The Department for the Economy has announced extensions to the terms of office of a number of chairs and board members of public bodies sponsored by the Department.
Invest Northern Ireland
Mark Ennis CBE
Mark was appointed Chairman of Invest Northern Ireland on 1 January 2012. He has been Chairman of SSE (Ireland) since 1st October 2010. Mark continues to have input to Public and Regulatory Affairs at Ministerial level and an overview for Public relations for all SSE activities in Ireland. In June 2016 he was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to business and the economy in Northern Ireland.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Northern Regional College
Richard Jay
Mr Jay has over 40 years of professional experience in education. Prior to his retirement in 2010, he was Director of Education in the School of Education at Queen’s University Belfast. In the course of his academic career, Mr Jay co-founded the Political Studies Association of Ireland and was instrumental in creating the Centre for Cross-Border Studies, serving on the Board of the Centre for several years. He was an active member of the Queen’s Association of University Teachers during the 1990s, serving as Secretary and Chair, and participated as staff representative on the Queen’s Senate for six years. He previously served as Chair for the Forum for Community Work Education, now Community Change.
Mr Jay is currently in an extended second term as a governor at the College, and prior to this served at one of its predecessor organisations, North East Institute of Higher and Further Education. Formerly Chair of the Education Committee, Mr Jay is the Governing Body representative on the College’s Safeguarding Committee, having undertaken the appropriate training.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Stranmillis University College
Professor Emeritus Sir Desmond Rea OBE
Professor’s Rea’s experience as a non-Executive Director (NED) covers the private, public and voluntary sectors. Of direct reference to his reappointment as Chair of Stranmillis University College in the public sector, he is a former chair of 4 education bodies.
In the Voluntary Sector he is currently a NED in Harmoni (formerly the NI Institute for The Disabled).
His other experience includes Editor, First Trust Bank's Quarterly Economic Outlook and Business Review for some 25 years. He is also a CEDR Accredited Mediator. He has been Stranmillis University College Chair since May 2013.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
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 27 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 two 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 2018 Ken was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to local economic development and the voluntary sector.
Ken was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 29 March 2013. He has been a member of the Board of Invest Northern Ireland since 2012 (remuneration currently £12,240 per annum) and in December 2016, he was appointed as Chairman of InterTradeIreland by the North South Ministerial Council.
Robert Thompson
Mr Thompson, a former student of Stranmillis, served the last 32 years of his professional career as Principal of Doagh Primary School. He is Chair of a local primary school and Governor of two large post-primary schools, in one of which, he is Chair of the Finance Committee. He has been a member of the North Eastern Education & Library Board (travel expenses only). Mr Thompson is a Council Member of the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) (travel expenses only) and an External Adviser for Headteachers' PRSD (Performance Review and Staff Development). He was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 29 March 2013.
Dr Esmond Birnie
Dr Esmond Birnie is currently Senior Economist in the Ulster University Business School. Previously he was Chief Economist in Northern Ireland for PwC (2010-16) and during 2007-10 Ministerial Special Advisor in the Department for Employment and Learning. He was a MLA during 1998-2007. Prior to that he was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics in Queen's University Belfast. He was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 1 August 2014.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Richard Hanna
Mr Hanna is Director of Education and Language in the Ulster Scots Agency. Prior to that he was Director of Education Strategy in the Northern Ireland Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) where he had responsibility for developing policy advice related to curriculum, assessment and reporting and for providing support and guidance to schools. He was responsible for implementing statutory assessment and reporting arrangements in Northern Ireland schools. Richard held a number of management positions in CCEA which included development and support for qualifications, e-learning and the use of ICT to support teaching and learning. He led a number of critical programmes including the development of on-screen marking of examinations, system wide adaptive computer-based assessment in literacy and numeracy. His postgraduate study was focused in the use of technology to support teaching and learning. Before joining CCEA, Richard was a post-primary teacher with 18 years' experience where he held a number of management roles. Mr Hanna is a board member of Northern Ireland Screen (unremunerated). He was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 1 August 2014.
Edgar Jardine CB
Mr Jardine is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast where he studied Psychology at undergraduate level before returning to QUB to take a Master's degree in Developmental and Educational Psychology.
Mr Jardine is a former Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and has served at senior level in the Office of the First and Deputy Minister and in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and as Interim Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
He was awarded the CB in 2012 for public service. Since retirement from the Northern Ireland Civil Service Mr Jardine has served in a number of non-executive roles. He was appointed to the Probation Board for Northern Ireland in 2012 where he was the Chair of the Policy and Practice Committee. He is a member of the Public Affairs Council of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is a Transferors' representative to the Education Authority where he is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.
He was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 1 August 2014 and is Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Claire Moore
Mrs Moore is currently Bursar and Secretary to the Board at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (RBAI). She is also a Member of the CAFRE Advisory Group.
Mrs Moore has worked in the Education and Training sectors for 20 years. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. She was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 1 August 2014.
She does not hold any other public appointments.
William Patterson
Mr Patterson has held various posts in the area of employment relations. From 1978-1980 he held the post of Industrial Relations Officer with British Aluminium. From 1980-1990 he worked in Personnel for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. From 1990-1993 he was Director (Administration and Personnel) with the Northern Health & Social Services Board (Loughside). He was employed by the Belfast City Council from 1993 to 1996 as Head of Human Resources. Mr Patterson joined the Labour Relations Agency in 1996 as Chief Executive and retired from his position on 13 March 2015. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He was appointed to the Stranmillis University College Governing Body on 1 August 2014.
He does not hold any other public appointments.