Expert Advisory Committee - Review of Governance & Culture of RTÉ

1. Professor Niamh Brennan
2. Dr Margaret Cullen
3. Mr Stephen Smith

The Review of Governance and Culture of RTÉ was overseen by an Expert Advisory Committee composed of Professor Niamh Brennan (Chair), Dr Margaret Cullen and Stephen Smith.

Professor Niamh Brennan

Prof Niamh Brennan is Michael MacCormac Professor of Management at University College Dublin and Founder/Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance. A first-class honours, first-in-class UCD Science (Microbiology and Biochemistry) graduate, Prof Niamh Brennan qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, holds a PhD from the University of Warwick and is a Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors (London). In recognition of her research, Niamh was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2020, Ireland's highest academic honour, the first business school academic to be so recognised.

Former chair of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and the National College of Art & Design, she holds/has held non-executive directorships with the Children's Hospital Ireland, the Health Service Executive, Ulster Bank, Co-operation Ireland, Coillte (State forestry company), Lifetime Assurance (Bank of Ireland's life assurance subsidiary) and several private companies, and is/was a member of numerous audit committees. She chaired the Irish Government's Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems in the Health Services and was Vice-Chair of the Irish Government's Review Group on Auditing. Niamh is an Inaugural Honorary Fellow of The Institute of Directors in Ireland and an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland.

Dr Margaret Cullen

Dr Margaret Cullen is Governance Adviser to the Institute of Directors Ireland (IoD) and a board assessor with IoD's board evaluation service. She is a specialist in the areas of corporate, banking and investment fund governance. Margaret holds a PhD in corporate governance from University College Dublin. Her doctoral research explored the role and effectiveness of boards of directors in investment fund governance. She is a published researcher. Margaret has particular teaching interest and expertise in the governance areas of board effectiveness, processes, dynamics and decision-making, board and corporate culture, investor stewardship, corporate social responsibility, internal governance systems and executive remuneration. Prior to completing her doctoral research, Margaret worked for 12 years in the financial services industry where she gained significant experience in the areas of treasury and asset management, investment fund regulation, corporate compliance, risk management and systems of internal control.

Following completion of her doctoral research, Margaret joined the Institute of Banking (IoB) as Director of Executive Education. She designed and directed the IoB's Certified Bank Director (CBD) and Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) Programmes from 2012. Margaret was the founding CEO and Academic Director of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute (CIFDI), a specialist institute of the IoB, focusing on raising global professional standards in investment fund governance through its CIFD Programme. Margaret also taught investment fund governance on the programme for eight years up to April 2020. She is currently Academic Director of the IoB's CBD Programme on an associate basis and lectures bank governance on the programme. Margaret is an Honorary Fellow of the IoB.

Margaret has been a lecturer with the UCD Smurfit Business School since 2007 lecturing on the Professional Diploma in Corporate Governance in the areas of directors' responsibilities, executive remuneration and incentives and behavioural aspects of boards. Margaret holds several non-executive director positions.

Mr Stephen Smith

Stephen has a 25-year track record of operating at Board level as executive, non-executive and adviser across major UK and international public, private and charitable organisations.

He spent five years to 2020 as a member of the National Audit Office's Board and as Executive Director with joint responsibility for Financial Audit. Previously he held numerous Partner and leadership roles in KPMG UK and Europe, including leading KPMG's European M&A Transaction Services business and co-ordinating the Firm's response to the banking crisis. In addition, Stephen is now Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Orbit 48,000-unit social housing group and a Trustee and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of the St Mungo's homelessness charity. He has also been a member of the four-person Panel that conducted an independent review of the Church of England's grant programmes to dioceses, publishing their report in 2022.

Return to main page - Independent Examination of RTÉ