Mark J Finlay, Co-Founder and CEO

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Mark James Finlay, is a professional storyteller and a peacemaker at heart - an encourager, who is known to ‘get things done’. This reputation was forged through efforts as his native Northern Ireland transitioned from “the troubles” that raged from 1968 until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and particularly in post-conflict transformation and the delivery of city regeneration and major economic development initiatives.

Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) and a Member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM), with over 30-years’ experience in development, investment and operations in real estate, infrastructure, and technology.  For a decade he was a senior executive of a significant UK-based international development and investment group that delivered multi-billion pound Public Private Partnerships and industrial development projects.

Among the investment vehicles and projects under Mark’s charge, he oversaw the redevelopment of the Port of Rosyth, Scotland and its transformation from the UK’s ultra-secure and highly contaminated nuclear submarine base into a vibrant mixed-use business park and center of community, as well as home port to the UK’s Flagship Aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Considering his unique ports experience, a UK Government Minister appointed Mark a Commissioner of the Port of Belfast, the third-busiest port in the UK, which encompasses Europe’s largest waterfront regeneration, known as Titanic Quarter. He served in this public office for three years and subsequently became Chairman of Inner South Belfast Neighborhood Partnership, and then Chairman of South Belfast Partnership, cross-government initiatives created following the Good Friday Peace Agreement to bring about ‘improvements in life outcomes’ for people living in some of the UK and Ireland’s most disadvantaged inner-city communities.

In addition to the Ports of Rosyth and Belfast, Mark has advised on port development and operations in the UK, in eastern Europe and the Americas and has spoken on waterfront regeneration and ensuring success in public private ventures.

In 2003 he was appointed a Director of the Ireland-US Council (IUSC) in Dublin and in 2016 was appointed to the Board in New York.  The IUSC was created to prepare for President John F. Kennedy's visit to Ireland in 1963 to promote economic links between the United States and Ireland. 

In 2011 Mark was commissioned by government to author Northern Ireland’s Global Diaspora Strategy, to examine how to better connect with the region’s “scattered seed," including an estimated 50 million Irish and Scots-Irish in North America. 

Stemming from his work in reconciliation and peace, in 2007, he was invited to be part of a small team to serve the island of Ireland’s delegation attending the National Prayer Breakfast (NPB) in Washington, DC. 

By 2012 Mark was called to relocate to the USA, and in December 2014 was invited by Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04), incoming Co-Chair of the NPB, to support him with faith-based initiatives and international relations. This has led to a decade of deepening friendships with Members of Congress and their counterparts in other parliaments and legislatures. Chairman Aderholt is one of the nation's so called 'Appropriations Cardinals' and most senior members of the GOP delegation in the Congress.

Mark and his family were first granted Green Cards following a petition 'In the National Interest', and subsequently became a naturalized US Citizen in 2023. He lives with his wife Karen in Charleston, SC where their daughter is a fifth-grade teacher in a title-one inner city school. Mark and Karen still visit Capitol Hill regularly each month.

Mark is an inspiring public speaker, known for his unique blend of Irish wit and wisdom, honed from twenty-five years of corporate governance, public service and peacemaking across the globe. He has spoken to discrete groups, to large audiences, and to strategic leaders at events around the United States and globally.

In addition to guiding leaders in international and community relations – undertaken through Leaders And Followers Foundation 501(c)(3) – Mark has shared his business acumen and skills as a Chairman and moderator to guide Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, foundations, family offices, and leaders in government.

Deployments have ranged from advising on complex issues of ethics, responsibility, and corporate governance; to sensitive diplomatic missions; matters of defense and national security; international business development; and major project delivery - as equally diverse as new brand launches, award winning museums, life-saving technology advancement, research partnerships, and the development of production factories and 5-Star Hotels and Golf Resorts!

Mark’s international perspective and unparalleled network enable him to guide leaders to better understand the times and know what to do. He has sectoral experience in aerospace, automotive, biomedical, biopharma, city regeneration, clean energy, hospitality, infrastructure, ports, research, technology, and tourism. 

Mark can help repurpose global supply chains - breaking adversary supply chain reliance – attract new jobs and FDI and deliver economic development.