Principal Subject Matter Expert
Cork, Ireland
My passion lies in transforming complex global regulatory challenges into clear, actionable strategies. I believe that by championing sustainability across the entire product life cycle, we help our customers not only ensure compliance but to also build a more ethical and resilient future for all people and the planet.
Joanne’s Biography
Joanne heads up the Global Regulatory Compliance team at Compliance and Risks where she leads a global team of international product regulatory consultants in both the EU and the US. She qualified as a lawyer with the Law Society of Ireland in 2003 and has extensive national and international legal experience in private practice, in-house and industry. Prior to joining Compliance and Risks, Joanne worked as a lawyer with the United Nations in Geneva as well as one of Ireland’s top-tier law firms. She also spent 4 years as General Counsel for a leading biomedical company.
Joanne has worked with Compliance and Risks since 2011 and supports its clients with their global legal compliance challenges with a particular interest and focus on Sustainability, ESG, Climate Change, Forced Labor, as well as Business and Human Rights.
Joanne has a Bachelor of Arts (Legal and French) and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland as well as a Masters in International law (LLM) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland (where she was one of three Irish recipients of a postgraduate scholarship from the Swiss Government).
In addition, she has a Masters Degree in French from the University of Limerick, Ireland and a Graduate diploma in Business and Human Rights from the University of Bergen, Norway. In November 2025, she successfully completed the prestigious Business and Sustainability Leadership Program at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) in the University of Cambridge.
Joanne is a member of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA).
Featured Spotlight
Beyond Compliance: 5 Core Lessons for Companies from the 2025 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
Joanne’s Latest Thought Leadership
More About Me
Passions & Perspectives
As a busy mom of two boys and a much loved golden doodle dog, much of my time is dedicated to ferrying them to rugby, football training and golf. Our family shares a deep love for travel, especially to France, where I in particular have always loved the language, culture, food, and wine.
I love to run (albeit not very fast!) and have completed five marathons and several half marathons. I also love to swim – living on the shores of beautiful Lough Derg in Tipperary also allows me to indulge in wild lake swimming whenever possible. I am an avid reader, with a particular fondness for historical fiction.
Credentials & Certifications
- Bachelor of Arts (Legal Studies and French) (BA) 1994
- Bachelor of Law (LLB) 1996
- Masters in public international law (LLM) 1998
- Qualified lawyer with Law Society of Ireland 2003
- Masters in French (MA) 2007
- Graduate diploma in Business and Human Rights 2023
- Certification in Business and Sustainability Leadership 2025
Experience Highlights
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- Presenter at several international conferences and symposia including:
- International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) North American Training Workshop, Toronto: Jurisdictional product reporting requirements in Canada, United States and EU
- Assent Compliance Supply Chain Summit Series, San Diego: Building a Compliance Program
- International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), Brussels: ESG and Sustainability – what’s new and how to keep up?
- International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), Florida: ESG & Product Safety
- Nordic Sustainability breakfast briefing Copenhagen: From Brussels to Beijing and Beyond – Human Rights Due Diligence Across the Product Life Cycle.
- Business Insights Global Sustainability Conference, Stockholm: The Sustainability Marathon: EU Regulations and the Product Life Cycle Race
- Key speaker at several C&R ESG and Product Compliance Insights events in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Tokyo
- Shortlisted in both 2024 and 2025 for the Irish Business Post’s ESG Leader of the Year Award
