Blanaid O'Regan, Director of People and Culture at SIRO DAC, joins the judging panel for the HR Leadership & Management Awards 2026, bringing extensive experience in people development, organisational change, and scaling complex organisations.

With a Masters in Occupational Psychology from University College Cork and a background spanning start-up and scaling environments including mergers and amalgamations, she brings practical expertise in delivering people solutions to organisations navigating rapid growth and structural transformation.

At SIRO DAC, Blanaid directs people and culture strategy across a complex, scaling organisation, applying occupational psychology principles to real-world business challenges. Her experience spans multiple growth phases, from start-up environments including Norkom Technologies to large-scale organisational transformations, positioning her to understand the distinct people management challenges facing organisations at different maturity levels.

Her background in mergers and amalgamations provides particular insight into people strategy during structural change, where cultural integration, role clarity, and employee engagement represent critical success factors. By grounding her work in occupational psychology, Blanaid combines evidence-based practice with pragmatic business application, ensuring people strategies deliver both employee experience improvements and measurable organisational outcomes.

As an awards judge, Blanaid evaluates submissions through the lens of organisational change management and people strategy effectiveness in complex environments. Her assessment focuses on initiatives that demonstrate clear alignment between people practice and business objectives, deliver measurable impact during transformation, and support workforce resilience through change.

Her involvement strengthens the judging panel's evaluation of entries across people strategy and change management categories including organisational culture, change management, recruitment and retention, and overall HR excellence, where the ability to execute people strategy during scaling and complexity represents a critical differentiator between aspirational programmes and sustained competitive advantage.

Organisations preparing submissions should demonstrate how their people initiatives support organisational transformation, deliver measurable results during change, and create sustainable capability in scaling or complex environments. Blanaid O'Regan's presence on the judging panel signals the awards' commitment to recognising people strategy that enables organisational agility and supports sustainable growth through effective change management.

The HR Leadership & Management Awards 2026 ceremony will take place on Thursday, October 15th, 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry. Entries remain open until July 17th, 2026, with finalists announced August 17th.

Visit the official HR Leadership & Management Awards website to review award categories, access entry guidance, and explore past winners. Subscribe to the newsletter for updates on judging panel announcements, category insights, and exclusive event coverage.