Breda McCague
Organisational Transformation Specialist & Lean In Ireland Co-Founder
why book breda?
- Breda is an energetic, driven, impressive Transformation Specialist whose biggest passion is Motivating and Engaging People
- Co-founder and leader of Lean-In-Ireland reflects her commitment to peer mentoring networks, fostering diversity, and driving transformational change across industries and communities
- With nearly 2 decades of experience in Financial Services, Breda shares insights on technical change programs and ‘Wagile’ methodologies
“The enthusiasm, charisma, audience engagement and passion Breda presents is so unique and genuine. The social outreach and online promo exceeds expectations, and on top of this, Breda is such an inspirational and thoughtful person, a great team player and definitely someone I hope to work with again in the future.”
Saskia Rushent, Transform Finance, Event Project Manager
Biography
Breda McCague is an energetic, driven, impressive Transformation Specialist whose biggest passion is Motivating and Engaging People!
At the age of 17, Breda McCague became one of the first women in history to join the Irish Reserve Infantry Defence Forces. Subsequently, she was promoted to become her unit’s first Female Commissioned Lieutenant, leading hundreds of mostly male soldiers on the territorial Border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. She served there for 20 years.
In tandem to her Reserve Army life, Breda also ran a second career for 24 years working across Global Financial Institutions. She held CEO-2 positions running IT, Cultural and Business Transformations, running hybrid teams all over the world. She also had years of experience in Sales, Regulation & Outsourcing.
She delivers authentic keynote presentations to large groups on Motivation, Empowerment,Emotional Intelligence, Branding and Networking. She also delivers inspiring innovative talks on Culture Change, Diversity and Transformational Change Delivery.
Having also worked across Financial Services for almost 20 years, Breda has driven and overseen extensive technical change programmes across a number of institutions in Ireland and the UK. She delivers talks for companies and conferences on using ‘Wagile’ methodologies.
In 2016, whilst leading a Gender Balance Network in a Global Bank, Breda decided to set up a Philanthropy initiative called Lean-In-Ireland. Lean In is an organisation based in San Francisco introducing peer mentoring concepts to Organisations to help them achieve their Gender Balance Aspirations. The Lean In Ireland community has now become a vibrant, inspirational network improving the careers of women Industry & Country Wide.
She plays music with two bands, one rock band and one traditional band. She was once ‘Lieutenant McCague’ as she spent 20 years in the Reserve Defence Forces having been the first female to be commissioned as an Officer in her unit. She works full time, commutes extensively and is a Mum to three young boys . She also finds time to enjoy networking and researching using social media platforms.
Topics
Transformational Change
Organisational Change
Cultural Change
Innovative Change
Gender Equality
Diversity & Inclusion
Time Maximisation
Breda McCague
“I was delighted when Breda accepted my invitation to speak at an event in HMH Dublin recently. The event was the launch of our employee development and growth program for our Engineering group and I couldn’t think of a better person to inspire and motivate. Breda gave a great talk on the subject of individual goals, branding and individual legacy. It was very well received by all there and left everyone with something to think about. Breda is an excellent speaker. She is very passionate and had the group engaged from the beginning. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Her delivery is fun. She is an excellent motivator and a true inspiration.”
Colette Heanue, Director, Agile Delivery at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
testimonials
“The enthusiasm, charisma, audience engagement and passion Breda presents is so unique and genuine. The social outreach and online promo exceeds expectations, and on top of this, Breda is such an inspirational and thoughtful person, a great team player and definitely someone I hope to work with again in the future.”
Saskia Rushent, Transform Finance, Event Project Manager
“We chose Breda as the keynote speaker for our empowerment month event at eShopWorld. The presentation she put together was thoughtfully tailored around the values we wanted to promote within our culture. Breda’s enthusiasm and passion for helping people reach their fullest potential was clear and her talk created a real buzz around how individuals could step up and take ownership of driving the outcomes they wanted to achieve.I would highly recommend Breda to organisations looking for a inspiring speaker for their next event.”
Robert Tracey, Product Owner, eShopWorld
“I was delighted when Breda accepted my invitation to speak at an event in HMH Dublin recently. The event was the launch of our employee development and growth program for our Engineering group and I couldn’t think of a better person to inspire and motivate. Breda gave a great talk on the subject of individual goals, branding and individual legacy. It was very well received by all there and left everyone with something to think about. Breda is an excellent speaker. She is very passionate and had the group engaged from the beginning. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Her delivery is fun. She is an excellent motivator and a true inspiration.”
Colette Heanue, Director, Agile Delivery at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
“I loved Breda’s energy and can-do attitude. Breda lives the ‘no hurdle to big’ mentality. She is engaging, authentic and relatable.”
Bank of Ireland staff
“On behalf of the HR Partner team I would like to thank you very much for your time last Thursday in joining us for our final module of our Thrive programme. You brought such practical and informative insights into the subjects of transformational change and the area of diversity which is so important to us here at UCD. Your practical, informative yet simplified advice was hugely impactful for the team and your warm and engaging style was deeply appreciated.”
Joanne and the UCD HR Business Partner team
“Breda has starred in multiple Role Model presentations to hundreds of our staff and the feedback has been consistently positive – Breda has a fantastic, natural and accessible style that is simply inspiring to her audience, her infectious enthusiasm is so motivating for all and colleagues would love the opportunity to engage with Breda all day.”
Andrew Keating, Chief Financial Officer, Bank of Ireland
“Breda is an inspiring, engaging and entertaining speaker. Hearing her speak recently at an entrepreneurial event, she captured everyone’s attention with her energy and humour. Sharing her story with us she passed along a few gems to encourage and motivate us all. I would definitely recommend Breda!”
Áine Nic an Ríogh, Director @TheDrawingRoom, Architectural Services, Louth
Related Speakers
Organisational Transformation Specialist & Lean In Ireland Co-Founder
Related Speakers
- Diversity & Inclusion Speakers
- AI & Digital Transformation Speakers
- Future of Work Speakers
- HR & Corporate Culture Speakers
- Leadership Speakers
- Mental Health & Wellbeing Speakers
- Motivational Speakers
- Speakers for your January Kick-Off Meeting
- Technology & Data Speakers
