Pen pictures
Tom Gray
Tom has 30 years' experience in the IT Sector as group CTO and Director of Innovation of Kainos. He is also an angel investor and holds board positions in a number of tech start-ups across the UK.
He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Queen's University Belfast and is a Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (MIET) and is past-chair of IET NI. Tom has significant experience in driving innovation in organisations across the gamut of financial services, telecommunications, retail, real estate, media, etc and was recognised as the Most Influential Person in Tech in Northern Ireland by Tech Nation in 2018. Tom set up and ran the Northern Ireland branch of Digital Catapult and, since 2013, has curated the annual BelTech conference and, since 2019, AI Con.
Tom is a member of the Northern Ireland Science Panel, MATRIX and contributes to the activities of the CBI NI digital forum. Tom is a Director of companies in the Identity (SureCert), Virtual Reality (NEON) and Healthcare (Service Robotics) spaces. Tom is also a member of the IET Engineering Policy Group for NI and the CBI Tech Council.
He is passionate about ensuring that everyone in NI has access to appropriate Digital Skills. Tom created and sponsors the Kainos Tech Outreach programme, is co-chair of the Ulster University Industrial Liaison Panel.
He does not hold any other public appointments.
Carmel Mullan
Carmel has over 30 years; financial experience. She is a qualified accountant and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
In recent years Carmel has performed consultancy roles. She has acted as an interim finance director and is currently company secretary to the Board of Diaceutics PLC, having successfully project managed the company’s IPO and consequential listing on the London Stock Exchange.
For 15 years prior to that, Carmel was Group Financial Controller at UTV Media plc, which was a media group responsible for the provision of the regional Channel 3 television licence in Northern Ireland, radio services in Ireland and GB; and digital services in Ireland. Carmel was a strategic member of an executive team that built the national business through acquisitions, diversification into new business areas and tendering for new radio licences. This ultimately culminated in the sale of the television business to ITV plc and the radio businesses to NewsCorp, giving substantial return to shareholders.
Carmel developed strong skills in in all aspects of finance management, accountancy, tax and treasury through 13 years in practice with Ernst & Young where she held a position of Audit Senior Manager. Through her work as a consultant and in a plc environment, she has comprehensive experience in strategic projects, risk management, corporate governance plus regulatory and statutory compliance.
Carmel is a Commissioner on the Board of The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and is a member of their Audit & Risk Committee (remuneration £2,352 per annum and a daily rate for additional duties.)
Peter Weil
Peter has extensive experience of broadcasting, marketing and education at a senior level. His roles have included head of BBC Radio Ulster, head of network television, BBC North; senior vice-president, Discovery Networks International and chief executive, CTVC (part of the Rank Foundation).
Peter's broadcasting career has spanned more than four decades. He has produced programmes with Sir David Frost, Sir Robin Day, Jeremy Paxman, Dame Esther Rantzen, Emma Barnett and Gloria Hunniford. Peter was head of youth programmes at BBC Northern Ireland in the mid-eighties and was subsequently appointed the editor of BBC 1's "Wogan". He launched "First Edition with Jon Snow", a schools current affairs programme for 9-13 year olds, in 1994. It ran for eight years. He also pioneered TrueTube, an online channel which specialises in religious education and citizenship. The channel won the BAFTA award for Children's Channel of the Year in 2017. During his period as CEO of CTVC, the company won an RTS award for best edited documentary ("Welcome to Mayfair") as well as three nominations for a Grierson documentary award.
In 2000 Peter was invited to become a fellow of the Royal Television Society and in 2002, while working in the USA, he was appointed an alternate director for the Emmys committee.
He is currently the chief executive of Politics in Action, a shared education initiative which involves 23 schools across Northern Ireland working with students from different backgrounds as they try to find solutions to the issues which matter to them. He is also a Board member of Stranmillis University College (unremunerated).