Governing Body

Professor Malachy Ó Néill is Director of Regional Engagement at Ulster University and a member of the University Senate. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Academy and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2019. Professor Ó Néill is a specialist in Irish Language and Literature and was awarded a personal Chair in Irish in 2020 having served as as the inaugural Head of School of Irish Language and Literature, 2012-17. Appointed Provost of the Magee Campus in 2016, Professor Ó Néill played a key role in various aspects of the expansion of HE provision in Derry, including the inception of a graduate-entry School of Medicine and the development of a range of key innovation projects through City Deal. He has also represented the University in the development of the North West Tertiary Education Cluster (since 2018), bringing together the work of the FE and HE partners in the cross-border North West city region. Professor Ó Néill is Principal Invesigator (Northern Ireland) in the c.€4 million ‘Atlantic Futures’ research collaboration funded by the Shared Island programme.

Professor Ó Néill completed his BA and PhD at Ulster University and was Head of Irish in St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt, before returning to the University as Lecturer in Modern Irish in 2008. He was editor of the An tUltach journal (2008-10) and was appointed by the Irish Government as a member of the Review Board of the Irish Language Standard (published 2017). He enjoys close ties with the Donegal Gaeltacht and spent many years in Machaire Rabhartaigh and Gaoth Dobhair facilitating courses for teenagers and adult learners of Irish. Professor Ó Néill is in his second term as a member of the Irish Language and Celtic Studies Committee in the Royal Irish Academy. He is a member of the Armagh Diocesan Education Committee of CCMS (non-remunerated) and is a board member of both the Causeway and Derry Chambers of Commerce. Professor Ó Néill has been a member of the Governing Body of NWRC since June 2017.

Leo Murphy is the Principal and Chief Executive of the North West Regional College.

He has almost 30 years' experience in the further education sector. He was Head of Curriculum in Omagh College from 2000 and he took over the role of Deputy Director at the merged South West College based at the Fermanagh campus in 2008. He also has served on a number of public bodies and forums relevant to Education, Enterprise and Innovation.

In August 2014 he was appointed as Principal and Chief Executive of North West Regional College, one of the six Regional Colleges in Northern Ireland. The North West Regional College is the largest provider of education and training in the Sub Region.

As Chief Executive, Leo plays an active role in key City and Region Economic and Innovation Forums, in particular with the Regional Council, Ulster University, Invest NI, Londonderry Chamber, Letterkenny Institute of Technology and Donegal County Council through the North West Corridor.

Leo is currently on the Board of the Derry City and Strabane City Deal.

Leo also represents the FE Sector on a number of forums including the NI Skills Council and Matrix Panel.

Michelle was appointed into the Governing Body in July 2020 after being successfully elected to represent College Support Staff in March 2020.

Michelle has been employed with the College since 2008 and has gained valuable experience across various support Departments. Michelle began her NWRC career within the Student Services Department as a Student Finance Administrator working closely with and supporting students with financial assistance. In 2016 Michelle moved into the Administration Department, as the Administration Manager, and more recently took up the additional responsibility of compliance within the Training Support Dept. and is now the Administration and Training Support Manager. Michelle led on the implementation of GDPR within the College and is the current Chair of the Equality Working Group.

Michelle was a former student at NWRC having studied a HND in Business before progressing onto UU to complete a BA (Hons) in Business with Marketing. Michelle actively supports and encourages a culture where behaviours support equality, diversity and inclusion for everyone and is delighted to represent support staff within the Governing Body.

Paul Clancy has extensive and proven experience over the past 33 years across a range of manufacturing and distribution organisations predominantly in the agriculture, drinks, membership organisations and construction sectors.

As CEO of the Derry/Londonderry Chamber of Commerce and CEO of The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland he has gained significant experience working with businesses and key stakeholders throughout the NW Region and beyond.

As an Executive Board member with BDR Thermea and DeLaval has experience working at Board level on the development and implementation of Corporate Governance activities in the UK and Ireland.

He has a BSc Hons in Electrical Engineering from Trinity College Dublin, along with Diplomas in Manufacturing Management and Human Resource Management from the Irish Management Institute.

Diane is a self-employed consultant while also holding non-executive director roles for SME's.  She is currently Chair of the Board of Age NI Enterprises Limited.

She is FCCA qualified, holds an Honours degree in Economics and a Masters in Finance from Queens University, Belfast.

Diane has over 20 years’ experience in strategic senior management roles within the public and private sector, industries included manufacturing, financial services and auditing.  Diane was previously the Finance and Personnel Director for Waterways Ireland, the largest of the North South Bodies.  This role also covered areas of ICT and Corporate Services and she was the lead officer responsible for corporate governance in the Body.

Before joining Waterways Ireland, she held roles in PwC and the former Quinn Group.  During her many varied roles Diane has delivered strategic projects, supported restructuring of businesses, while ensuring governance is maintained throughout.  She has also focused on driving process improvement, efficiencies and introducing change management programmes.

Diane does not hold any other public appointments.

Sian is a practising lawyer and a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland, having been called to the Bar in 2008. In her 13 years as a lawyer, Sian has gained a broad range of experience across many practice areas, with a particular focus on civil litigation and public law. During this time, Sian has advised and represented private individuals, companies and local authorities in a range of legal disputes.

She was awarded a Master’s in Human Rights Law in 2007, with a particular focus on issues relevant to Northern Ireland and transitional justice. During her Master’s degree Sian’s thesis was awarded a prize from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Sian is a PhD candidate at Queen’s University Belfast.

Sian does not hold any other public appointments.

Stephen Gillespie is the Director of Business and Culture at Derry City and Strabane District Council. The Business and Culture directorate encompasses a range of services the local Council provides such as economic development and job creation, business support and engagement, ICT, tourism, arts and culture, visitor services, heritage and museums and marketing and communications.

Although originally from Belfast, Stephen has spent all of his working life in Derry, initially qualifying as an accountant with Desmond and Sons before becoming the Financial Controller of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners.

Married with two children, when not working or with his family, Stephen would devote a lot of his spare time to playing and coaching both football and badminton. On a personal level the development of youth through sport has always been very important.

Mary is a qualified Chartered Accountant, who has over 30 years’ experience working in the private and public sectors, predominantly in economic development, job creation, business support and engagement.

A member of Invest NI’s senior management team, she is currently the investment agency’s Regional Development Manager. She has previously held a number of roles across the organisation including in Corporate Finance, Regional Office Management (North West region & Western region), European Regional Development Funding and more recently as its Operational Lead for the delivery of a number of the Department of the Economy’s Covid Emergency Schemes.

Mary holds a BA in Business Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies and has previously served as a member of the Board of Governors of 2 local primary schools.

Mary does not hold any other public appointments.

Kieran has over 40 years’ experience in the textile manufacturing and social enterprise sectors in key positions, most notably as Managing Director of O’Neills Irish International Sports Company Limited, before retiring in December 2021.

He has a track record of driving significant improvements in product innovation, customer service, efficiency, IT and business transformation.

Kieran was appointed MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2021, for services to the economy during the pandemic, as a result of the pivot he made to scrubs manufacturing to support the Health trusts in Northern Ireland.

He is also Chairman of 21 Training which promotes apprenticeships in the Northwest.

Kieran is voluntary Chair of Strabane Business Improvement District (BID) which helps local business by, supporting, promoting, improving and attracting visitors and new business to the town centre.

He joined the Board of Invest NI in March 2020 (remuneration amounts to £12,768 per annum) and was appointed by DTI to the Manufacturing Trade Advisory Group in August of the same year.

In 2019 he was awarded the Global Ireland Award for services to Irish enterprise by the Irish Consulate General in Boston, USA.

Brian is the Director of Development and Enterprise at Enterprise North West, a leading enterprise agency that specialises in business support, economic development and social enterprise development in the North West of Ireland.

He previously worked for an American multinational engineering company, fulfilling a number of roles prior to joining Enterprise North West.

Brian is actively involved in the economic development agenda across the North West and to support ongoing wider engagement with enterprise stakeholders he has held a number of strategic positions within local, regional and national bodies and organisations. These include North West representative on the Northern Ireland Social Enterprise Stakeholder Steering Group, Co-Chair and Member of the DCSDC Community Plan ‘Entrepreneurship and Enterprise’ Thematic Group and member of the Business Engagement Panel for Derry City and Strabane.

As an experienced business consultant, Brian specialises in Business Planning & Strategy, Social Enterprise, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Strategic Planning and Partnership Working. He has a wide range of experience working on boards and he is currently a voluntary member on the Board of Directors of two local social enterprises as well as the national economic and physical regeneration body, Development Trusts Northern Ireland.

Brian does not hold any other public appointments.

Jennifer is the Managing Director in the Airporter coach service based in Derry/Londonderry since starting the business 25 years ago. She held the role of President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce in 2018 and has served on the Board of Londonderry Chamber since 2013 (non-remunerated).

She has been involved in Economic Development in her work with Chamber of Commerce and in the development of skills for the Tourism and Hospitality industry in her own role in Airporter, including as Chair of Tourism & Hospitality Skills as part of the Education and Skills Delivery Partnership with Derry & Strabane District Council (non-remunerated).

In addition she is a Visiting Professor at Ulster University (non-remunerated).

Jennifer has a BA from Carleton University, Ottawa.

Jennifer does not hold any other public appointments.

Sharon McMahon is the Chief Executive Officer of Loughs Agency, serving as the organisation’s most senior official since March 2017. Having joined the Agency as Director of Corporate Services in 2014, she was initially responsible for various areas that included Finance, Corporate Policy, Strategic Development and other relevant corporate requirements. As CEO, Sharon is responsible for the long-term strategic direction of the organisation within both the Foyle and Carlingford catchment areas.

Throughout her career, Sharon has demonstrated an innate ability to build and lead successful teams. Prior to joining Loughs Agency, she spent 12 years working for Waterways Ireland, holding various high-ranking posts including Head of Strategy & Policy and Head of Operations. During this time, Sharon obtained valuable experience working within a North South co-operation dynamic, and the knowledge she has accumulated working at the largest of the North South Implementation Bodies stands with her to this day.

A graduate of the University of Ulster Business School and holder of a Professional Certificate in Governance, Sharon spent over two decades of her career working in the private sector, where she was able to gain considerable leadership experience before embarking on a career in the public sector. Her leadership style combines action with pragmatism, ensuring no organisational decisions are made until all financial and governance boundaries have been considered in full.

Charlene has over 10 years’ experience working within Strategic Management, Commercial and Marketing roles within the Aviation industry.  Charlene was employed as Airport General Manager & Accountable Manager at City of Derry Airport before taking up a leadership role within the Healthcare sector, as Emergency Planner.  Charlene has extensive experience working at a strategic level, with excellent leadership skills and experience of strategic oversight and governance.  

  Charlene graduated with a BSc (Hons) Degree before completing a Master’s of Science degree in Communication, specialising in Strategic Management and Marketing from Queens University Belfast in 2004.  Charlene obtained a First-Class (Hons) in Business Management from Michael Smurfit School of Business, UCD in 2009.  In 2015, she attended the William J Clinton Leadership Institute at Queens University Belfast where she successfully completed the Emerging Leaders Programme.  In 2020, Charlene completed the Boardroom Apprentice Programme which enabled her to gain skills and experience to serve on a public or third sector board.  

Charlene is also a voluntary member of the Board of Directors on Developing Healthy Communities since September 2021.  

Frederick (Fred) Smyth (appointed July 2022)

Fred is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) and an independent business consultant and mentor.

He has over 30-years’ experience in commercial and corporate banking across a range of senior roles and has significant strategic and governance experience, holding Diplomas in Digital Transformation, Governance and Strategy.

Fred is a current board member of the NI Guardian Ad Litem Agency (£4,004 pa), Include Youth and Viable Corporate Services Limited (both voluntary) and is a former Vice-Chair of the Simon Community.

Peter has worked in a public sector role for the past 25 years and prior to that spent 4 years working in the Further Education sector.  He currently works for Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and is responsible for the tourism development and destination management remit, including the areas of marketing, product development, trade engagement and business support.  This service also provides a balanced portfolio of major events across the borough and facilitates partnership with other event promoters.

In addition, Peter is responsible for the Council’s outdoor recreational spaces and the service manages six Holiday and Leisure Parks across the Borough.

His role prioritises economic development and the need to develop and sustain the region as a high quality recreational and visitor destination for the benefit of the area’s residents, the business sector and visitors hosted within our community

Peter does not hold any other public appointments.

Violet was appointed into the Governing Body in May 2022 after being successfully elected to represent College Academic Staff in April 2022.

Violet has been employed as an educator in further and higher education since the early 1990s. In 2001 Violet joined NWRC on a permanent basis and has taught across multiple subject areas and departments. As part of a secondment opportunity Violet worked in Ulster University from 2006 until 2012 supporting the redesign of the PGCFHE now known as the PGCE (FE) after achieving GTC NI recognition in 2011.

Violet was a student at Ulster University having studied a BA (Hons) Public Management, a PGDipFHE, a PGDip in Computing and Information Systems and a MSc Lifelong Learning (for which she received the Biggar Award in recognition of highest Academic achievement). Violet’s belief in lifelong learning was further validated when she was successful in achieving a Med in Education from Queens University Belfast in 2018. Violet is a passionate supporter of a quality educational experience for all and is an advocate of ‘learning is a lifelong journey’. Having been successful in securing a promotion within NWRC in January 2021 Violet is now the HE Curriculum Lead – Quality Enhancement and this new role enables her to offer further support for quality assurance within NWRC processes and programmes.