Who turns AI ambition into work that people can understand, use and trust? The AI Person of the Year finalists at the AI Awards 2026 offer four perspectives on that question.
Louise McCormack, Melissa Proxenos, Pat Bolger and Tony Corrigan are recognised in the official 2026 shortlist. Their published profiles span governance, enterprise delivery, agriculture and procurement.
Meet the AI Person of the Year finalists
The following introductions summarise the published finalist entries. The leadership questions are AI Ireland’s editorial perspective.
Louise McCormack
Louise is a trustworthy AI researcher and governance specialist who founded the Irish Alliance for Trustworthy AI. Her shortlisted work connects standards and governance with practical implementation.
The leadership question: Can your team explain who is accountable when an AI-supported decision needs to be challenged? Governance becomes useful when responsibilities, evidence and escalation routes are clear to the people doing the work.
Melissa Proxenos
Melissa’s work at Brightbeam focuses on delivering AI in regulated settings, bringing explainability and compliance into the move from experiments to operational use.
The leadership question: What must a pilot demonstrate before you put it into everyday use? Agreeing a pass mark, a named owner and a review process gives a team a basis for deciding whether to expand, improve or stop.
Pat Bolger
Pat leads Herdwatch’s AI and technology strategy. His shortlist profile links farmer-facing Herd Intelligence with internal adoption, measurement and more accessible agricultural information.
The leadership question: Does the tool make an existing task easier for the person using it? Test it with real work and compare the result with the current process. Adoption needs to be measured alongside output quality.
Tony Corrigan
Tony applies AI to procurement through TenderScout and BidReview, combining procurement knowledge with AI to support tender preparation and smaller businesses.
The leadership question: Where does specialist judgement need to remain in the process? A useful assistant should help a team identify weaknesses and improve its work while leaving a person responsible for the final submission.
What business leaders can take from this category
AI leadership involves decisions about people and processes as well as technology. A clear business problem gives the team a starting point. Reliable information, proportionate controls and regular evaluation make progress easier to assess.
For your next AI project, use the 5Ps to structure the conversation:
- People: Who will use the system, and what training will they need?
- Process: Which task changes, and where is human approval required?
- Platforms: Which tools fit your working environment and controls?
- Proprietary Data: What information can the system access, and how will its quality be checked?
- Products & Services: What improvement should the customer or end user experience?
Record the answers before choosing a tool. Then agree how you will measure the result. A shorter turnaround time is useful only if the work still meets the required standard.
Mark Kelly’s perspective on practical AI adoption
In our Agentic AI finalist spotlight, Mark Kelly set out a principle that is useful for leaders considering delegated AI tasks:
“The first question for a leadership team is which task an AI agent should be trusted to carry out. Start with a clear business problem, define where human approval is needed, and measure the result before expanding.”
Mark Kelly, Founder of AI Ireland
Join us at the AI Awards 2026
The winners will be announced on Tuesday 17 November 2026 at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin. Microsoft is the event’s Principal Sponsor.
Book your place at the AI Awards and meet people applying AI across Ireland.
Bring the discussion to your organisation: explore Mark Kelly’s AI keynotes or book a practical AI workshop.
AI Ireland organises the AI Awards. This article combines published finalist summaries with editorial analysis. Shortlisting is not independent verification of performance claims.
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