Mr Sean O’Driscoll, Chair of the Economic and Social Research Institute

Sean O’Driscoll is the Chair of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). He is a member of the Ireland 2040 Delivery Board and of the Trilateral Commission.

Sean O’Driscoll is a former Chair and Chief Executive of the Glen Dimplex Group and a former Partner in KPMG.

Sean is a former director of Allied Irish Banks and a former member of the National Competitiveness Council of Ireland and of several Government Appointed Advisory Groups.

Professor John O’Halloran, President, University College Cork 

Professor John O'Halloran was appointed the 16^th President of University College Cork in September 2021, having guided UCC through the pandemic as Interim President since September 2020.  Previously, as Deputy President & Registrar, he led the development and implementation of UCC's first Academic Strategy - reimagining the curriculum, transforming assessment, and nurturing graduate attributes to position UCC students for their future world of work.  Having formerly served as Vice-President for Teaching & Learning, and as Vice-Head of the College of Science, Engineering & Food Science, he is an experienced academic leader with an ambitious vision for the future of Higher Education. He was recently elected as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Professor Josephine Hegarty

Professor Josephine Hegarty trained as a general nurse in Cork University Hospital and attained her MSc in Nurse Education and PhD in Physiology in University College Cork. She has worked as a general nurse in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, the Middlesex Hospital, London, and Cork University Hospital. Thereafter she worked as a nurse tutor within the Nurse Education Centre, Bon Secours Hospital, Cork and lecturer and researcher and laterally as Head of School at UCC’s Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery.  She currently holds the post of Professor of Nursing. Josephine’s research interests pertain to cancer survivorship and optimising supportive care services for patients with cancer and their families.

Dr Edward Lahiff

Edward Lahiff is a senior lecturer in International Development in UCC’s Department of Food Business and Development, part of the Cork University Business School (CUBS). Dr Lahiff hold degrees from UCC and the University of Manchester, and a PhD (Development Studies) from the University of London. From 1994 to 2006 he worked with a range of NGOs and research bodies in Southern Africa, on issues related to rural development, agrarian reform and human rights and has published widely in these fields. Edward’s current research interests are in the areas of rural livelihoods, food security and nutrition in East Africa, and socioeconomic inclusion of small farmers and workers in Vietnam. He is the programme director of the BSc International Development. Dr Lahiff also serves as Chair of the UCC branch of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) and represents UCC on the IFUT national executive committee.

Mr Brian Bugler

Brian Bugler is the lead designer of AV and IT integrated teaching and learning technologies in University College Cork, with 16 years’ experience in the sector every year provides new challenges in the rapidly changing environment.

Brian represents UCC staff both locally and nationally since 2013, he is the Chair of the SIPTU Technical Section, a member of the SIPTU Representatives Group (SRG) encompassing Administrative, Technical, SSO, DO, GO, Dental Nurses and Craft grades and a member of the SIPTU National Education Sector Committee.

Professor Geraldine Boylan, College of Medicine and Health, University College Cork

Geraldine Boylan is Professor of Neonatal Physiology, Department of Paediatrics & Child Health, University College Cork, and Director of the INFANT Research Centre -  www.infantcentre.ie

She leads a large multidisciplinary team of researchers and support staff at INFANT and her own research is focused on newborn neurophysiology. She was admitted as a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2022 and was recently elected to the Council.

Professor Steven Byrne, Deputy President and Registrar, University College Cork

Professor Byrne joined UCC in 2004 and was subsequently appointed to the Chair of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Head of the School of Pharmacy in October 2013. Professor Byrne held the role of Interim Registrar from November 2020 - 15th March 2022. Professor Stephen Byrne was appointed as Deputy President and Registrar of University College Cork on the 16^{th of} March 2022.

Ms Barbara Creagh, Vice President Finance - Immunodiagnostics Division, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Barbara Creagh is a senior finance executive with more than 20 years’ experience working as CFO and in Senior Management positions both in Ireland and Internationally

Barbara is currently the Vice President Finance and CFO for the Global Immunodiagnostics Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific and was previously CFO for Millipore Ireland and Head of Finance for Merck KGaA’s Global Healthcare Manufacturing & Supply Chain Organisation.

Barbara is a Commerce Graduate from UCC and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Barbara has been a member of the UCC Finance Committee since October 2019 and currently serves as Chair.

Mr John Fitzgibbons, Director of Further Education and Training, Cork Education and Training Board

John Fitzgibbons is the Director of Further Education and Training, Cork Education and Training Board, Ireland.

In 2013, with the creation of the Education and Training Boards, he became Education Officer for Cork Education and Training Board until 2016, when he took on the role of Director for Further Education and Training. John has also served as Acting Chief Executive of Cork Education and Training Board.

Ms Sylvia Fouhy

Sylvia Fouhy, an accountant by profession, is the former Vice President for Supply Chain, Deliver and Digital Transformation, Global Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson. Sylvia worked at Johnson & Johnson for over 30 years and held various roles including Vice President of Customer Experience North America, Vice President Planning and Supply Chain Systems Strategy, and Chief Procurement Officer.

Sylvia is an experienced transformational business leader with a track record of leading large-scale organizations, developing global strategies and transformational initiatives including Digital and Customer experience, Global SAP deployments, network optimization.

Ms Margaret Lane, Executive Coach, Praesta Ireland, Cork

Margaret is an experienced coach with a demonstrated history of working in the human resources industry. Strong community and social services professional skilled in HR Consulting, HR Policies, Management, Succession Planning, and Organizational Development.

Margaret achieved excellence in two very different professional disciplines, first as a Chartered Accountant and then transferring into HR and ultimately leading the function for one of the largest Irish commercial semi-state companies, Ervia.

Dr Francis O’Sullivan, Managing Director S2G Ventures, and Adjunct Faculty at MIT Sloan School of Management

Dr Francis O’Sullivan is the Managing Director of S2G Ventures, which is the direct investment team of Builders Vision, partners with entrepreneurs who are working on solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges across the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets.

Francis is also the Director of Research and Analysis at the MIT Energy Initiative, and a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to joining MIT, Francis was a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he worked extensively in the areas of economic, investment and risk analysis, strategic planning, and operations in the private equity, oil and gas, electric utility, and renewable energy sectors.

Mr. Aidan Trindle, Vice President Global Supply Chain Planning, Dell, Cork

Aidan Trindle is the Vice President of Global Supply Chain Planning at Dell having been appointed to the role in 2021. In his current role, Aidan is responsible for the Global Supply Chain Planning for the Infrastructure Solution Division which encompasses Dell’s Sever, Storage and Networking businesses.

Aidan previously served as VP of Manufacturing Operations for DELL EMC since 2013, with responsibility for the quality manufacturing of EMC products and exporting to 123 countries across the globe from Ireland.

Aidan is an experienced leader with a track record for leading teams through change, developing global strategies and delivering results.

Ms Rose McHugh, Non-Executive Director & Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

Rose McHugh is a Chartered Accountant with over 35 years of commercial experience. 

Ms McHugh currently serves as Non-Executive Director of Bank of America Europe, Irish Life Assurance, and Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO). She is chair of the Board of Directors of the Crawford Art Gallery.

Professor Maeve Conrick

Professor Maeve Conrick is Full Professor Emeritus of French at University College Dublin.

Career distinctions include an appointment as Specialist Advisor to a UK House of Commons Committee and the Prix du Québec awarded by the Government of Québec. Prof. Conrick has published widely and has contributed actively to many national and international professional associations.

In 2011, Prof. Conrick was appointed by the Irish Government as a member of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and was its Deputy Chair from 2012 to 2014. She was a Board Member of the National Library of Ireland (NLI) for two terms and has been Chair of the NLI Audit and Risk Committee.

She is currently Deputy Chair of the Press Council of Ireland, and a lay member of the Judicial Conduct Committee.

Professor Brendan O’Leary

Brendan O'Leary BA (Oxon), MA UPenn (hon), PhD (LSE), DArts (UCC, hon), MRIA (hon), is an Irish, European Union, and US citizen, and since 2003 the Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor O’Leary is the inaugural winner of the Juan Linz prize of the International Political Science Association for contributions to the study of multinational societies, federalism and power-sharing, and in 2016 he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy, principally because of his contributions to the field of power-sharing. In addition to his scholarly work, O’Leary has been a political and constitutional advisor to the United Nations, the European Union, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, the Governments of the UK and Ireland, and to the British Labour Party (before and during the Irish peace process). He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of thirty books.

Ms Nora Geary

Ms Nora Geary, Corporate Secretary and Secretary to Governing Authority, University College Cork

Nora was appointed Corporate Secretary of University College Cork (UCC), Head of The Office of Corporate and Legal Affairs (OCLA) and Secretary to UCC’s Governing Authority in 2017, previously she was appointed Deputy Corporate Secretary in 2011.  She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

Ms Katie Halpin-Hill

Ms Katie Halpin-Hill serves as the President for the UCC Students’ Union, advocating for the interests of over 7,000 postgraduate students.

Mr Alex Angland

Mr Alex Angland is the Commercial and Fundraising Officer and Deputy President of UCC Students' Union, an elected representative of the 25,000 students of University College Cork. He oversees the Union’s commercial strategy, which involves coordinating with local and national businesses. 

Alex is a recent graduate of Mathematical Sciences in UCC, and former Chairperson of the UCC Mathematical Society. Alex is a UCC Quercus Entrance Scholar 2020, and was awarded the Huawei Seeds for the Future Scholarship 2022. 

Mr Shah Kamal

Mr. Shah Kamal serves as the Postgraduate Representative for the UCC Students’ Union, advocating for the interests of over 7,000 postgraduate students. Currently enrolled in the MSc in Business Analytics program at UCC, he brings extensive professional experience in data-driven decision-making and a strong passion for predictive analytics.

Recently elected to his role, Mr. Kamal is dedicated to representing the diverse needs of UCC’s postgraduate community on the SU Executive, key university committees, and the Governing Authority. His analytical expertise encompasses advanced statistical methods, financial planning and analysis, and performance management, establishing him as a forward-thinking leader in the field.
Academically, Mr. Kamal is an Associate Member of CIMA (UK) and holds an Executive MBA in Finance as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting from the University of Dhaka, where he was recognized on the Dean’s Merit List. He has also successfully completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam.

In his professional career, Mr. Kamal has over 16 years of experience, predominantly in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), performance management, and corporate banking. Most recently, he served as Senior Finance Manager for Retail Banking at Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh, where he was honoured with the ‘Finance Star Award H2 2022’ for optimizing USD 65 million in Risk-Weighted Assets. He has also worked with several other notable banks, including Citi, where he received the ‘Xtra-Mile Award’ twice for his contributions to Business Process Reengineering.