Events Digest
Union League Club of New York | April 16, 2026
More than 250 of our supporters and friends came together at the Union League Club of New York to celebrate Irish leadership and ingenuity in business. Thank you to our supporters and sponsors who made the Irish American Partnership’s 7th annual Business Leaders Breakfast a great success.
The Partnership presented its 2026 Business Leadership award to Colman Madden, Director of Customer Engineering, Financial Services at Google. Colman joins a distinguished roster of honorees: Aidan Kehoe, Founder & Managing Partner at Nadia Partners; Paul Geaney, President & CCO of Avolon; Adrian Jones, Chairman and Co-Head of Global Private Equity at Goldman Sachs; Stan McCarthy, former Chief Executive of Kerry Group; Michael Dowling, President and Chief Executive of Northwell Health; and Bernie Brennan, President of the Royal Dublin Society.
Guests enjoyed an entertaining and informative interview of Mr. Madden by Brian Ruane, Global Head of Clearance with BNY and Board member of the Partnership. President & CEO of the Partnership Mary Sugrue presented Colman with the Business Leadership Award, saying:
We are proud to recognize the 2026 Business Leadership Award honoree, Colman Madden—who has built an exceptional global career at the forefront of financial services and technology. His leadership is helping shape how some of the world’s largest financial institutions operate, innovate, and compete in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
Global Head of Clearance with BNY and Partnership Board member Brian Ruane, with 2026 honoree Colman Madden, and his wife Sara Allawi
Guests enjoyed an entertaining and informative interview by Brian Ruane, Global Head of Clearance with BNY and Board member of the Partnership. Colman went on to say:
“Education is a passport for a lot of people from Ireland… There are lot of people in this room who have done very well here in America. Having that connection back to Ireland and being able to give back to some of the places that helped us be successful, is special.”
A native of Limerick and a graduate of the University of Limerick, Colman leads a team of over 100 engineers supporting a multi-billion dollar financial services business. His career—from Accenture in Dublin to global roles in Australia and Silicon Valley—reflects both technical excellence and international leadership.
Special thanks to our Co-Chairs Brian Ruane, Global Head of Clearance and Collateral Management with BNY and Board member of the Partnership, Tommy Dwyer, and Sean Clune, President of Clune Construction New York, and to our generous Sponsors who support the work of the Partnership year after year. Together, we invest in the future of Ireland – the young people, the culture, and the ideas that are writing the next chapter in Irish history.
