Meet the Silkroad Edtech Team

Daniel Finch

CEO

Empowering educators and motivating young people to improve educational outcomes for over 30 years

Non-Executive Director, Investor with vast experience working with Investor syndicates. Accomplished in training and motivating other people to exceed their own targets; capable of building businesses, creating and incorporating innovative ideas into wider strategic plans.

John OSullivan

Founder and Chair

John is responsible for the overall management, growth and strategy of SRET. He has a wealth of experience as a consultant, sales professional, business founder and CEO in the UK. John has a 20-year track record of success within the Government and Education sectors including 18 years as part of the founding team of X:OR.

John has a MSc in Technology and Entrepreneurship from University College of London and a BSc in Physics from Lancaster University.

David Cheng

Strategic CFO

David is Non-Executive Chairman of a venture capital and private equity arm of the family office investing in creative technology fintech and edtech start-ups and early stage companies.

David has over three decades of entrepreneurial and direct investment experience in the United States, UK and India.

Paddy Wei

SVP Sales and Marketing – China and Hong Kong

Mr Paddy Wei is SENIOR Vice President of sales and marketing for SRET based in SRET’s Asian office and he has extensive and successful experience in sale of education technology products and services in China and throughout Silkroad countries.

Mr Wei is CEO of various non profit associations promoting Chinese enterprises businesses in Silkroad countries.

Kirk Kirk

Strategic CTO

Kevin Kirk – Kevin leads the technical and strategic direction of SRET, delivering long-term corporate objectives. Kevin has over 10 years’ experience in the e-learning and software development industry and has held several senior positions in development, consultancy and management in the U.K. including X:OR Ltd and Sophco Systems. Kevin started his career with Ladbrokes before becoming CTO for a number of software houses in London from 1990 to 2017.

Michael Dunne

Support and Development

Michael advises on the support and development of SRET. Michael has 9 years of experience in the education and education software sector. Before joining Coelrind, he spent 4 years providing support at Thel Computing Services. Prior to this he was a Lab Assistant in java for the second certification programme at the National College of Ireland. Michael holds a BSc (Hons) degree in software systems from the National College of Ireland.

Janet Coady

Head of Quality and Testing

Janet works on a contract basis in a diverse range of areas from activation to IT project management. She has worked closely with cutting-edge intuitive software for Awarding Organisations and resource management companies in the UK. In 2001, Janet set up the Carlow Autism Awareness network, where she has been the sole manager of this ‘Saplings School’ for 4 years and is currently serving as chairperson on the board of management.

David Walsh

Lead Developer

David is currently the lead design analysis and Implementation consultant for a financial services product. He has previously worked with John Duminy and Kevin Kirk where he focused on Development, Requirement Analysis, and client interaction He is an expert coder and his software can be easily integrated with any SRET’sS software.

James Smith

Front End Web Development Office Manager

James is an experienced and capable web developer. He has created numerous websites in e-commerce, educational and entertainment sectors. He has developed several online applications and mobile/responsive sites. James has an MSc in Computer Science.

Sean Mayer

Support and Development

Sean is a multi-skilled IT support analyst with in-depth knowledge of architecting, installing and configuring computing systems. Experienced in providing client focused IT support and in successfully analysing and resolving IT hardware and software problems in a timely and accurate fashion. Having the ability to maintain a high degree of customer service for all support queries and possessing strong analytical and documentation skills. Sean has a Foundation Degree from Carlow Institute of IT.

Annette Covey

Administration and Marketing Support

Annette is an experienced Financial Controller and she has been involved in social media and marketing activities for the company on a part time basis, taking care of ad hoc projects looking to expand the marketing reach of SRET. Annette has a Degree in French from UCD.

Advisory Board

Paul Johnstone

Lead Educational Consultant

Paul Johnstone is the lead educational consultant on the Awarding Consortium. He works with AOs to devise papers and train and manage teams of exam markers. Paul brings over ten years’ experience designing and implementing high-profile education policy initiatives, on behalf of the Qualification and Curriculum Authority, Ofqual, the Department for Education, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Welsh Government, a range of awarding organisations, and other education-related businesses. Paul has a Bachelors in English from Sydney University.

Dr Stephen Vickers

Former Chief Executive

A former chief executive with over 30 years’ experience in education management, accreditation, human resources, assessment, training and development. Experience in planning and delivering projects to strict deadlines and to high standards, and around the world. Strong liaison skills with an emphasis on raising organisational profiles. Extensive experience of compliance with governmental and inter-governmental regulations.

Dr Martin Harrigan

Adviser on Blockchain Technology

Martin is a lecturer, researcher and experienced software engineer. He has a first-class honours B.Sc. in Computer Systems, a Ph.D. from the University of Limerick and currently lectures at the Institute of Technology, Carlow. He has co-authored more than twenty refereed publications including two patents in the areas of algorithmics, graph theory, network analysis and blockchains. His work on anonymity in blockchains was featured in popular publications including Wired, New Scientist, Forbes, Bloomberg and Spiegel Online. He has provided expert witness testimony in court cases relating to blockchains in the UK and the US. Martin advises SRET on the practical application of blockchains. This includes the use of blockchains as a digital notary service and as a method to issue and manage digital tokens.