Marie O'Connor
Retired Partner, PwC
Marie O’Connor was an audit partner of PwC Ireland for 30 years until recently. She led PwC's Irish Asset Management and Financial Services practice for many years and was a member of PwC's Global Investment Management Leadership and PwC’s European Financial Services Leadership executive. Under Marie’s leadership PwC became the market leader in Asset Management in Ireland, with a market share of 50% of audits of funds administered in Ireland, and now a team of 350 people with 16 partners – over half of whom are women.
She has worked extensively with US companies expanding into Europe throughout her career, has travelled widely and worked in the US, UK and Canada.
Marie was a founder member and the country lead for the 30% Club in Ireland. She is a board member of the Irish Chapter of the Ireland-US Council for Commerce and Industry, University College Dublin President’s Advisory Board and the fund raising committee of the Irish Cancer Society. She recently was appointed to the Council of ACCA in Ireland. She has formerly been a non-executive board member of the American Chamber of Commerce, the ESRI, The Children’s Hospital and other organisations.
Marie has been appointed as non-executive director by the Irish Government over the last twenty years to State boards in Ireland. Appointments have included Dublin Airport Authority, IDA Ireland and Irish Life.
Marie is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and is also qualified as a Barrister and was the first woman to be admitted as a partner to Price Waterhouse in Ireland. She was the first female student accepted to the Business Studies Diploma at DIT where she achieved first place overall and was awarded the Gold Medal.
Dan Morrissey
Partner, William Fry
Dan is Head of William Fry’s Asset Management & Investment Funds Practice. He has been a Partner at William Fry since 1981, initially specialising in international mergers and acquisitions. Since establishing William Fry’s funds business in 1991, he has represented the full range of financial services organisations including asset management firms, custodians, administration firms, fund management companies and investment funds. Dan frequently advises on governance and regulatory issues and product development.
Dan is a former Chairman of Irish Funds (2004/05) and was a member of its Council from 2000 to 2006. He is a former member of the Advisory Council of the Institutional Money Market Fund Association. Dan has served as a non-executive director of a number of leading fund management platforms in Ireland and is a frequent presenter at international conferences.
