Andrea Haughian, Executive Vice President and Head of Americas at Invest NI, Northern Ireland’s Economic Development Agency

in conversation with 

Alison Metcalfe, Executive Vice President,
North America & Australia, Tourism Ireland 

About Andrea Haughian

A recognized expert in Foreign Direct Investment, offshore development and international business expansion, Andrea Haughian has helped C-Level executives accelerate business growth, maximize profitability and facilitate recruitment, training and R&D.

Andrea’s experience spans a diverse range of sectors including creative and digital technology, financial services, legal and professional services, life and health sciences, green economy and global start-ups.

Andrea is proud to showcase the talents of home-grown companies and innovators and to enable entrepreneurs to make connections with advocates and influencers in challenging markets across the Americas.

Andrea is an advocate for the advancement of women and the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is a long-time supporter of Young Enterprise.

Andrea received the Global Recognition Award at the Digital DNA Awards 2019. The Global Recognition Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact on Northern Ireland’s digital and technology sector on a global scale. In 2021 Andrea received the Tom Moran Business to Arts Leadership Award for her success in building successful partnerships between the business sector and arts communities. Andrea is a past Irish Echo Top 40 Under 40 Awards honouree, has been named as one of Irish America’s Most Influential Women by the Irish Voice and is a proud recipient of the Belfast International Homecoming Ambassador medal.

Andrea is based in New York, is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast, has undertaken post-graduate programs in both San Francisco and Chicago and is a graduate of Cornell University’s Executive Leadership Programme.

Andrea will be speaking in a fireside chat, in conversation with

Alison Metcalfe, Executive Vice President,
North America & Australia, Tourism Ireland 

About Alison Metcalfe

Based in New York, Alison was appointed to her current role in June 2013, where she has responsibility for leading Tourism Ireland’s Marketing Strategy and Operations in the USA and Canada. In June 2017, Alison also assumed responsibility for Tourism Ireland's operations in Australia/New Zealand. 

Alison joined Tourism Ireland in 2002 and previously held the position of Vice President Marketing, USA. Prior to moving to New York, she was responsible for Tourism Ireland’s operations in Canada based in Toronto.

Alison has extensive international destination marketing experience and a record of achievement in building and leading high-performance teams to deliver growth. Her career has spanned strategy development, brand management, integrated consumer marketing, advertising, communications and stakeholder management. 

In 2019, the island of Ireland welcomed a record 1.7million Americans spending €1.6 billion. The US market is the most important source of overseas tourism revenue, accounting for 27% of total, and second largest source of tourists. Given the importance of the US market and recent strong growth, Alison led the expansion of Tourism Ireland’s network, with the opening of a new West Coast office located in San Francisco in January 2022.

Alison also serves as Chair of the European Travel Commission (ETC), USA Operations Group in New York.  

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