Health Minister, Simon Harris appointed two new Members to the Board of the HSE.
They are Brendan Lenihan, who has particular expertise in financial planning and management, and Fergus O’Kelly, Clinical Professor in General Practice/Family Medicine.
Brendan Lenihan is a former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and has over 25 years of experience in the profession. His career includes being a partner in the accountancy firm Arthur Andersen, with whom he worked in Dublin and New York.
He also held senior executive roles in industry as Group Finance Director at a large construction and property company (with operations in Ireland, UK and continental Europe) and also at a large care home provider. Since 2016, he has been Managing Director of Navigo Consulting, a specialist advisory firm in strategy, business planning and governance, serving private and public sector clients in Ireland and the UK by delivering advisory work on significant financial investments and business plans as well on improving board, organisational and financial effectiveness.
In addition to his professional roles, he will also bring to the HSE Board his experience of the charitable sector, particularly in the areas of mental health and homelessness. He is a national Trustee of Pieta House and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Good Shepherd Cork, a charity that provides emergency shelter to homeless and vulnerable families.
Professor Fergus O’Kelly is a retired Family Physician who formerly practised in Rialto, Dublin.
He is recognised as a leading figure in the development of Family Medicine in Ireland over the past four decades, where he has held numerous roles progressing the discipline of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
He has been involved since 1985, firstly as a Trainer, then as Assistant Director of the TCD/HSE training programme in Dublin, and as Director of the programme for 18 years.
He founded the first ‘Out of Hours’ GP co-op services in Ireland and established a number of nurse-led chronic disease clinics. In 2017 he was the recipient of the Fiona Bradley Award, recognizing his commitment to serving Dublin’s vulnerable and deprived communities.
Prof. O’Kelly is a Past President of the Irish College of General Practitioners, he has been President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland and a Board member of Trinity Court, Drug Treatment & Rehabilitative Centre.
The other members of the HSE Board are Chair, Ciarán Devane, Deputy Chair, Prof Deirdre Madden, professor of law at UCC and chair of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance. Fergus Finlay, former CEO of Barnardos, Tim Hynes, Group Chief Information Officer, AIB, Dr Sarah McLoughlin, Science and Communication Officer at Retina International, and patient advocate, Mark Molloy, Quantity Surveyor, member of the Expert Group on Tort Reform and Management of Clinical Negligence Claims and patient advocate, Aogán Ó Fearghail, former GAA President, Fiona Ross, Chair of CIE and Mental Health Ireland and Dr Yvonne Traynor, vice president of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs with Kerry Group.
