Meet the

Team

Ciaran Flynn CEO – Ciaran Flynn, Founder & CEO, has over a decade of experience building Child Paths into Ireland’s leading early years software. A passionate entrepreneur and father of three, he is driven to support children, families, and educators through innovation.

Robbie Carey COO – Robbie Carey is the Chief Operations Officer of Child Paths. In his role, Robbie oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, driving growth, customer success, and innovation across the platform.

Dr Gillian Lake is Chief Education Officer at Child Paths, where she leads the company’s education strategy, curriculum vision, and pedagogical innovation. With over two decades of experience across early childhood, primary, and higher education, Gillian is a recognised leader in education.  A former primary teacher, Gillian holds an MSc and PhD from the University of Oxford. She is a Fellow of AdvanceHE (UK) and was previously Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education and Chair of Postgraduate Research at DCU Institute of Education.  Gillian has contributed directly to national and international early childhood policy, including co-authoring the commissioned literature reviews for the Aistear 2024 Framework’s Communicating theme and the Irish National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), is a graduate member of the British Psychological Society and collaborates widely with educators, researchers, government agencies, and sector partners.

Over 25 years of experience in technology, business transformation, and strategy development, working across Irish, US, Korean, and Japanese organizations. Chief Strategy Officer at Child Paths since 2025, following 10+ years as an Advisor and Director.

Over 25 years in finance, commercial strategy, leadership and coaching. Former Group CFO of Virgin Media Ireland, founder of xPotential Limited, helping businesses and leaders accelerate their growth.

Software engineer with 7+ years of experience in programming and data flow design.

Jarek has 8 years experience at Child Paths and 10+ years experience as a financial administrator

With over 12 years of experience in the media industry, working with some of the world’s largest brands, James brings a wealth of expertise in communication, sales, and relationship management. For the past 6 years, he has been a key part of Child Paths. James is passionate about creating meaningful connections, supporting customers, and helping to grow the Child Paths community.

With over 20 years’ experience in sales, Alan started his career as a Sales Representative and worked his way up to National Account Manager, partnering with some of Ireland’s biggest companies and brands, such as Aramark, Musgrave Retail & Wholesale Partners and Double Tree by the Hilton Group.. At Child Paths, Alan brings that same energy and experience to supporting customers and growing the company’s reach across Ireland.

Experienced early years educator and manager, co-host of ‘Little Steps Big Futures’ a podcast on Early Childhood Education and Development, and Parenting.

5+ years managing a school and working with children ages 3-6, an MSc in Family Education, and a BA in Early Childhood Education.

A seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in education, training, and program development.