The Board of Directors meets on a quarterly basis and is responsible for the management of the organisation. All directors serve on a voluntary basis.
Ray Kenny Chairman
Ray Kenny is a chartered Accountant (FCA) with a Diploma in Risk Management, Internal Audit and Compliance, a Marketing Diploma (IMI) and an Advance Certificate in Business Counselling (Durham University). He retired in December 2016 following 13 years as Director Finance & Administration of Clongowes Wood College, the Jesuit boarding school based in Clane, Co. Kildare. He has experience of not-for-profit and charity organisations and has held executive board positions in the aviation industry, SME consultancy and general engineering sector.
Mary Connaughton Vice Chair
Mary Connaughton M.A., FCIPD is Director of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in Ireland and is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute. Mary's focus is on developing the contribution of the human resources (HR) profession in Ireland, and how it adapts and champions better working lives. Mary previously headed up HR development services in IBEC, where she worked with leaders on the development of HR practices. She started her career as a psychologist in the civil service. Mary then moved to FAS and Bank of Ireland Life where she worked on training and development interventions, before moving into consulting. In consultancy, Mary worked across the public and private sectors on strategic HR and leadership development initiatives. Mary is passionate about developing people and workplaces to be at their best.
Dr Brigid M. Milner Board Member
Dr Brigid Milner has worked as a full-time academic in the field of Strategic HRM for more than 25 years. She currently lectures within the School of Business in Waterford Institute of Technology. She has also worked in India and France as a Visiting Professor. From 2014 to 2015, Bridgid was Head of the Management Group in Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, a Chinese-UK joint venture based in Suzhou, China. Parallel to her academic career, Brigid has worked extensively as a specialist human resources (HR) consultant across the private, public and semi-state sectors. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and has contributed to CIPD in both Ireland and the UK. She has been a member of the CIPD Ireland Executive, and the Irish representative on CIPD (UK) main policy making committee. Brigid is particularly interested in the area of retirement and specifically partial retirement and the opportunities this gives both individuals and organisations. Brigid holds a BA (Hons) in Personnel Management; a Masters in Business Studies; a PhD. She is a certified as both an Executive Coach and Workplace Mediator.
Frank O'Riodan Board Member
Frank O’Riordan has 30 years’ experience in the asset management and funds management industry. He has operated at Senior Management and Board level. Frank has managed client assets at Chief Investment Officer (CIO) level and has served both as CEO and Chairman of an asset and funds management business. Frank is: • President of the Securities and Investments Institute in Ireland (CISI) • a Trustee of the AIB Ireland Pension Scheme • Independent Director of five Irish domiciled Authorised Funds. These include both UCITS and AIFM regulated funds with assets of over several billion euro under management across the investment spectrum. Frank chairs three of these funds. Frank is also a Director of the Retirement Planning Council.
Pauline Louth Board Member
Pauline Louth is a partner and Head of Knowledge in Beauchamps. Pauline is a member of Beauchamps’ Risk Management Committee and Data Privacy team, having overseen the firm’s readiness for GDPR in 2018 Prior to taking over the role of Head of Knowledge, Pauline was a partner in Beauchamps’ Corporate department, with over twenty years experience advising on corporate structuring, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, and related areas.
Maurice Hedderman Board Member
Maurice Hedderman is a Qualified Financial Advisor and Certified Financial Planner with over 40 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry. Maurice started his career with Canada Life in 1981 where he worked for 26 years before leaving to set up his own business, Hedderman Financial Solutions Ltd in 2007. Maurice also served as President of (LIA) Life Insurance Association (Ireland) in 2007. Maurice served as a Director of the Board of the Life Insurance Association Ireland from 2001-2008.Maurice is also a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, the premiere association of financial professionals and has qualified and attended their annual Convention in North America for each of the past 20 consecutive years. In 2013, Maurice became a Certified Financial Planner. A CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation is the world’s most widely respected financial planning designation. He is currently serving on the Finance Committee of the Financial Broker with Broker Irland, he is also a current Board Director of the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland. Maurice is an avid hill walker and an advocate for lifelong learning.
Albert Murphy Board Member
Albert Murphy is Director of Industrial Relations with the INMO. He has 30 years’ experience as a trade union official and has been a member of the INMO industrial relations team since 2008, initially as an IRO for several Dublin hospitals. In 2014 he added the role of Organiser to his areas of responsibility, when he was charged with leading the development of enhanced workplace structures in large hospitals. He became Assistant Director of Industrial Relations in 2019 for the Dublin North region. As Director of Industrial Relations, Albert is heading up the union’s expanded IR team, which has more than doubled in numbers in recent years. Albert is a life-long trade unionist and holds a BA in Industrial Relations and HR Management, PGD (Keele) in IR, Professional Diploma in Professional Regulation.
Ciara Lyons Board Member
Ciara Lyons is a senior marketing professional with over 20 years' experience in driving strategy and growth for several large multinational and national IT software companies world-wide. She initially spent the first 10 years of her career working for the Bank of Ireland Group before embarking on an international marketing career as a Director of Marketing driving business development in Europe, Middle East and America. Ciara has extensive experience in scaling a business towards customer value and holds a BSocSc from University College Dublin in Social Sciences; a postgraduate Diploma from the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School in Business and International Marketing and most recently a Post Graduate from UCD in Innovation, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. Ciara is passionate about social enterprise and education.