Research & Innovation

Ministers Bruton and Sherlock confirm three new board appointments

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, and Minister for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock, TD have today (Friday) formally appointed three members to the Board of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Ann Riordan has been appointed Chairperson of the Board of SFI and will be joined on the Board by Geraldine Ruane and Aidan Donnelly.

Minister Bruton said, “Ann Riordan will bring considerable strength to this role based on an impressive track record in delivering within the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation combined with her experience and knowledge of Board governance. Geraldine Ruane and Aidan Donnelly will also bring excellent experience and skills to the Board. I would like to thank Professor Patrick Fottrell for his hard work and dedication in the role and wish Ann, Geraldine and Aidan every success in their new positions.”

Minister Sherlock said, “The appointments of Ann Riordan, Geraldine Ruane and Aidan Donnelly will further strengthen the board of SFI and bring fresh industry perspective to the important work performed at Board level in order to enable SFI to meet its ambitious Agenda 2020 objectives.”

Commenting on her appointment Ann Riordan said, “I am particularly excited about the role SFI can play in enabling Ireland to gain international global advantage in the areas where Ireland has research and industry strengths and further potential. As an early evangelist of the economic benefits that knowledge based industries can contribute to the country’s prosperity, I am committed to working with the Board, the Executive and the Government to realise SFI’s vision.”

Ann RiordanAnn Riordan

Ann Riordan
An experienced board member, Ann Riordan has held a number of senior positions in the ICT sector. Notably she established Microsoft Ireland in 1990 and was instrumental in establishing the Fastrack to IT (FIT) initiative which has to date trained over 12,000 long-term unemployed people. She has served on the Information Society Steering Committee and the Irish Council for Science, Technology & Innovation. Since her retirement from Microsoft she has served as: President of the Institute of Directors in Ireland; Chairman of the National Standards Authority of Ireland; Chairman of Tourism Ireland; Chairman of the Dublin Regional Tourism Authority and as a public interest director of the EBS Building Society.

Geraldine Ruane
Geraldine Ruane has held the position of Chief Executive at Ordnance Survey Ireland and a number of senior positions in multinational companies in the Pharmaceutical and Financial Services sectors. As a Chartered Director and Board Member she has a broad experience of aligning strategy and corporate governance, risk identification and mitigation and proposing corporate governance frameworks. She has previously served on the board of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Ireland and Chanelle Group Pharmaceuticals.

Aidan Donnelly
Aidan Donnelly is Chief Executive of ServeCentric Ltd, the largest data centre in Ireland. Over the past two decades he has held a number of senior positions in the ICT sector in Ireland. He is also the current Chair of the National Oil Reserve Agency and since 1990 has served on the boards of a number of multinational companies; The Barretstown Gang Camp Charity, Dundalk Development Company, and International Bio-Recovery, a TSX listed Canadian company.

Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of SFI and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, said, “I welcome the appointment of Ann Riordan as the new Chairperson of SFI and both Geraldine Ruane and Aidan Donnelly as new Board members. I look forward to working with them to deliver SFI’s ambitious goals, as set out in our Strategic Plan Agenda 2020, of funding excellent scientific research with beneficial impact into Irish economy and society.”