Barry Connolly

Background

About Barry Connolly

I am a seasoned technology leader with over 15 years of experience. As head of ICT, Digital, Data, and Insights, I lead our Core Systems team with a focus on automation and innovation throughout the business. I have extensive knowledge of web design, hosting, and digital marketing with a strong emphasis on analytics and reporting. My work with digital agencies in Belfast and Dublin has allowed me to manage ad operations accounts for global brands like Kelloggs, Samsung, and Aviva throughout Ireland and the UK. As the Digital Product Marketing Lead at the Irish News, I delivered record numbers of digital subscribers for their ePaper and paywall website for four consecutive years. I spearheaded the digital marketing strategy, rebranded the paywall service, and introduced a hybrid metered and hard paywall connected to a CRM system based on user behaviour. At BWUH LTD, I have embraced the company's 'digital first' approach, leading the digital transformation strategy, which began with the transition from physical tickets to mobile tickets during lockdown. One of my early achievements was launching a digital service called 'Live From The Ulster Hall', a series of live performances that reached a global audience during the Christmas period of 2020 using gated content via the Ulster Hall website. Recently we launched a SharePoint site for our HR department and we estimate a time-saving of at least 4 administrative days per month. This efficiency was accomplished by creating 14 innovative automation flows that were previously manual tasks. We approached the SharePoint project with a view of removing duplication and manual input wherever possible. To achieve this, we used 2 other key applications, Power Automate and Power Apps. These applications will largely be unseen by the end user but they have allowed our SharePoint site to be designed with simplicity and ease of use at its core.