The Department for the Economy (DfE) has announced extensions to the terms of office of a number of chairs and board members of public bodies sponsored by the Department, in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland (CPANI) Code of Practice.
Invest Northern Ireland
The tenures of board members Ken Nelson, Dr Gerard O’Hare, Scott Rutherford and Rose Mary Stalker have been further extended for another six months from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019.
Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI)
The tenures of Hilary Singleton, Deputy Chair of the HSENI board and three Board Members, Billy Graham, John Kane and Maynard Mawhinney, have been extended for six months from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019.
Tourism Northern Ireland
The tenure of Terrence Brannigan, Chair, has been further extended for another six months from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019. Board member Geoff Wilson’s tenure has been further extended for another seven months from 1 September 2018 to 31 March 2019.
North West Regional College
The tenure of Chair Gerard Finnegan has been further extended from 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019.
The extensions were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland. More information is available at CPANI website.
Notes to editors:
1. Invest Northern Ireland was established under the Industrial Development Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, and its role is to promote innovation, enterprise and competitiveness in Northern Ireland businesses, encourage new start-ups and market Northern Ireland as a location for inward investment. The Chair post is remunerated at £42,365 per annum and board member remuneration is currently £12,115 per annum.
2. HSENI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) with Crown status, funded by grant-in-aid from DfE. It was established on 1 April 1999 by an Order in Council, amending the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978. Its mission is to ensure that risks to people’s health and safety arising from work activities are effectively controlled. Remuneration for Board members is currently £3,850 per annum.
3. Tourism Northern Ireland is a statutory NDPB established under the Development of Tourist Traffic Act (NI) 1948. Its constitution and continuation were affirmed in the Tourism (NI) Order 1992. Tourism Northern Ireland is funded by DfE under Article 7 of the Order, from monies voted by Parliament. Tourism Northern Ireland is the trading name of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Membership of the Board of Tourism Northern Ireland carries a remuneration of £5,150 per annum.
4. North West Regional College is one of the six Northern Ireland further education colleges. The governing body of a further education college is responsible for securing the efficient and effective management of the college, the provision of suitable further education to its students and determining the college’s strategic direction. In sustaining and developing its services, the governing body takes into account the educational needs of the business sector and the local community. The post of Chair is remunerated at £20,000 per annum. Travelling and subsistence allowances are also payable at Northern Ireland Civil Service rates.
5. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published. The extendees have all declared no political activity.
6. Pen pictures:
Invest Northern Ireland
Ken Nelson MBE
Ken has extensive involvement in economic development and entrepreneurship as chief executive of Local Economic Development Company (LEDCOM) Ltd.
Ken has over 25 years’ experience working as a business advisor, mentor and trainer with entrepreneurs, start-up companies, small businesses and social enterprises. In 2010 he was the sole Northern Ireland recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion. Ken is a voluntary member of the board of directors of three social enterprises. He has a BA in Business Studies, MBA and MSc in Human Resource Management, as well as being a Chartered Manager (CMgr) and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI).
In the Queen’s 2018 New Year’s Honours List, Ken was appointed MBE for services to local economic development and the voluntary sector.
Ken is a member of the board of Governors of the Northern Regional College (remuneration £250 for a Governing Body meeting and £150 for a committee meeting or event sanctioned by the Chair), and Stranmillis University College (non-remunerated, travel & subsistence expenses only). He has been a member of the Board of Invest Northern Ireland since 2012 (remuneration currently £12,115 per annum) and in December 2016, he was appointed as Chairman of InterTradeIreland by the North South Ministerial Council.
Gerard O'Hare CBE DL
Gerard is currently Chair and MD of Parker Green International, a property company with an extensive portfolio of Irish, UK and international developments. He is also a visiting professor at the Ulster University School of the Built Environment and the prestigious Harvard Graduate School of Design, USA and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of letters for his involvement in and dedication to the championing of public private partnerships and urban regeneration. Gerard has been involved in a range of local activities in the Newry and South Down area. He chaired Tall Ships Belfast and is currently on a number of boards such as Belfast Harbour Commissioners (remunerated at £12,300 per annum), Business in the Community and the Northern Ireland Prince's Trust. He is also Honorary Consul of the Republic of Latvia to Northern Ireland.
Scott Rutherford
Scott joined Queen’s University as Director of Research and Enterprise in November 2010. He provides strategic oversight for the development of the research base and the delivery of knowledge exchange activities both within the region and beyond. Before joining Queen’s, Scott spent several years at Imperial College London leading academic research activities within the Faculty of Medicine and more broadly as Research Office Head and Programme Director, Business Intelligence. During his time at Imperial College, Scott also oversaw the successful delivery of a number of major projects to support research development and commercialisation.
Scott has also held a number of posts within research strategy and policy development, working for the Medical Research Council and for the Higher Education Funding Council for England, where latterly he played a key role in developing the Research Excellence Framework programme. Scott is a member of the Northern Ireland MATRIX Panel, the Catalyst Inc Leadership Group and holds an undergraduate degree in English and Geography from the University of Keele and an MBA from Imperial College London.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Rose Mary Stalker
Rose Mary is an experienced business leader who has successfully operated for many years at Executive Team and Board level in complex multi-disciplinary global organisations, such as Ford, Boeing and Rolls-Royce, responsible for the successful delivery of multiple transformational projects in a range of disciplines, new product delivery, business models, manufacturing, logistics, service centres, recruitment and quality, across numerous industry sectors, aerospace, automotive, construction and energy.
Rose Mary works as an independent consultant and serves as Chair of The Prince’s Trust in Northern Ireland, having previously chaired The Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, Catagen Limited and been a Non-Executive Director of Catalyst Inc. She has recently been appointed Chair of The Manufacturing Task Force for Mid & East Antrim Borough Council.
A graduate of Queen's University, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the European Woman of Achievement in Business and European Automotive Woman of the Year. Rose Mary is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Member of the Institute of Directors and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
She does not hold any other public appointments.
Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland
Hilary Singleton
A solicitor by profession, Hilary spent almost two decades as a legal practitioner in private practice. She is currently a Director of Mid-Armagh Community Network, a position held since 1998. Hilary is also a member of the Local Government Staff Commission (for which she receives a daily rate of £114), a member of the Compact Civil Advisory Panel and has served as a Board member of the International fund for Ireland since 2015. She was appointed to the Board of HSENI in 2012 and has served as Chair of HSENI's Audit and Risk Management Committee since 2014 and as Deputy Chair of HSENI since 2015.
Billy Graham
Billy was the Chief Operating Officer of Northern Ireland Electricity from 2003 until his retirement in September 2011. Billy had previously held a number of management and engineering roles in the company, including General Manager Construction and Maintenance Services (1996 to 2000), and Managing Director Networks and Customer Service (2000 to 2003). Billy is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (remuneration £7,960 per annum).
John Kane
John retired in May 2010 following a career in the public sector with responsibilities for change management, performance management, training and communications. Until recently, John was a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee with the HSENI.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Maynard Mawhinney
Maynard currently holds directorships with the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust, where he also chairs the Trust's Finance Committee (remuneration of £7,960 per annum). He is a member of the College Advisory Group for CAFRE, is a non-executive Director with Around Noon Ltd & Business Advisor to Simplyfruit (Ire) Ltd. He also provides agri-food consultancy to BDO.
He is married to Hazel and has two grown up sons. Maynard is keen on hiking, travel and family activities.
Tourism Northern Ireland
Terrence Brannigan
Terence is also the current Chairman of the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation (MLKDC) (remuneration of £30,000 per annum). MLKDC is responsible for the regeneration and development of the site at Maze Long Kesh which, at 347 acres, is twice the size of Titanic Quarter and four times the size of Canary Wharf. He is a Board member of Co-operation Ireland, a Visiting Professor attached to the Business Institute, Ulster Business School at the University of Ulster, a former Chairman of the CBI in Northern Ireland and was the founder and CEO of resource™, one of Northern Ireland’s largest private sector employers. Terence is married to Sharon and has a daughter, Kathryn, and two sons, Rhauri and Fionnbharr.
Geoff Wilson
Geoff runs his own marketing and communications consultancy business, with a focus primarily on sport. Previously Head of Marketing and Communications (Irish FA) he was responsible for public relations, public affairs, commercial programmes, brand development, communication to fans and CRM. Geoff works with the likes of FIFA, UEFA, FIBA and other global sports organisations in a wide range of areas from strategic planning, marketing and communications, digital, fans engagement, public affairs and knowledge sharing/exchange programmes. In addition, Geoff consults with a number of sports tech companies in the CRM, eSports, wearable and fans engagement space. Geoff is a part-time lecturer in marketing at Queen’s University Belfast and is Chair of Netball Northern Ireland.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
North West Regional College
Gerard Finnegan
Gerard Finnegan is a Strategy Consultant who established his own business, Sea Change Consulting Ltd, in 2010. The business provides strategic and business planning advice, advice on business transformation and coaching and mentoring to senior executives in public and private sector enterprises. Gerard is a qualified Chartered Accountant who works with a number of businesses in the agri-food, manufacturing and service sectors. He has held senior finance and corporate governance posts in the public and private sectors. He also served as a member of the Governing Body of the North West Institute of Further and Higher Education. Gerard lives in Derry with his wife Máire and their three children.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
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