Board Members

Fiona Ross is an exceptionally experienced public and private sector Chair and Non-Executive Director, having served on 17 Boards in Ireland and the UK over the past ten years. She focuses on governance, ethics, digital transformation and digital governance. In 2018 she was appointed by the Irish Government to chair CIÉ. 

 

Frank Allen was appointed to the Board of CIÉ in September 2017. He is an independent financial consultant, advising on infrastructure investment and operations, mostly in developing and transition economies. He was Chief Executive of the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) from 2002 to 2012. In this period, the RPA had responsibility for building the Red and Green lines of the Luas light rail system and for extending them to the Docklands, Cherrywood and Citywest. Frank is a graduate of University College Cork and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously worked for the World Bank in Washington DC, arranging finance for infrastructure development in developing countries and in Eastern Europe and he was Head of Infrastructure Finance for KBC Bank in Ireland. He is Chairman of Depaul Ireland, which provides accommodation and other support to homeless people. 

James (Jimmy) Doran was appointed to the CIÉ Board in December 2021 under the Worker Participation (State Enterprises) Acts 1977 to 2001.
Jimmy completed his electrical apprenticeship with CIÉ from 1980-84 and then having worked on the building sites of London for six years he returned to work as an electrician for Bus Átha Cliath in Clontarf Garage in 1991 where he has remained since.
Jimmy was elected as a shop steward in 1993 and has been on the Bus Átha Cliath Negotiating Committee since then. He is a member of the Connect Trade Union National Executive Committee, the chair of its National Transport Consultative Committee, and represents the union on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ (ICTU) Health and Safety Committee and the ICTU Transport Group. Working in public transport is a family tradition for three generations of Dorans as is trade union activism, his namesake and Grandfather being a founder member of Connect trade union’s predecessor the IES&FTU in 1920.

Brian Fitzpatrick is an accountant and experienced financial professional. Prior to joining the CIÉ Board he was Finance Director and Company Secretary of BAM Contractors Ltd., the country’s largest civil engineering and construction company and he continues to be a Non‐Executive Director of that company. He spent the early part of his career in the financial services sector as Financial Controller of First National Building Society which then became First Active Plc. He is also currently a Director of the Housing Finance Agency which is the State Body charged with the financing of Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in the provision of social and affordable housing and is permanent Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Stephen Hannan was appointed to the CIÉ Board in December 2017 under the Worker Participation (State Enterprises) Acts 1977 to 2001. He works as a bus driver based in Ringsend Garage. He is a member of SIPTU and has held a wide variety of positions within the trade union for almost 30 years: President of the Bus Drivers Committee; Vice-Chairman of the Transport Sector Committee; the Divisional Committee, Depot Representative to name but a few.
 

Dermot was appointed to the CIÉ Board in December 2021.
He is employed as a bus driver with Bus Éireann based at Roxboro Depot in Limerick. He joined CIÉ  in 1983 as a junior dining car attendant before moving to the Road Passenger Section the following year taking up such roles as Office Assistant and Bus Conductor prior to his current position as a driver since 1991.
He has been active in his union, the NBRU, since 1997 when he was first elected to his local branch committee. He served as both Vice-chairman and Chairman of the Limerick Branch prior to being elected to the National Executive Council in 1999. As a member of the NBRU National Negotiating Team. He has extensive experience in Industrial Relations issues including several WRC negotiations and Labour Court hearings.
 

Niamh O'Regan was appointed to the CIÉ Board on 16th April 2019, where she is also Chair of the CIÉ Board Finance and Investment Committee.
Niamh is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. She also holds a B.A. (Hons) degree in French and Spanish from Trinity College Dublin, a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from Dublin City University and a specialist Diploma in Risk, Compliance and Internal Audit from Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Niamh trained with PWC in Dublin and has over 25 years of experience predominantly in the Health and Banking and Finance industries. Niamh’s professional experience includes roles in Barclays Bank London as Head of Business Performance and also in Barclays Bank Ireland as Head of Business Management. She was also previously CFO of The London Bridge Hospital and of The Harley St. Medical Clinic. 
Niamh is an Independent Non Executive Director of ALD RE DAC where she is also Chair of the Board Risk Committee. She is an Independent Non Executive Director of the Property Registration Authority of Ireland and she is an external member of the Audit Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Liam O’Rourke was appointed to the Board of CIÉ on 4 September 2018. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (FCPA). He has held senior executive positions with US multinational manufacturing companies for over 30 years and has extensive experience in finance, HR and ICT. He was previously the Finance Director/Controller of Champion Spark Plug Company and is currently the Internal Auditor with the Irish Wheelchair Association. Liam is the Chair of the CIÉ Audit and Risk Committee.

Fiona is an investment professional with 30 years’ experience in the asset management industry. She has held executive and board roles in leading Irish investment firms including AIB Investment Managers, Prescient Ireland and Davy over the past 18 years. In these roles she has been responsible for the development, communication and implementation of effective business strategies. She has an in depth knowledge of pensions and investment markets and has significant experience in corporate governance and compliance. Fiona holds Undergraduate and Masters Degrees in Economics from University College Dublin and the Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

Tommy Wynne was appointed to the CIÉ Board in December 2013 under the Worker Participation (State Enterprises) Acts, 1977 to 2001. He joined Iarnród Éireann as a depot man in 1991 and became a train driver in 1994. Tommy holds a Higher Diploma in International Railway Operations from Glasgow Caledonia University. He is currently President of the SIPTU TEAC Division and Chairman of the Transport Sector in SIPTU.