The CO3 Leadership Awards 2019 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:
Margaret Henry, thrive
Jim Hughes, Premier Wealth Management
Pip Jaffa
David Lane, Ecclesiastical Insurance
Donal Laverty, Baker Tilly Mooney Moore
Louise McAloon, Worthingtons Solicitors
Heather Monteverde, Macmillan
Sharon Polson, Department for Communities
Doug Smith, Youth Initiatives
Margaret Henry
Margaret Henry is CEO of thrive – Northern Ireland’s audience development agency. Thrive works across arts, culture, and heritage to increase and diversify audiences. Margaret is responsible for developing partnerships across the cultural sector and delivering good governance and sustainability. She has extensive strategic marketing and leadership experience and was previously Head of Marketing for BBC Sport and Radio 5live.
Jim Hughes, Premier Wealth Management
Jim has over 25years experience in management in the financial services sector including working for some household name multi nationals.
He established Premier Wealth Management in 2005 and it has grown to be one of the largest financial planning firms in N. Ireland with offices across the region.
In late 2015 the firm was asked to become a Partner firm with St James’ Place a FTSE 100 company, operating in Northern Ireland since 2000, St. James’s Place Wealth Management has a dedicated network of 42 Partner Practices and 66 advisors locally. The FTSE 100 company is synonymous with excellence and partner organisations are regarded as among the best wealth management firms in the UK, with partners based in every county.
His experienced team of financial planners have expertise in all areas of wealth management whether in the personal or corporate arena.
When away from work Jim spends most of his time watching his sons play rugby and Gaelic football.
Pip Jaffa
Pip retired over two years ago from her position as CEO with Parenting NI, having been with the organisation since its inception in 1979 when it began with a Helpline as a pilot project for one year. Along with a team of very dedicated staff, her passion for supporting parents drove her to establishing the Parents Helpline for NI, a range of Parenting Programmes, Consultation with parents on policy matters and a Dads’ Project. During her career she also served on numerous committees whose work related to health, family and education issues.
In her retirement, as well as spending more time with her three children and seven grandchildren, she have a taken up a number of voluntary roles which she says helps keep her brain from completely seizing up!
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.
Louise McAloon, Worthingtons Solicitors
Louise McAloon leads and manages the employment department, which is currently the largest employment law practice in Northern Ireland. A ranked lawyer in Chamber’s Guide and a recommended lawyer in Legal 500 with over 14 years’ experience in employment law, Louise’s knowledge and attention to detail provide an innovative approach that her clients appreciate. She works closely with employers across the public, private and third sectors and regularly advises on restructuring issues and the application and implication of TUPE. Louise has a detailed understanding of her clients’ needs and is known for her constructive and pragmatic advice on internal employment issues and providing advice and representation in defence of all categories of employment claims before the tribunals and civil courts. Not only is Louise a regular writer on employment law; she speaks at Seminars and delivers in-house training sessions.
Heather Monteverde, Macmillan
Heather Monteverde is Head of Services for Macmillan in Northern Ireland. Having trained initially in general and children’s nursing, she went on to specialise in oncology and became Northern Ireland’s first Specialist Breast Care Nurse in 1986, a role in which she remained until 1995 when she took up post as an Oncology Nurse Advisor with Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. In 1999, Heather joined Macmillan Cancer Support as a Nurse Consultant, working in a variety of roles before taking up her current post. She has been instrumental in leveraging significant investment and service improvements in Northern Ireland including the Transforming Cancer Follow-Up Programme for which she won a ‘Leading Forward on Health and Social Care Reform’ CO3 Award in 2018. She is a lay/community member of the South Eastern Local Commissioning Group of the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Board, sits on the Northern Ireland Cancer Network Board and is a council member of Northern Ireland Cancer Registry. She also sits on several committees for the Department of Health. In 2013, she was awarded an MBE for services to healthcare and most recently, Heather was named as one of the 70 most influential nurses in the history of the NHS.
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.
Doug Smith, Youth Initiatives
Doug Smith has worked in the Northern Ireland community and voluntary sector for 27 years and was the Chief Officer of Youth Initiatives NI from 2003 through early 2018, serving in some of Northern Ireland’s areas of highest social need. Originally from the USA, Doug is now a dual US / UK citizen and lives in Belfast. He is a member of an ecumenical Christian missionary order of men living single to pursue a life of prayer, community, and ministry. He holds university degrees in theology, history (University of Michigan) and philosophy (Queens University Belfast) and has a passion for connecting the Church and faith based sector to make a high impact in the world of government and trust funded community youthwork. Currently Doug is working part time in a management support role for Youth Initiatives and is the senior coordinator for Charis, an ecumenical Christian community, in Belfast. In his spare time, he enjoys long distance running and golf – for which he holds a Northern Ireland record – for most moving vehicles hit with a golf ball in one summer (3)!