Jenny Melia

Jenny is the Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government’s enterprise development agency. Enterprise Ireland’s ambition is that exporting Irish companies become the primary driver of the Irish economy.

Enterprise Ireland’s core mandate is to support Irish businesses to start, compete, scale, and connect. As CEO, Jenny is committed to supporting the dedicated Enterprise Ireland team to achieving this ambition; to foster the next generation of Irish start-ups, to support SMEs to become more profitable, productive and competitive by harnessing AI, innovation and sustainability, and to accelerate Irish businesses to scale. 

Jenny has a strong track record in leadership roles within the organisation, and she is passionate about helping Irish companies to innovate and grow, and supporting Ireland’s entrepreneurs to achieve their ambition.

Prior to taking up the role of CEO in July 2025, Jenny was Chief Client Officer and Executive Director with responsibility for Food & Sustainability, Technology & Services and Industrial & Life Sciences.

She joined the agency 29 years ago, and worked in the Research and Innovation Division as a commercialisation specialist and managed Enterprise Ireland’s national research and technology programmes between industry and third-level research institutes. She has since held a number of senior roles within the organisation across a variety of sectors, led the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) team and was Divisional Manager for Technology and Services before moving to her current role. She is a member of Enterprise Ireland’s Executive Committee and Investment Committee. She graduated from UCD with a BSc and PhD in Chemistry.