ASHLING SHIELDS

With over 15 years' experience as a bid director with an exemplary record in winning bids. Ashling is an experienced leader of complex and large-scale bid responses across public sector and medium to large enterprises. She has a proven track record of managing multi-disciplinary teams for technically demanding and operationally diverse bids.

Ashling is particularly adept at working with sales to define the winning strategy for complex bids through a mix of storyboarding, coaching and hands-on proposal development, ensuring the submission is consistent and relevant designed to maximum bid scores.

Ashling has led and won bids with values ranging from €100k to €350M and has extensive experience in bid management / bid consulting; successfully managing bids with high contract values, complex teaming and sub-contract arrangements.

As an example of full lifecycle ownership of a project Ashling has worked on, she was the bid executive for BT Ireland on a successful tender to build and run the new emergency call service (999-112) for the Irish state. She was an integral member of the team that devised the initial "strawman" design and bid strategy. Ashling remained on the project through tender submission, contract negotiation/award and then went on to build the new service, took it live and ran all 3 centres for the first six months. Her main objective was to ensure continuity of design and methodologies ensuring a very complex agreement was executed on time and to budget.

In Ashling's downtime she is passionate about her dog Woodie and the very many walks that he requires. Ashling is an avid listener of all types of music and very much enjoys going to music gigs.

If you'd like to learn more about how her services can help your company, please reach out via email (simplybetterbids@zerotouch.ie).

SERENA GALLAGHER

Serena began her career in a top 5 Dublin law firm focusing over the years in the areas of insurance, corporate, banking and finance. With her work ethic, Serena didn't find it hard to rise among the ranks and became Senior Executive Assistant to a Head of a Department and his team and then transitioned into Bids Management with ZeroTouch.

With over 20 years' experience in support services spanning across multiple sectors, Serena has a proven ability to successfully achieve client satisfaction and long-term business partnerships. She is a strong decision maker with excellent planning and organisation skills based on her warm and personable communication style and is well regarded amongst her peers.

As a Bid Manager, she has the ability to absorb new processes and to review and disseminate information to diverse audiences while developing strong relationships with multi-disciplinary teams and clients. Serena also possesses excellent leadership skills with strong work ethic and drive for successful results.

Serena has worked on many successful opportunities leading to significant contracts and very much enjoys working with the client to understand their business objectives. Regardless of the task, Serena ensures that excellence is a standard and not an exception.

When Serena is not on the job she enjoys sporting activities with her husband and children, walking with her dog, working her way through recipes in cookbooks, and indulging in her love for seeing new places.

If you'd like to learn more about how her services can help your company, please reach out via email (simplybetterbids@zerotouch.ie).

PAUL COMERFORD

Paul has over thirty years' experience in a wide range of roles at ICT-focussed organisations such as Unisys, BT and others. Original experience was as a customer service engineer, and has since worked in field support management, customer services director, business development, sales and strategy. Paul has qualifications in electronics and computer science and has just completed his MBA from Smurfit/UCD.

Successfully transformed several IT support organisations, fundamentally changing how these organisations went to market (commercially & operationally)

Designed, lead and won several multi million euro bespoke managed services opportunities Managed business development functions for telecoms and data center organisations, transforming their services offerings in the process

Paul believes that business is built not only on the quality of your product or service, but also on trust, and trust can only be gained by delivering robust relationships and governance models. This approach keeps key decision makers involved with their customers for life. As a manager he values honesty and integrity above all skills. As a businessman he believes in creating value for both parties.