A Marriage of Governance: The Critical Role of the Company Secretary and Chair

John Hennessy CDir is a highly experienced plc Chair. John was appointed to the board at Dalata Hotel Group in 2014 as Non-executive Chair and Chair of Nomination Committee and has been part of the Dalata story ever since. He is a Chartered Director and a practising barrister. He is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also an accredited mediator.

Lynda brings over 30 years of experience in financial services at both board and senior executive levels across the private and public sectors. She currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director in the financial services, state, and voluntary sectors. Lynda is currently Chair of the Board at National Bank of Canada Global Finance Limited and Elkstone Private Advisors Limited. Her extensive board experience includes positions on the boards of European Movement Ireland (since 2020), Dublin Bus (since 2019), Diversified Notes plc (since 2019), and The Ark Children’s Cultural Centre Company (since 2019). Previously, Lynda held key leadership roles, including Managing Director & Vice President of Global Structured Finance Europe at De Lage Landen Ireland (part of the Rabobank Group), Lead Prudential Supervisor at the Central Bank of Ireland for one of Ireland’s pillar banks, and Head of Capital Allocation & Risk-Based Pricing at Allied Irish Banks plc. A Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor, Lynda trained with KPMG Dublin and holds a Master of Arts degree from University College Dublin. She has also earned a Diploma in International Financial Reporting Standards from Chartered Accountants Ireland and a Professional Diploma in Corporate Governance from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Helen is an experienced C-suite executive who reported directly to the AIB Group CEO as a member of the Executive Team for 12 years. During this time, Helen was the AIB Group General Counsel with responsibility for a legal and company secretary team of c.150 professionals. Helen also served at Board as Group General Counsel, gaining a full understanding of board matters through the financial crisis, state ownership and a return to the equity markets as a listed public company. Prior to joining AIB, she held the role of company secretary in EBS Building Society. Helen qualified as a solicitor in England in 1994 and, before moving in-house, worked in private practice in London, Hong Kong and Dublin. She now intends to pursue a portfolio NED career.

Dr Margaret Cullen holds a PhD in governance from University College Dublin (UCD). She is a specialist in the areas of corporate, bank and investment fund governance. Margaret is a governance adviser to the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland, an experienced Board Assessor with IoD’s Board Evaluation Service and and member of IoD’s faculty for the delivery of customized governance education and workshops. Margaret also holds the roles of Programme Director of UCD Diploma in Corporate Governance and Academic Director for the Institute of Banking’s (IoB) Certified Bank Director Programme. She is a fellow of the IoB.