A commercial accountant by profession, Mary’s career has been wide and varied. She has worked globally with high-tech businesses and has been at the forefront of helping Learning Pool customers save in excess of £100m by using new technology in innovative ways since 2006. For the last three years, she has chaired Digital Circle, the representative body for 1,600 people across the digital economy in Northern Ireland.

Paul McElvaney, Learning Pool CEO said, "Under Mary’s stewardship, Digital Circle has successfully campaigned for the development of the industry around the key issues of availability of skilled personnel and training, access to funding and investment with equitable terms, and the exploitation of global markets for world-class products."

Mary is also closely involved in Digital Derry, an initiative in Derry/Londonderry to develop a centre of digital creativity around digital story telling and cultural technologies. Three years into this project, Digital Derry has established close working relationships with Tech City in London, which are destined to provide real economic benefits in the future.

Other charitable activities of Mary’s include being a Board member at the Millennium Forum and fundraising advisor for ICAP, the Mental Health Charity for Irish people living in the UK.