About
Michelle McDaid is the founder of The Leading Place, a purpose-driven startup helping organisations reimagine leadership and build cultures where both people and performance thrive. With over two decades of experience in tech leadership - most recently as Senior Director of Engineering at Workhuman - Michelle brings broad expertise in leading globally distributed teams, scaling organisations, and navigating complex change.
She combines real-world leadership experience with evidence-based insights from her MSc in Work & Organisational Behaviour at DCU, where her research focused on how tech leaders build and maintain trust in remote and hybrid environments. This gives her a distinctive perspective on the future of work, sustainable leadership, and workplace flexibility for all.
Experience
Through The Leading Place, Michelle supports organisations with leadership development, communication strategy, and culture change - grounded in psychological safety, trust, and authentic human connection. She is particularly passionate about inclusive leadership, gender equity, and enabling women to advocate for themselves in systems that often work against them. Michelle is passionate about DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging), with a special interest in Gender Equity and Women in STEM. Through her senior roles in technology, Michelle has championed ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) and has led many initiatives which delivered tangible DEIB results.
Michelle has mentored on the STEM Passport for Inclusion programme with NUI Maynooth, and TU Dublin Saer Mentorship Programme.
Michelle completed the Board Ready programme 2023 run by 30% Club Ireland and Deloitte.
Michelle has been recognised as a finalist in the Everywoman in Tech Awards and the Diversity in Tech Awards, and was listed in Diversein’s 133 Women Who Change the World. Her thought leadership has been featured by CTO Craft, Silicon Republic, and The Business Post, and she is a frequent speaker at conferences, and on podcasts and panels. You can check out some of Michelle’s podcast interviews here
What’s Different?
With our Founder Michelle McDaid’s lived experience of 25+ years of leading successful global distributed product development teams, she brings together her tech experience, coaching background, extensive people leadership insights, progressive thinking and a collaborative approach to enable your success.
Through her tech leadership roles, and setting up and running her own business, Michelle has experience of designing, creating and leading workshops that lead to impactful change. In The Leading Place, Michelle will partner with you to achieve successful outcomes.
Company Info
31 Hollystown Demesne, Hollystown, Dublin
Company reg no. 748939