The Minister for Finance, Mr Michael Noonan TD, has appointed members to the Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo) with effect from 31 August 2012.
As recommended in the Report of the Commission on Credit Unions published on 18 April 2012, the ReBo is being established on a time-bound basis to facilitate and support the restructuring of Credit Unions.
The Minister has appointed the following people to the ReBo:
Mr Robert (Bobby) McVeigh – Chairman
Mr Eoin McGettigan
Mr Tom Kavanagh
Mr Brendan Burke
Ms Kathleen Prendergast
Mr Stephen O’Donovan
Mr Joe O’Toole
Mr Pat Fay – Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU)
Mr Jimmy Johnstone – Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU)
Mr Tim Molan – Credit Union Managers Association (CUMA)
Mr Kevin Johnson – Credit Union Development Association (CUDA)
Mr Neil Ryan – Assistant Secretary, Financial Services Division, Department of Finance
Ms Elaine Byrne – Deputy Head, Registrar of Credit Unions
The ReBo is being set up on an administrative basis pending the enactment of the Credit Union Bill 2012, when it will become a Statutory Body. It will be in place until 31 December 2015.
A short bio of each appointee is set out in Appendix 1
ENDS
Appendix 1
Mr L Robert (Bobby) McVeigh
CHAIRMAN
BA, BEd, CGC, MEd, CCD, CUDE, ICD.D
Bobby McVeigh is a former Chair of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).
His experience in the international credit union system spans 40 years. In Canada, he has served as Chairman of the Board at the local credit union level, a provincial league, the national league and at four national affiliate companies as well as serving on the Board of a provincial stabilisation fund/deposit insurance corporation. In 2006, he was appointed as the sole credit union representative to the United Nations Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors. He has been recognised for his work in international credit union development in Poland, Romania, S.E. Asia and by World Council of Credit Unions. Beyond the credit union system, he has served on more than 20 Boards in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
Mr. McVeigh has hands-on experience with the restructuring of the credit union sector in Canada where he chaired a 2-year process associated with restructuring a provincial credit union system as well as chairing a 2-year process associated with restructuring at the national level. He has a deep understanding of the history of the Credit Union sector in Ireland and the challenges to be addressed going forward.
Mr Eoin McGettigan
FCMA, MBA Eoin McGettigan of McGettigan and Associates is a consultant providing strategic advice and practical support to Irish retailers, assisting them in overcoming major challenges of the current economic environment. He is currently also Chairman of Clerys.
He has 30 years experience in retail and wholesale businesses both in Ireland and the UK. He has held positions of Group Finance Director at Dunnes Stores, CEO at Musgrave SuperValu Centra and has experience in the co-operative sector, being a Board member of Reox plc which was formed as result of the spin-out of Consumer Foods, DIY and Property divisions of Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited.
Mr Tom Kavanagh
BComm, FCA
Tom Kavanagh is a founding partner of kavanaghfennell and one of Ireland’s leading insolvency and forensic accounting experts. He has over 20 years experience in corporate recovery / insolvency and has extensive experience of business analysis.
He has been involved in a number of corporate restructuring projects. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Insolvency” and also lectures extensively for Chartered Accountants of Ireland.
Mr Brendan Burke
FCCA
Brendan Burke was Chief Operations Officer with Rabobank in Ireland and also in the Netherlands and he worked as Chief Operations Officer with Mediobanca in the UK. He has significant experience of business transformation, process re-engineering, start-ups, program management, systems implementation, outsourcing and service centre activities.
He is a qualified accountant with many years financial services experience, including cooperative banking both in Ireland and abroad. His experience includes retail, corporate and investment banking and fund management. He has performed senior roles in Finance, Operations, IT, Treasury, Compliance and Risk.
Ms Kathleen Prendergast
MBA, MBs, BSc
Kathleen Prendergast has been actively involved for over 20 years as a volunteer in Tipperary Credit Union, serving as its first female President. She is dedicated to social change and has experience in local, national and international credit union business.
She is currently a member of the national Social Enterprise Task Force promoting social entrepreneurs and enterprises. She is a member of the Board of the Social Finance Foundation which is a wholesale provider of repayable loan finance at affordable rates to community-based projects and local development initiatives.
She also is a tutor at Ulster University on the Accredited Certificate in Credit Union Practice (ACCUP) and lectures on a number of modules including Finance, Governance, Credit Union Operations, HR, Legislation and Lending.
Mr Stephen O’Donovan
FCCA
Stephen O’ Donovan is a Chartered Certified Accountant, and has worked for over 20 years in senior advisory, finance and general management roles, in public practice, SMEs and multinational plc environments.
He has advised and worked with organisations on business planning, restructuring, corporate governance and change management, and has had significant mergers and acquisitions experience, both in public practice and with a world leading food and ingredients plc.
He has managed the acquisition and sale of businesses in Ireland, Europe, and in Australasia, where he was based for a number of years. He has been a volunteer Treasurer in the credit union sector since 2010 and is currently working as a consultant with BDO, specialising in Corporate Finance and Restructuring.
Mr Joe O’Toole
BA, HDip Ed, FEIS Joe O’Toole is a founder member and Director of Comhar Linn, the INTO Credit Union. He spent many years as an independent Senator during which time he introduced credit union reform legislation in the Seanad.
He was also a member of the Commission on Credit Unions.
Mr Pat Fay
Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU)
Pat Fay is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU). He also holds the positions of Director and Chair of the ILCU International Development Foundation Company Limited. He was Chief Operations Officer and head of monitoring of the ILCU where he was responsible for the operational aspects of the League activities and safety and soundness of affiliated credit unions.
He has extensive knowledge of international credit union systems and evolution, including UK, USA, Canada and Africa. Among other things, he implemented the CAMEL and subsequent PEARLS monitoring systems for League credit unions. He also negotiated and oversaw the amalgamation and transfer of engagements of a number of credit unions in NI and ROI. He is a member of the EU Financial Services Users Group.
Mr Jimmy Johnstone Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU)
BSc, H. Dip in Education, BSc in Mutual and Credit Union Business
Jimmy Johnstone is a secondary school teacher and has vast credit union experience being a volunteer Director, Supervisor of A.S.T.I. Credit Union since 1989. He has served as Credit Union Treasurer and Chairman and as Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) Treasure and Vice-President and is currently President of the ILCU.
He is firmly committed to the Irish credit union movement, the cooperative principles that underpin credit union operations and to assisting in the development of the credit union movement in meeting the financial services needs of members.
Mr Tim Molan
Credit Union Managers’ Association (CUMA)
BA, QFA
Tim Molan has been working in the credit union sector since 1982. He is a professional credit union manager and has been manager of Cashel Credit Union since 1998. He is a member of the National Executive of the Credit Union Managers’ Association (CUMA) since 2002.
He is a graduate of the University of Limerick, UCC and UCD and was a member of the LIA Development Panel of the Credit Union Adviser qualification, a UCD accredited, Level 7 course for professional credit union managers and staff. He is also a former member of the Credit Union Advisory Committee (CUAC) and the Commission on Credit Unions.
Mr Kevin Johnson – Credit Union Development Association (CUDA)
MBA, FIB,
FSII
Kevin Johnson, MBA, FIB, FSII, was appointed CEO of Credit Union Development Association (CUDA) in 2008. Prior to that he was 25 years with Educational Building Society (EBS), where he established and managed a Customer Contact Centre and a Business Innovation Centre. He also headed up core business areas of savings, investments, residential mortgages, personal lending and insurances.
In his time with CUDA he has evolved its business model to now include Representation Services, Strategic Development - to support credit unions effectiveness and efficiency, and Competency Development to enhance the skills of all credit union personnel both volunteers and employees. He contributed to CUDA’s input to the Commission on Credit Unions, including representation and participation.
Mr Neil Ryan
Department of Finance Neil Ryan is Assistant Secretary, Financial Services Division, Department of Finance, Ireland
Neil joined the Department in July 2011. He is responsible for financial stability and markets, central bank policy and legislation, credit union reform and co-heads a working group on developing the international financial services. He was previously an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank (London) and CEO of Wells Fargo Bank International (Dublin). He has worked in the banking and capital markets in Dublin, London and New York since 1989. Neil holds law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and the London School of Economics, as well as an MBA from London Business School.
Ms Elaine Byrne
Deputy Head, Registrar of Credit Unions Elaine Byrne is Deputy Head, Registrar of Credit Unions.