The Judging Panel

The CO3 Leadership Awards 2020 will be judged by a panel of industry leaders and experts. The judging is a rigorous process including a half-day meeting where entries are discussed and evaluated in detail to decide the winning entries.

Meet our Judging Panel:

Catherine Cooney, Worthingtons Solicitors

Martin Flynn, Open College Network NI

David Lane, Ecclesiastical Insurance

Donal Laverty, Baker Tilly Mooney Moore

Alison McCullough

John McMullan, Social Enterprise NI

Sharon Polson, Department for Communities

Phelim Sharvin, Community Finance Ireland

Paddy Murray, Willis Employment

Catherine Cooney, Worthingtons Solicitors

Catherine is an experienced lawyer specialising in charity, corporate and commercial law. She worked in a city centre law firm from 2008 and joined Worthingtons as a Partner in 2018. She represents charities, companies, social enterprises, housing associations, local authorities and schools.

Catherine advises charity trustees, company directors and committee members and supports their senior management teams. She advises charities in all matters including Charity Tribunal Appeals, charity trustee training on legal responsibilities and liabilities, corporate governance advice and training, advice on group structure, subsidiaries and trading arms, mergers and collaboration, serious incident reporting, incorporation, restructuring and rebranding amongst others. Catherine also sits on the Board of two local charities.

Martin Flynn, Open College Network NI

Martin Flynn was appointed Chief Executive of Open College Network Northern Ireland (OCN NI) in June 2015 and has made an outstanding contribution to the success of OCN NI during this short period.

Martin is a graduate of the University of Liverpool and has a BA in Professional Development and PGC in Management and Leadership. During his time in post, Martin has positioned OCN NI as a leading Awarding Body in Northern Ireland. The organisation works closely in partnership with education and training providers to develop and award professional and technical (vocational) qualifications.

In 2018 Martin was presented with the Leading Organisation Change award at the CO3 Awards. Martin also Chairs the Northern Ireland Awarding Body Forum, which consists of all the major awarding bodies offering qualifications in NI. The forum liaises with key stakeholders, including NI government departments, regulators and funding agencies to represent the interests of the qualifications sector in NI.

David Lane, Ecclesiastical Insurance

David Lane was appointed Managing Director of Ecclesiastical Insurance, Ireland in January 2012.

David leads a team of 35 people based in Ireland. He is a member of the Ireland Management Oversight Committee and several of the Ecclesiastical Group Management Boards

A graduate of University College Dublin and a Certified Insurance Director, he has 30 years’ experience in the insurance/financial services area.

David started his career with the insurance broker Coyle Hamilton (now Willis Ireland) before moving into a more general financial services role with Irish Life Finance Group (now KBC Bank).

David set up and developed the Transamerica Insurance Finance Company (TIFCO) business in Ireland and moved to the insurance division of General Electric as the General Manager of their Irish business in 2000.

He spent 12 years with GE (later to become Genworth Financial) in several senior roles across Ireland, UK and Europe, the last of which was Managing Director – Western Europe.

Donal Laverty, Baker Tilly Mooney Moore

Donal Laverty is Consulting Partner at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore and he leads the HR/OD Consulting Group for Baker Tilly International.

An Organisation Design and Development specialist in essence, Donal’s range of skills and experience lie in assisting organisations transform their structure (design); their performance (processes and systems) and their people (culture and capability). He has significant experience in both the creation and implementation of transformational change programmes.

Donal has worked extensively across the UK and Ireland as well as globally supporting organisations to perform better. He has worked with many well-known household names, and he has significant experience working in the public sector, with a particular specialism in charities and the third sector.

Donal is the immediate past Chair of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, teaches at two universities and is a regular contributor to thought leadership around organisations, change and management.

Alison McCullough

Alison was appointed to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) in 2005, and was responsible for setting up and leading the RCSLT team in Northern Ireland. Alison was appointed by Michael McGimpsey MLA in 2008 to chair a Ministerial Taskforce into speech and language therapy provision. Following an MBE award in 2009 for her contribution to the profession, she also played an instrumental role with the Department of Justice in implementing the NI Registered Intermediary Scheme.

As part of her role in raising awareness of communication difficulties, she developed www.myjourneymyvoice.com and has presented evidence to the joint ad hoc committee at the NI Assembly resulting in an amendment to the NI mental capacity bill, ensuring that people with communication difficulties receive the support they need to exercise their rights.

Prior to RCSLT she had a long career as a speech and language therapy manager and specialist practitioner in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. Alison retired in December 2018 due to caring responsibilities.

John McMullan, Social Enterprise NI

John was employed by the Bryson Group since 1985 and has gone on to dedicate almost half of his life to delivering social change. For the last 17 years he held the position of Chief Executive of the Bryson Group (retiring in October 2018).

John was awarded an MBE in 1998 and an OBE in 2011. He was elected in 2009 to the RSA Fellowship Council representing Ireland. John was acknowledged as the Northern Ireland and subsequently the UK Social Enterprise Leader of the Year in 2011, awarded IoD (NI) 3^rd sector Director of the Year 2012 and awarded IoD UK Public & 3^rd Sector Director of the Year 2013. John studied for a BA (Hon) Degree in Business Studies at the University of Ulster. He followed this with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) at the same university.

In retirement John is continuing to be an advocate for Social Enterprise and working hard to ensure that Northern Ireland commits to a Social Value Act.

Sharon Polson, Department for Communities

Sharon is Head of Policy and Innovation in the Department for Communities Voluntary and Community Directorate. The Voluntary and Community Directorate supports a vibrant, effective and more sustainable Voluntary & Community Sector (VCS) which contributes across a range of policy areas enabling the VCS to deliver positive outcomes for citizens in Northern Ireland.

On secondment from Invest NI since December 2014, she heads up a team responsible for investing in support for enterprise and innovation in the Voluntary and Community Sector. Specific initiatives include future RISP support; Community Asset Transfer (CAT); social innovation with DfC leading a Social Innovation Working Group; investments in Inspiring Impact - a UK wide programme to imbed impact practice in the Voluntary and Community Sector and; Social Enterprise Hubs supporting new social enterprise ideas, bringing about more economic and social benefits to communities across Northern Ireland.

Sharon is also leading on the Food Poverty element within the Welfare Mitigations Report.

Phelim Sharvin, Community Finance Ireland

Phelim is a Chartered Banker and has Honours Degree and Masters Level qualifications in European Regional Development, Economics & Business Management.

Having previously worked in the private sector before joining UCIT in 2002, Phelim has gained over 17 years’ experience in the Social Finance sector specifically in Credit, Risk & Portfolio Management. He has had sole responsibility for the UCIT loan portfolio since 2007 and has helped develop a successful range of tailored loan products and bespoke loan funds most notably in the local Sports, Childcare, Green Energy and Start-Up Social Enterprise Sectors. Married with three young children.

He has a keen interest in local area regeneration and is a great advocate for UCIT groups mission: To ensure social impact is felt, not simply dreamt.

Paddy Murray, Willis Employment

Paddy has recently been appointed as the Head of HR for the Employment Services division within Willis Insurance & Risk Management and is an experienced HR/OD expert with over 20 years in senior HR roles including Board level in complex, challenging organisations spanning financial services, utilities, engineering and public sector (local government) based in Northern Ireland, Dublin, London & Bristol.

Paddy has a proven career in delivering workforce transformation programmes and worked on numerous projects including organisational design / development; pay & grading; employee engagement; executive recruitment; industrial / employee relations; workforce management, performance management, L&D and payroll.