations for EMEA and APAC. Marius has extensive experience in technology start-ups and transforming and growing profitable business units within multi-national companies.

During his career, Ian has worked at all stages of a customer lifecycle, from New Business Acquisition, Customer Retention and Loyalty to business growth, and has been involved in Training and People Development for a number of years. Since completing an MBA through Michael Smurfit School of Business in 2010, Ian has been helping organisations to develop their people to realise their potential.
Husband to Brid and Dad to Ciara, Conor, Daragh and Killian, Ian’s spare time involves running (slowly), renovating a cottage (very slowly) and reading biographies (up to 4 at any one time so very, very slowly). An early riser and up at 5am, Ian takes the early rising to a whole new level on Fridays, when he is up and out at 4am for a Simon Community Breakfast Run in Dublin City.

As a director of Activate, Marius is passionate about helping businesses reach their potential. Marius and Ian met during their MBA studies in 2008, and have been working and consulting together with businesses ever since.
Married to Siobhán and Dad to Ethan and Hannah, Marius coaches the under 8’s of his local GAA club, and likes to revisit his time as a DJ by spinning the odd disc - sometimes to an audience, more often to his biggest fans, Ethan and Hannah!

**Tina Bergin**

Business Development Manager
Tina joined Activate in June 2019 and brings with her over 12 years experience working in the non-profit sector. Drawing from her diverse experience within the areas of management, leadership, advocacy and client engagement, she is excited to be part of the further development of Activate.

**Marie Comeau**

Lead Generate
Marie joined Activate in February 2018. She has previously worked in Banking, IT and Insurance. She has over 15 years experience in various roles such as IT Project planning and implementation, IT customer support, Account Management and administration.

She has a proven track record in developing initiatives and processes for the delivery of services to clients. She seeks to identify gaps and blocks in service delivery and highlighting service needs at both an organisational and an industry level. Tina’s main interest is in team dynamics, working together and building team rapport, as this is key for teams to be happy in the workplace. By providing adequate support and guidance in best practice, effective communication and approachability for her teams it ensures that the clients feel heard, listened to and cared for.
Tina is going back to study a Post Graduate Diploma in Trinity College in the area of Conflict and Dispute resolution in September to further her interest in the area. Tina is into running, baking and travelling. Tina follows a “Bucket List” which she continues to add to and, throughout the year, her motivation is to tick as many of the items off the list as she can.

Andrew Swart

Sales Manager - Australia
Andrew’s Sales, Sales Management and Sales Training background spans a period of over 25 years. Upon Matriculating in South Africa, Andrew studied Mechanical Engineering and worked in this capacity for a time in the Dairy industry.

The Engineering role evolved into an IT & Software Development role creating Plant Maintenance Software for large Industries. A key element of this position was the Training of plant engineers in the effective use of the Software. A move to Ireland in 2000 was an opportunity to further develop Andrew’s Sales capabilities within the Office Products Industry. Positions here included Sales, Training Manager for Ireland, Corporate Sales & Sales Management.
A transfer to the UK in 2008 and another to Australia in 2011 saw Andrew hone his Sales Training & Management skills even further, with all his Teams winning numerous sales awards and accolades every year. Andrew is Certified in Business Sales & Sales Management, and has written & delivered a variety of Courses such as: Inductions, Sales Management, Customer Service Skills, Manual Handling, Recruitment Skills, Coaching & Development, Sales Skills and a full Suite of Leadership Development Modules, to name a few. Now permanently settled in Perth Australia, Andrew is husband of 27years to Cheryl and father to two beautiful daughters Jade & Hannah. Andrew has also gained recognised qualifications in Conversational Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, and as a NLP and Timeline Transformation Practitioner.

Her role within the business is in Sales, liaising and supporting customers with their training needs and assisting with the development of new workshops and programs.
Marie spent 6 years in Boston where she met her husband Steve and has 2 teenage kids, Ryan and Lauren, along with a German Shephard called Moose. She took some time out to be a Stay-At-Home Mom over the years and spends a lot of her spare time driving to Gaelic matches and discos.

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