Chair of NI Screen pen picture

Sir David Sterling KCB

Sir David spent his career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) working in a variety of roles.

He was Permanent Secretary in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment from October 2009 until June 2014 and was responsible for the full range of DETI’s functions including policy on economic and business development, tourism, telecommunications, energy, business regulation, geological survey, trading standards and the Insolvency Service.

He was Permanent Secretary in the Department of Finance from July 2014 until June 2017 when he was promoted to be Head of the NICS, a role from which he retired on 31 August 2020. The devolved institutions were in suspension from the time of his appointment until the resumption of devolved government in early January 2020. His main challenges during his time as Head of the NICS were maintaining public services in the absence of ministers, preparing for Brexit, facilitating the resumption of the Executive in January 2020 and dealing with the first wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

He is currently the Chair of the Chief Executives’ Forum in Northern Ireland, an EY Associate and a board member of a number of charities: Ulster Wildlife, the Cancer Fund for Children, the Centre for Cross Border Studies, and Women in Business NI.

He has no other public appointments.