Dr. Fionnuala Walsh is the senior vice president of global quality for Eli Lilly and Company, having joined the company in 1988 at its manufacturing site in Kinsale, Ireland. Throughout her time at Lilly, Fionnuala has held numerous positions in everything from technical services and laboratory analytics to management positions in the manufacturing science and technology sector and has held her current role since 2007.

A Dublin native, Fionnuala says her parents instilled her with the qualities necessary she finds in being a great leader: courage and resilience, allowing her to take pride in “belonging to a global diaspora.” This is what helped Fionnuala land her first job as head of quality for a global drug substance, which she calls “overwhelming and exciting all at once,” as well as kept her committed and passionate about her education, having received a bachelor’s and doctoral degree in chemistry from University College Dublin. Fionnuala and her husband Myles O’Neill have three children, Sophie, Eoin, and Kevin.