A business and transformation leader who has held CEO and senior executive roles in the private, semi state, central government, local government, health and not for profit sectors. Has strong experience in leading and reforming large, complex, regulated and unionised organisations. Respected at Government level, having worked closely with three Taoisigh, Government Ministers and Secretaries General across all departments.
Experience
Health Service Executive, CEO
2019-2022
Paul led the Irish health service through the Covid-19 pandemic and a potentially catastrophic criminal cyber-attack. He took a lead role in communicating public health advice. He successfully led the implementation of the vaccination programme which had a 98% uptake, the best in the world. He headed a significant reform strategy and was responsible for 150,000 staff and a budget of €22 billion.
Fingal County Council, CEO
2014 – 2019
Paul had executive responsibility for one the largest local authorities in the State. Fingal became the leading local authority in terms of social and private housing development. It also led the way in attracting foreign direct investment and job creation across all sectors, through active land management and working with national State agencies. He managed a budget of over €300 million and 1,500 staff.
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Chief Operations Officer
2011-2014
Paul was responsible for leading an extensive range of reforms across the public service. He negotiated the Haddington Road Pay Agreement with 26 public service trade unions, which reduced the public service pay bill by €1 billion and increased working hours. He also brought proposals to Government for the centralisation of Government procurement with savings of over €500 million in 18 months.
Trócaire, Head of Corporate Affairs
2010-2011
Paul worked on strengthening the governance of this voluntary organisation and implementing best practice in HR, finance, risk management and communications. He developed a strategy to consolidate and refocus the development work on reducing its presence from over 30 countries to 12
Executive Director of Networks and Operations
1982-2010
Paul led the largest part of the organisation through significant reform, restructuring and changes in ownership. He carried out several other roles in sales, marketing and contact centre management. He was also a Non-Executive Director of the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT), the most successful ESOT in the history of the State and which resulted in pay outs of almost €100,000 per employee. _________________________________________________________________________________
Education and Fellowships
Paul holds a Masters in Business Administration from Trinity College and a BA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the National College Ireland. He received honorary fellowships from the National College of Ireland and Griffith College. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Key Skills and Competences
Leaderships
• Widely recognised as a calm and trusted transformational leader
• Led reforms resulting in cost reductions, increased revenues and improved customer service
Stakeholder management
• A trusted leader with excellent relationships across three periods of Government. Widely respected by three Taoisigh, he worked directly with nine Ministers and 16 Junior Ministers. He made presentations to Government, Cabinet Committees and Joint Oireachtas Committees.
• Strong relationships with industry bodies, state agencies and regulators.
Governance and Regulation
• Considerable leadership experience in regulated entities in all sectors. Worked collaboratively with ComReg, HIQA, the Mental Health Commission and other government regulatory bodies
• Extensive experience of reporting to Boards and Committees on strategy, governance and organisational performance. Led the implementation of effective governance and audit functions
Communications
• A regular communicator on national TV, other broadcast media and contributed to national and local print media. Held weekly media briefings with journalists throughout Covid-19
• Led from the front on proactive communications, often using social media to communicate directly with citizens about Covid-19
Interpersonal skills
• A focus on creating win-win situations in the most complex of scenarios. A track record of winning the trust and confidence to support reform