What has driven Ireland to the second highest quality of life globally? Despite what many people believe, human progress worldwide has been incredible in recent decades, and Ireland’s progress has exceeded that of practically anywhere else. VistaTalks host Simon Hodgkins discusses this and other topics with Mark Henry, Author, and Central Marketing Director, Tourism Ireland.

In this special 'rewind' episode, Simon Hodgkins, María Roa, Gregory Twohig, and Jordan Knights look back over the entire year of episodes and highlight important topics and discussions that stood out to them. We are delighted to host the second year of the ‘rewind’ episode that takes time to look back at some of the stories and people that joined the show over the last twelve months.

Anna Heussaff is a novelist writing mainly in her first language, Irish. She’s had seven novels published to date. Her three crime novels for fluent adult readers include Scáil an Phríosúin (CIC 2015), set in the present day in Kilmainham in Dublin 8. Her three mystery novels for young teens include Sárú (CIC 2017), which features worldwide threats such as a pandemic and the climate crisis, with which the young characters have to grapple in a game and in the real world. Cúpla Focal (Cois Life 2007) features a very contemporary love triangle that arises in a conversation class for adult learners of Irish. Her many awards include the Judges Special Award in 2013 from Children’s Books Ireland.

She has translated one of her crime novels to English, published as Deadly Intent (Severn House 2014) under the pseudonym Anna Sweeney. She lives in Dublin where she grew up.

Nataly Kelly is the VP of Localization at Hubspot, a published author with Penguin Random House and a board member at Multilingual magazine. Nataly is the author of Born to be Global, a well-known blog in the language industry, and a contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Fiachra Synnott is Project Management Operations Director at Vistatec since 2019 and is a trilingual software industry leader with a strong background in localization and video games. Fiachra has a passion for relationship building, partnerships, and ensuring that the services delivered often exceed expectations. Fiachra is a globetrotter and believes in leveraging the benefits of global work culture and remote teams.

Mari Cahalane is a passionate advocate of STEM education for young people. She has been involved in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition since BT took over the sponsorship in 2000 and is the head of this magnificent STEM initiative. Leading a team in BT and externally to deliver the event on behalf of a charitable trust. In the almost 60 year history over 50,000, project ideas have been submitted by over 100,000 participants.

Cormac Eklof is a Senior Program Manager at Vistatec. Cormac joined Vistatec in 2017 and is responsible for overseeing several large programs for major global corporations. In this episode, Cormac shares his thoughts on the importance of flexibility, communication, and effective listening in global program management.

Mathilde Jakobsen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Fresh.Land, a disruptive food-tech startup that is digitizing and shortening the food supply chain, connecting farmers and consumers directly to a more sustainable and equitable model. Mathilde co-founded Fresh.Land in 2015 and has since gone on to win various prestigious accolades recognizing her success, such as the women of the decade in start-up by the Women’s Economic Forum.

Unn Villius is the Chief Sales Officer and responsible for Vistatec's Business Development. Her localization career started as a Swedish linguist at Microsoft Ireland in 1988, and she has since held a wide variety of positions in localization operations management. Joining Vistatec in 1997, she quickly moved into Business Development and successfully established Vistatec’s first US office.

Mel is VP of Product Commerce & Consumer Brands at Condé Nast. Mel is responsible for leading key brands globally across the portfolio - Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, Arch Digest, Allure and is now leading the transformation of new revenue opportunities within the commerce space. Mel has worked in various publishers and commerce companies in her career namely, Photobox, Telegraph, Mr & MrsSmith, Lonely Planet, and TimeOut.