Ellen Gunning was voted Tech Entrepreneur of the Year for the past two years (2022 & 2023) for Diversity in Tech and PR Tech. Having spent 30+ years in PR, she created Mettacomms in 2019. Mettacomms is a platform, driven by AI, Machine Learning and NLP, which discovers future trends, globally. She is known as a Data Prophet (someone who understands the power of data but has no technical background).
Tech FoundHer Summit described her as “a powerful communicator with a great sense of humour who can communicate about tech in a really accessible way”. The Digital Nomad Conference said “Ellen’s presentation was insightful and witty. This lady knows what she is talking about”. The IPREX EMEA conference said that “her take on the future of work, community, travel, tourism and spirituality was fascinating and it brought up some really interesting questions for a lively discussion afterwards”.
Ellen is totally at ease talking about the future, the way in which artificial intelligence will change the world we live in, the implications for governments and society, the opportunities and challenges that change presents. An inspirational communicator, she has received a gold Stevie Award (USA), the European Parliament Journalism award and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce CSR Award.
A seasoned broadcaster, she is a regular media commentator on national television and radio, presented her own weekly radio programme Mediascope for 13 years, and produced and presented a video documentary about the lives of women in Lesotho.
She is a member of the board of the European Association for Distance Learning (EADL) for the past 8 years, and a former chairperson of Dublin City FM radio station. She was a government appointed director of Ireland’s National Concert Hall and a central council member of the Irish Red Cross. Ellen was a two-term national president of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), holds a fellowship from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and has been a member of the Public Relations Society of America for over a decade.
Ellen has written three books: Public Relations a practical approach (3rd. edition, Macmillan London, Sept 2018), Capital Women of Influence (Liffey Press, 2009) and 10 Red Hot Tips to Promote your Business (Mercier Press, 2016).
Highly regarded as a keynote speaker she has addressed major international conferences like the Mumbrella CommsCon in Australia. She is equally at home interviewing prominent statesmen (she interviewed former Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, one of the authors of the Good Friday peace agreement). Adept at chairing demanding conference sessions, Ellen also enjoys presenting on television and radio.
Her style has been described as “energetic”, “inspirational”, “so engaging”, “insightful and thought provoking”. Her presentations always connect with the audience, generate lively debate and leave a lasting impression long after she has left the stage.
