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Meet the Board
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The IBCB Board is comprised of fourteen Directors in total, with the majority being non-bank. In addition to the Chair and CEO, there are seven non-bank Directors drawn from across Irish society. Three Directors represent the interests of Consumers, two others represent other bank customers – most notably SMEs and Farmers. There is a Director drawn from the Financial Services Union, acting as a voice for staff and a Director who is a leading academic with expertise in corporate governance and culture. In addition to these seven Directors, each of the founding member banks of the IBCB are represented on the Board by Senior Executives from each respective institution, all of whom report to the CEO. This senior representation ensures that the IBCB has direct access at the highest level in our member banks. The diverse representation on the Board ensures diversity of thought and perspective.
In line with good Corporate Governance practice, the Board are supported in the execution of their duties by a Board Audit Committee and a Remuneration Committee.

Governance

Board Members
board John Hedigan

Mr. Justice John Hedigan

Chairman of the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB), member of the Remuneration Committee

Biography
board Marion Kelly

Marion Kelly

CEO of Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB)

Biography
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Angela Black

Former Chief Executive, Citizens Information Board

Biography
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Professor Blanaid Clarke

BCL, MBS (Banking & Finance), BL, PhD, FTCD Deputy Chair of IBCB and Chair of Audit Committee

Biography
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Elizabeth Arnett

Director of Corporate Affairs, Ulster Bank

Biography
Jim O’Keeffe

Jim O’Keeffe

Managing Director, AIB Retail Banking

Biography
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Padraic Kissane

Padraic Kissane Financial Services

Biography
Ger Mitchell

Ger Mitchell

CHRO and Director of Corporate Development Permanent TSB, Chair of Remuneration Committee

Biography
board Lavinia Morris

Lavinia Morris

Chief Operations Officer, KBC Bank Ireland

Biography
Board Member John O'Connell

John O'Connell

General Secretary, Financial Services Union

Biography
Oliver Wall

Oliver Wall

Group Chief of Staff, Bank of Ireland

Biography
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Philip O’Leary

Solicitor, Chairperson of the Property Services Appeals Board, member of the Audit Committee

Biography
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Sue O’Neill

Council Member of the Small Firms Association (SFA) and Managing Director of Shellcove (AMC)

Biography
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Martin Stapleton

Treasurer, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA)

Biography
IBCB Patron
board Martin McAleese

Dr. Martin McAleese

Patron of the Irish Banking Culture Board

Biography

IBCB Team

Members of the Team
Linda Ayres

Linda Ayres

Senior Manager, Culture Change

Biography
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Jade McDonagh

Head of Internal Bank Culture and Governance

Biography
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board John Hedigan

Mr. Justice John Hedigan  |  Join date May 2019

Chairman of the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB), member of the Remuneration Committee

Mr. Justice John Hedigan

Chairman of the Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB), member of the Remuneration Committee

Join date May 2019

John Hedigan was born in Dublin. He attended Belvedere College, Trinity College Dublin and Kings Inns. In Trinity, with other students, he re-founded the college branch of Amnesty International. He sat on the National Executive of Amnesty chaired then by Sean McBride SC and in company with Mary Robinson. In the later 1970s he was National Coordinator of Amnesty’s Campaign against Torture.

John was called to the bar in 1976 and had a wide-ranging practice as a barrister. He became a Senior Counsel in 1990. In 1998 he was elected a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights. He served on that court until 2007 when he was appointed a Judge of The High Court and returned to Ireland. On the High Court he worked in Judicial Review, presided over the jury list and finally worked on the Commercial Court. In 2016 he was appointed to The Court of Appeal where he sat on both the civil and the criminal side. He retired from the bench in October 2018 having reached the compulsory retirement age. Mr. Justice Hedigan is an honorary bencher of Kings Inns, is Judge in residence in DCU and is a member of the Judicial Council of the International Association of Law Schools. He is Chair of the National Archives Advisory Council. He was appointed as Chair of The Irish Banking Culture Board in January 2019.

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Marion Kelly  |  Join date May 2019

CEO of Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB)

Marion Kelly

CEO of Irish Banking Culture Board (IBCB)

Join date May 2019

Marion was appointed as CEO of the Irish Backing Culture Board (IBCB) in March 2020, having previously been Acting CEO leading the establishment of the IBCB in 2019.

Marion previously worked with Bank of Ireland for 13 years across a range of senior leadership roles in Strategy, Regulatory Compliance, Operational Risk, Internal Audit and Recovery & Resolution planning.

Prior to joining BOI, Marion worked with PwC Dublin for 7 years within the FS Regulatory advisory practice, and prior to that spent 4 years working in Brussels with both the European Savings Banks Group and the European Commission.

Marion is a Certified Bank Director (Institute of Banking), a LCOI from the Compliance Institute and holds a Masters in European Economic and Public Affairs and a BA in Economics and German both from UCD.

Marion completed a Professional Diploma in Leading Cultural Change and Ethical Behaviour in Financial Services (IoB) in February 2020 and Diplomas in Leading Sustainable Corporations and in Fintech in 2021, both with the Oxford Saïd Business School.

Angela Black |  Former Chief Executive, Citizens Information Board |  Join date May 2019

Angela Black

Former Chief Executive, Citizens Information Board

Join date May 2019

Angela Black, who was Chief Executive of Citizens Information Board from 2014 to 2021, now retired, has been involved in the provision of information, money advice and advocacy through citizensinformation.ie, and funding a network, including CIS and MABS, across more than 200 locations in Ireland.

Over her career, she has been engaged in customer service through her roles in public libraries, library administration and consumer financial services in the Department of Finance and European Commission. She represented Ireland’s EU negotiations on e-money, consumer credit, insurance and financial markets legal instruments. Her librarianship, ICT and banking risk qualifications have been put into practice in several senior public service roles. This included European Commission work in Brussels from 2007-2011 on distance marketing, bank fees, switching, quality of investment advice and credit/APRC issues. She also chaired European Parliament negotiations, reaching agreement on the Mortgage Credit Directive during Ireland’s last EU Presidency. She is a member of the Board of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority and the Social Finance Foundation.

Professor Blanaid Clarke  |  Join date May 2019

BCL, MBS (Banking & Finance), BL, PhD, FTCD Deputy Chair of IBCB and Chair of Audit Committee

Professor Blanaid Clarke

BCL, MBS (Banking & Finance), BL, PhD, FTCD Deputy Chair of IBCB and Chair of Audit Committee

Join date May 2019

Blanaid holds the McCann FitzGerald Chair in Corporate Law at Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests include corporate law, ethics, corporate governance, financial services law and takeover law and she has published extensively in these areas.

Blanaid is the Irish representative on the OECD Corporate Governance Committee. She is a member of ESMA’s Takeover Bids Network. She also serves as a Vice President of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute in Frankfurt. Blanaid works with the Irish Takeover Panel and was a member of the Irish Central Bank Commission (2010-2018). Previously, she was also a member of ESMA’s Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (2018-2020), the European Commission’s Informal Expert Group on Company Law (2014-2018) and Reflection Group on the Future of EU Company Law (2010-2011).

Elizabeth Arnett |  Director of Corporate Affairs, Ulster Bank   |  Join date September 2021

Elizabeth Arnett

Director of Corporate Affairs, Ulster Bank

Join date September 2021

Elizabeth has responsibility for the development and implantation of the bank wide Corporate Affairs Strategy including internal and external stakeholder management. 

Prior to joining UBI Dac Elizabeth was Head of Corporate Affairs at Irish Water during the very challenging start up phase and prior to that was Director of Project Communications at RPS Group.

Elizabeth has a passion for organisational culture and brings a wealth of experience from a range of organisations (NGO, private and public sector) and industries to her current role.


Elizabeth joined the Board following the resignation of Jane Howard from the Board in July 2021

Jim O’Keeffe

Jim O’Keeffe
|  Join date July 2022

Managing Director, AIB Retail Banking
Jim O’Keeffe
Managing Director, AIB Retail Banking
Join date July 2022

Jim has worked across many aspects of Retail Banking, including leadership roles in IT, direct channels, mortgages and BZWBK (now Santander) in Poland.

He was appointed Head of Financial Solutions Group in 2015 with responsibility for developing a strategy to support customers in financial difficulty, which resulted in a significant reduction in NPEs. He was Chief Customer & Strategic Affairs Officer from November 2018 to November 2019, when he was appointed Managing Director of Retail Banking.

Jim joined the Board following the resignation of Robert Mulhall from the Board in July 2022

Padraic Kissane   |  Padraic Kissane Financial Services   |  Join date May 2019

Padraic Kissane

Padraic Kissane Financial Services

Join date May 2019

Padraic has over 30 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry with extensive knowledge and experience in all areas of Financial Services. A member of ‘Brokers Ireland’, Padraic Kissane Financial Services is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Padraic is one of the foremost experts on Tracker Matters in Ireland and has been heavily involved in what has become known as ‘The Tracker Debacle’. He was the first to recognise the enormity of the problem through his investigation work on behalf of customers. Padraic has worked tirelessly to get the matter properly investigated. Padraic has appeared on many media forums as well as having made presentations to the Oireachtas Finance Committee on a number of occasions in relation to the Tracker Investigation.

Ger Mitchell

Ger Mitchell  |  Join date May 2019

CHRO and Director of Corporate Development Permanent TSB, Chair of Remuneration Committee

Ger Mitchell

CHRO and Director of Corporate Development Permanent TSB, Chair of Remuneration Committee

Join date May 2019

Ger is an experienced Commercial Leader who has held a number of senior Commercial and Customer roles prior to his appointment as HR Director in 2017.

In 2020, Gers’ role was expanded to include ‘Corporate Development’ which brings the strategic disciplines of, Customer Marketing, Brand, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability and Communications together with Talent Development, Employee Experience and Culture Evolution. The newly created HR and Corporate Development Function leads the embedding of the Bank’s purpose; to build trust by making a difference in the lives of customers, colleagues and communities, every day. Ger also has Executive accountability for two Permanent TSB Board sub-committees, namely, Nominations, Culture & Ethics Committee and Remuneration Committee.

board Lavinia Morris

Lavinia Morris  |  Chief Operations Officer, KBC Bank Ireland |  Join date September 2019

Lavinia Morris

Chief Operations Officer, KBC Bank Ireland

Join date September 2019

Lavinia was appointed Chief Operations Officer at KBC Bank Ireland in September 2019. Prior to this, Lavinia acted as Senior Vice President of Information and Technology at SMBC Aviation Capital, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies.

Before joining SMBC in 2014, Lavinia held various senior Technology and Operations positions in Friends First Group, Fujitsu Consulting and AIB. Lavinia is actively involved in the technology industry in Ireland, serving as a member for the Technology Ireland ICT SkillNet Innovation Forum Expert Group, Committee Member of the NSAI Blockchain International Standards Committee as well as Blockchain Ireland, and former Chair of the Cloud Computing Working Group of the Irish Internet Association.

Board Member John O'Connell

John O’Connell   |  Join date July 2020

General Secretary, Financial Services Union
John O’Connell
General Secretary, Financial Services Union

Join date July 2020

John is the General Secretary of the Financial Services Union with members across Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK in the Finance sector. John joined the Financial Services Union in September 2019 having worked in the organisation 20 years previously.

John has extensive senior management practice incorporating areas including Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations and Operations with over 30 years’ experience in Ireland, Europe and the Middle East in the Communication, Finance, Aviation and Health Sectors. A qualified mediator, John also holds a Masters in Management Practice and qualifications in Industrial Relations and Social Studies. 

John has a background in delivering change and holds a unique perspective having worked in both representative and managerial roles. He is committed to delivering cultural change in banking on behalf of all stakeholders. 

John is a keen follower of all sport and in particular Tipperary hurling and Munster rugby.

Oliver Wall

Oliver Wall   |   Join date December 2021

Group Chief of Staff, Bank of Ireland
Oliver Wall
Group Chief of Staff, Bank of Ireland

Join date December 2021

Oliver Wall joined Bank of Ireland as Group Chief of Staff in 2017 taking on additional responsibility as Head of Corporate Affairs in 2019.

Oliver previously held a range of roles in both the public and private sectors, including working in the Department of The Taoiseach during Ireland’s 2013 Presidency of the Council of the EU. Oliver joined Bank of Ireland from HSBC where he was Head of External Affairs UK and Europe. Prior to this, Oliver was Regional Head of Political Engagement, Europe for HSBC. Oliver is a graduate of NUI Galway.


*Oliver joined the Board following the resignation of Myles O’Grady from the Board in December 2021.

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Philip O’Leary |  Join date May 2019

Solicitor, Chairperson of the Property Services Appeals Board, member of the Audit Committee

Philip O’Leary

Solicitor, Chairperson of the Property Services Appeals Board, member of the Audit Committee

Join date May 2019

Philip is a member of the Law Society of Ireland with experience specialising in Banking and Security and commercial lending and debt advisory.

Philip was appointed by the Minister for Justice and Equality as Chairperson of the Irish Legal Aid Board for five-year term in 2016 and was appointed by the Minister for Justice and Equality as Chairperson of the Property Services Appeals Board for a term of 4-years, from May 2020. Philip has a long standing and consistent commitment to access to justice issues and to principles of fairness from the consumer perspective. Philip’s qualifications include BCL (Hons) University College Cork (UCC) and LLB (Hons) University College Cork (UCC).

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Sue O’Neill  |  Join date May 2019

Council Member of the Small Firms Association (SFA) and Managing Director of Shellcove (AMC)

Sue O’Neill

Council Member of the Small Firms Association (SFA) and Managing Director of Shellcove (AMC)

Join date May 2019

Sue O’Neill is a Council Member of the Small Firms Association and Managing Director of Shellcove, an Association Management Company (AMC), which she founded in 2004.

The company helps associations that need to stay relevant, grow membership and benefit from innovative technologies to achieve strategic goals. Offering two primary models, Shellcove acts as a headquarters or provides outsourced services which deliver scalability of staff or services. 

Sue is also a board member of Microfinance Ireland. She holds an MBA from Dublin City University, an IPA Certificate in Governance, a Diploma in both Digital Marketing and Print Management and is a graduate of the IMI Business Development Programme.

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Martin Stapleton  |  Treasurer, Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA)   |  Join date May 2019

Martin Stapleton

Treasurer, Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA)

Join date May 2019

Martin Stapleton is a Dairy farmer based in Limerick. Initially involved with Macra from 1997-2001, he joined IFA in 2002. In 2020, he was appointed Association Treasurer of the IFA. Until 2019, he was Chair of IFA’s National Farm Business committee. Martin also sits on both the Advisory Board of the Property Registration Authority and the Advisory Group on Small Business.

The Farm Business committee’s roles included developing IFA’s annual pre-budget submission; developed taxation policy proposals for farm businesses; as well as identified measures necessary to support farm investment. Access to credit and the cost of credit are also relevant issues that were dealt with by liaising with the banking sector on behalf of the Association. During his term as Chair, Martin had further developed the IFA’s Debt Support Team, a service for members who have Non-Performing Loans or who are encountering serious credit difficulties.

board Martin McAleese

Dr. Martin McAleese   |  Patron of the Irish Banking Culture Board   |  Join date May 2019

Dr. Martin McAleese

Patron of the Irish Banking Culture Board

Join date May 2019

Dr Martin McAleese holds an honours B.Sc. degree in physics from the Queen’s University of Belfast and B.A., M.A. and B.Dent.Sc. degrees from Trinity College Dublin.

He worked for many years as financial controller and company secretary with a number of Aer Lingus subsidiary companies before qualifying as a dentist and becoming a partner in a large dental practice in Northern Ireland. He is a former independent member of Seanad Eireann. Martin is currently Chancellor and Chair of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University, Chair of the PwC Ireland Public Interest Body, a trustee of the Edwards MacLiammoir Gate Theatre Trust and joint Patron of the 30% Club with his wife Professor Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland.

Linda Ayres
Linda Ayres   |  Join date October 2018
Senior Manager, Culture Change

Linda Ayres

Senior Manager, Culture Change

Join date May 2019

I have worked in financial services since 2001, with roles primarily focussed on cultural change since 2016. I worked across a range of roles from operations, learning and development, programme management, governance, executive coaching, and cultural and behavioural change. I am passionate about influencing and driving cultural and behavioural change.

I started working in the IBCB on secondment from Ulster Bank in October 2018 and joined the team permanently in May 2020. I successfully managed the programme plan for the establishment of the IBCB in April 2019 and have since led elements of our work programme.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Law from Dublin Institute of Technology, I completed the Certificate in Consumer Protection Risk, Culture and Ethical Behaviours through the IoB and most recently I received a first class honours on the Diploma in Organisational Behaviour with the Irish Management Institute (IMI).

In my other role I’m also a Mom to Kayla and Nathan, and together with my husband we really enjoy family camping adventures.

Candie Malone

Candie Malone |  Join date May 2019

Office Manager

Candie Malone

Office Manager

Join date May 2019

I started with the IBCB as Office Manager in September 2019. My employment background has been in the Irish SME sector, such as data analytics, engineering and financial services firms, primarily in Office and Account management roles. My Bachelor’s degree is in Cultural Anthropology from University of Louisiana, Lafayette and I am a qualified Accounting Technician (ATI).

Since joining the IBCB, I have completed the Institute of Bankers Level 7 Consumer Protection Risk, Culture and Ethical Behaviour in Financial Services programme and UCD Professional Diploma in HR Management.

Working with the IBCB has been particularly gratifying. Being part of tangible, positive changes for customer and staff outcomes is a rewarding feeling especially when coming from a career in strictly for-profit enterprises. I look forward to continuing with and building upon the good work of the IBCB.

In my spare time, I enjoy gardening and baking.

Jennifer Hughes

Jennifer Hughes   |  Join date May 2019

Head of Customer Policy

Jennifer Hughes

Head of Customer Policy

Join date May 2019

I joined the IBCB in March 2020. Prior to this I was Head of Customer Care with Ulster Bank. I joined Ulster Bank in 2008 and worked in Commercial and SME Banking before taking up my role in Customer Care. Prior to this, I was Director of Customer and Commercial Operations with Accenture Dublin for several years and worked in Ireland and internationally in multi-national service organisations.

I believe strongly in customer service excellence and the importance of building long-term valued relationships between customers and organisations. I am excited to join the IBCB and work with our member banks to transform banking culture in Ireland and contribute to restoring trust in our industry.

I have a Masters in Business Practice from UCC and Bachelors in European Studies from TCD.  I am a Prince 2 qualified project manager and Lean/ Six Sigma practitioner.  I am an executive coach, with additional qualifications in psychometric testing and NLP. I have an MA in Ethics (Corporate Responsibility) from Dublin City University.

In my free time, I am very proud to be a Special Olympics Ireland volunteer and swimming coach.

Jade McDonagh |  Join date May 2019

Head of Internal Bank Culture and Governance

Jade McDonagh

Head of Internal Bank Culture and Governance

Join date May 2019

I joined the IBCB permanently in March 2020, having previously been on secondment from AIB since June 2019. I have more than 18 years’ experience in the Irish banking sector, including tenures at AIB and Bank of Ireland. My broad roles in banking have included: payroll; customer relationship management; product development; credit management; project and change management, and; corporate governance – in my role as Assistant Company Secretary for the AIB Group.

I am also on the Board of Directors of a registered charity, “BITE” – Ballymun Initiative for Third Level Education, the aim of which is to support young people from Ballymun and the wider catchment area to progress to third level education.

My qualifications include a Business Degree from Dublin City University, an advanced Diploma through the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (“ICSA”), in London; and several professional Diplomas from the Institute of Bankers in Ireland, including their recent Culture and Ethics qualification and the “Streetwise mba” through Common Purpose. I am also currently studying for a Masters in Ethics and Corporate Responsibility with Dublin City University.

As I worked in customer-facing roles for most of my career and having been a bank employee myself for a long time, I am very passionate about the task which lies ahead for the Irish Banking Culture Board. I am excited to be part of the team and feel lucky to be in a position which provides us with an opportunity to make a real difference for customers and staff.

Outside of work, my biggest passion is travel! Something I will never take for granted again after the events of 2020!