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
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). 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. Most recently, Scott has been involved in helping secure a City Deal for the Belfast region and continues to be heavily involved the innovation strand of the City Deal. 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.
North West Regional College
Gerard Finnegan
Gerard Finnegan is a director at Devenish, a leading provider of integrated nutritional solutions to meat, milk and egg producers across the world. Gerard is a member of the Group Leadership Team which is implementing an ambitious international growth strategy from Belfast. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant who works mainly in strategy, marketing & communications and coaching & mentoring senior staff. Gerard also served as a member of the Governing Body of the North West Institute of Further and Higher Education. He lives in Derry with his wife Máire. He does not hold any other public appointments.
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 and two sons.
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, AFC, 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.