2025 Speakers
What it takes to create a breakthrough product in the medical sector
The thumb base joint is one of the most remarkably complex but beautifully elegant joints in the human body. It's also the third most common joint affected by arthritis. Thumb base joint arthritis has been shown to be as debilitating as hip and knee arthritis.
Gerry will tell the story of how it takes a tiny and diverse team to identify an unmet clinical need and then to have the courage and perseverance to create and develop a viable solution. Taking us from Stanford to Galway and from Cork to Leuven he will explain why Europe and Ireland in particular, via the BioInnovate process at NUIG, is the best incubation environment for world class medical device start-ups.
He will explore how observation and innocent inquiry is just as important as specialist expertise, and how a small in-house team best compliments each other and the degree of intensity, passion and endurance required to create a truly world class medical innovation.
About Gerry
Gerry Clarke is a co-founder of Loci Orthopaedics and primary inventor on a number of granted patents for the InDX thumb implant, a world first in orthopaedic surgery.
Gerry has worked consistently in medical devices and diagnostics in both the US and Ireland since the late 1970s. He has held increasingly responsible technical and management roles within Technicon, Sherwood Medical and C.R. Bard/Medtronic. His expertise lies in process development, new technology investigation and product design methodologies.
About Orlagh
Orlagh is a seasoned design leader with an exceptional career in strategic consumer brand and experiential design. She has cultivated her expertise at some of the world’s most renowned branding agencies and design studios. In her current role as Global Director of Design at PepsiCo International Beverages, Orlagh oversees the creative vision for Pepsi, the company’s flagship brand.
A graduate of IADT’s Visual Communication programme, Orlagh earned a Master’s degree with distinction in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Her work has been widely recognised in the industry, winning awards and nominations for excellence in commercial design. Her personal projects have also been featured in ‘Book Design’ published by Laurence King.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Orlagh is committed to nurturing the next generation of creative talent. She mentors final-year Communication Design students, sharing her experience and insights to inspire and guide their creative journeys.
Mike Schnaidt
Creative Director of Fast Company, Author of ‘Creative Endurance’, Professor at School of Visual Arts, Fast Company
About Mike
Mike Schnaidt is a creative director, author and educator. Currently the creative director of Fast Company, Schnaidt leads a team of art directors and photo editors who create visuals for the brand. Previously, he was creative director of Men’s Health and held senior roles at Popular Science, Esquire, and Entertainment Weekly. His design work has been recognised by Art Directors Club, Society of Publication Designers, and Type Directors Club.
Creative Endurance is Schnaidt’s first book—a practical guide for navigating obstacles and finding the creative courage to achieve your biggest goals. Design luminaries have praised the book, with Steven Heller noting that “Schnaidt has ingeniously found strategies to make creative performance productive,” and Paula Scher describing it as “beautifully designed.”
He holds an M.S. in Communication Design from Pratt Institute. Currently, he teaches illustration at School of Visual Arts in New York City, and has also taught at Kean University and University of the Arts. Schnaidt is the former president of the Society of Publication Designers, and has delivered talks on design and creativity for NYU, DesignThinkers, and Adobe.
About Marc
Marc Català is founding partner and creative director at Mucho, a brand design agency. He started Mucho with fellow AGI member Pablo Juncadella in 2003. The agency incorporates its original independent studio mentality to a strategic approach to branding. This has led Mucho to the forefront of brand design in the international scene. Project highlights include defining multinational brands such Aeromexico, lifestyle brands such as Pacha and institutions such as Toulouse School of Economics.
Marc Català is also a teacher and keynote speaker offering conferences worldwide, and is director of the Mucho Programme, an executive brand design education course at Eina, Barcelona School of Design. He has also developed research projects such as the Visual Thinking Research Project. Català is a member of AGI, Alliance Graphic Internationalle.
Courageous Creativity for Transformative Climate Justice
About Jennie
Jennie C. Stephens is Professor of Climate Justice at Maynooth University’s ICARUS Climate Research Centre. She is a feminist climate justice scholar-activist committed to inspiring creative collective action toward a more just, stable and healthy future. Her new book Climate Justice and the University: Shaping a Hopeful Future for All reimagines higher education as critical social infrastructure for transformative cultural change toward climate justice. Her 2020 book – Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy – calls for more inclusive and courageous leadership. She was a 2023-2024 Climate Justice Fellow at Harvard-Radcliffe and was previously a professor at Northeastern University (Boston, USA), University of Vermont (USA), and Clark University (Worcester, MA, USA). She earned her PhD and MS at the California Institute of Technology and her BA at Harvard. She recently moved back to Dublin after living in the United States for several decades.