Prestigious new business role for Dungannon woman

A DUNGANNON woman has become the first recipient of a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) Fellowship at Ulster University.

Mary McKenna, chair and co-founder of AwakenHub and AwakenAngels, is one of only 15 new EiRs joining the Royal Society this year.

The prestigious EiR Fellowship is also only the third ever awarded in Northern Ireland by the Royal Society.

A well-known tech entrepreneur and angel investor, Mary is also a visiting Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Oxford.

She was named European Female Business Angel of the Year and UK Business Angels Association UK Angel of the Year in 2023/24.

In her role as chair of AwakenHub and AwakenAngels, she focuses on removing barriers to investment, scale and success for women founders, introducing them to vital new connections, and creating equity in the founder ecosystem for all.

Commenting on her appointment, Mary said: “To have been chosen as an Entrepreneur in Residence by the Royal Society and the first at Ulster University is an incredible honour.

“Having been lucky enough to have spent many years as an advocate for entrepreneurship, women founders, angel investing, and innovation, this is an exciting new opportunity to enable Ulster University’s talented researchers and students to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

“This kind of mentoring and work is so vital within the founder ecosystem, something that was reinforced for me on our recent AwakenHub and AwakenAngels US trade mission, so I would like to thank the Royal Society and Ulster University for their valuable support.”

Mary co-founded and subsequently sold the successful online learning business Learning Pool.

Since selling her company, she has worked with early-stage and scaling ventures across the entire European ecosystem. She has angel invested in 35 early-stage tech startups to date.

In July 2020, she co-founded social enterprise AwakenHub, the first and only all-Ireland female founder community.

AwakenHub has 3,000 members and last year launched Ireland’s first and only women-led angel syndicate, AwakenAngels.

Mary said: “I can’t wait to get started alongside the team at UUBS and look forward to supporting their advances, helping to foster their spinouts, and inspiring the next generation of our entrepreneurs across Northern Ireland.”

The Entrepreneur in Residence scheme by the Royal Society was founded in 2017 to strengthen links between academia and industry by placing experienced entrepreneurs in UK research institutions.

The programme helps researchers translate cutting-edge science into real-world innovation by providing mentorship, industry insights, and commercial expertise.