Gilliane Quinn de Schonen

Gilliane grew up by the sea in Howth, Co Dublin. After four wonderful years in Trinity College, she landed in Paris where she worked in management consultancy, and co-founded Novalenext, bringing Irish and UK products into France, and sharing ideas and concepts between retailers in France. She worked with all the major chains on diverse projects from introducing sliced pan into Auchan, ready to eat concepts into Carrefour, service tips for Monoprix and working on the outline concept for Daily Monop.
After the sale of the family company Superquinn, in 2007 Gilliane threw herself into the juice bar business, bringing Zumo to France, opening 20 stores throughout France, in shopping centers, airports and the gare Montparnasse et Bordeaux. She finally exited the business in 2023, but still enjoys concocting recipes at home. Gilliane is married to Nicolas de Schonen, with four children in four countries. She was particularly involved with NetworkIrlande during its start up period as President, helping to foster relations between Irish and French business and people. She joined the Mná in its early days before Covid, and particularly loves the Irish banter and solidarity that it creates between women.
Gilliane was previously Chair of the Trinity Association and Trust. She has been decorated as Chevalier de l’Ordre National de Merit by the French government.
She is a non executive Director of Mediahuis Ireland, owner of the Independent newspapers titles.