Maria McCann

Her distinguished career includes pivotal roles such as Director for Health Identity Management with the Health Service Executive (HSE), where she successfully delivered national digital health initiatives, including the Irish Individual Health Identifier and digital health solutions to support frontline response during Ukraine crises. Renowned for her expertise in organizational strategy, change management, and people-centric leadership, Maria consistently partners with executives and health leaders to implement robust data governance, enable technology adoption, and foster compassionate, high-performing teams across the healthcare sector.

Consulting Expertise

• Delivered the Irish Individual Health Identifier (IHI) at the Health Service Executive, establishing a foundation for secure and effective digital health innovation.
• Led the digital health response and data management during the Ukraine crisis, supporting frontline staff and managing critical health information under unprecedented conditions. (Crisis Award Winner 2024)
• Proposed and led the development of the award-winning HSE app, which serves as the gateway into Ireland’s shared care record.
• Founder and CEO of Future Focus, where she drives organizational culture change and champions the adoption of transformative technology in healthcare.
• Recognized as an advisor in operational excellence, data governance, and digital strategy, providing executive guidance that shapes national and sector-wide initiatives.

Consulting & Advisory

• Partners with executives for transformation across digital, data, and AI domains, enabling results-driven strategic change.
• Led large-scale workforce development and digital upskilling programmes to empower healthcare professionals and elevate organizational effectiveness, one of which had the largest online graduation in Ireland during COVID.
• Designs strategies that prioritise employee engagement, compassion, and diversity, strengthening the foundation for sustainable healthcare innovation.
• Developed national learning and education programmes to advance digital health, workforce capability, and organizational culture, ensuring continued excellence in healthcare delivery.
• Recognized for her governance and leadership expertise, she collaborated and worked with senior leaders to implement the first comprehensive data governance programme for the Health Service Executive, securing the ethical and effective use of health data across Ireland during COVID.

Selected Clients and Employers

• Irish Health Service
• Irish government
• Collaborated the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Office
• Visited and Advised with multiple government

Organisations as part of ECH Alliance including Scotland; UK; Malta; Spain