15 Organisational Development Leaders in Ireland

Last updated: 11 August 2026.

Organisational development is the practical work of helping people, teams and systems grow together. In Ireland, that work is happening in universities, public services, infrastructure, financial services, retail and national organisations. These 15 people are worth following because their current roles connect culture, capability, learning, talent, leadership or change with the work their organisations need to do.

This is a current, evidence-led list selected for reader value. The people are presented in alphabetical order by first name, and the number reflects the people who passed the evidence check for this version of the article.

1. Michele Ryan

Head of Culture and Organisation Development, Trinity College Dublin

Michele Ryan is Head of Culture and Organisation Development at Trinity College Dublin. Her role sits close to the everyday work of helping a large university learn, adapt and build leadership capacity.

A distinctive part of Ryan’s current work is Trinity’s Aurora Women in Leadership programme, supported through collaboration between the Learning and Organisation Development Unit and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Office. The programme is designed to help colleagues build leadership skills and continue learning through community groups. Read Trinity’s team page and Aurora overview to follow that work.

2. Katharine Slattery

People and Organisation Development Manager, University College Dublin

Katharine Slattery is People and Organisation Development Manager at University College Dublin. The role covers the practical systems that help people settle in, have useful development conversations and grow as managers. She fits the Ireland scope because UCD is a major employer and because the role is explicitly centred on people and organisation development.

UCD’s RISE Leadership and People Management programme is a useful example of the work around Slattery’s role. UCD reports that more than 500 leaders and managers engaged with RISE from 2022, with sessions built around reflection, action planning and peer conversation. Read the People Development contact page and RISE programme page for the current picture.

3. Carmel Browne

Deputy Director of Human Resources, Development and Strategy, University of Galway

Carmel Browne is Deputy Director of Human Resources, Development and Strategy at the University of Galway. Her title brings together two things that are often separated: the future direction of the people function and the development of the people who deliver it.

The University of Galway’s current people directory places Browne alongside the Director of Human Resources, the Head of Staff Coaching and the Learning and Development team. That structure is the distinctive point worth noticing: development is treated as part of the wider people strategy, not a side service. The official HR directory is the best current source for her role and the surrounding team.

4. Ashley Flaherty

Chief People and Culture Officer, University College Cork

Ashley Flaherty is Chief People and Culture Officer at University College Cork. She fits this list because the role owns a broad people agenda that includes culture, capability, leadership and the experience of staff across a major university.

UCC’s People and Culture Plan for 2025 to 2028 is a clear example of the work attached to the role. The plan names career progression, development and leadership among its priorities, and identifies the Chief People and Culture Officer as the goal owner for a major people and culture approach. Read the plan and UCC’s staff and culture strategy page for context.

5. Sinéad Kilkelly

Executive Director People and Sustainability, ESB

Sinéad Kilkelly is Executive Director People and Sustainability at ESB. Her remit puts people development, culture and organisational change inside the executive conversation at one of Ireland’s major employers. She fits this list because the role is not limited to policy or administration.

ESB’s 2025 annual report describes Kilkelly’s people agenda as investing in growth, supporting talent and building a caring, inclusive and digitally enabled workplace. That is a useful distinctive fact because it shows organisational development being linked to business adaptability and public purpose. See the current executive team page and 2025 annual report.

6. Anne Rigney

Director of Talent, Learning and Development, Musgrave

Anne Rigney is Director of Talent, Learning and Development at Musgrave. She fits this list because Musgrave is a major Irish employer and because her role connects talent, learning and the early careers pipeline. That combination matters in organisations where development must work for people at different stages, from new graduates to experienced leaders.

Musgrave’s 2024 career conversation episode is a distinctive window into Rigney’s work. It discusses learning and development opportunities available to colleagues at all levels, including graduate and early careers programmes. The episode page names Rigney and explains the focus, while Musgrave’s careers page describes the organisation’s learning platform.

7. Bernadette White

Executive Vice President, Learning and Development, Citco Ireland

Bernadette White is Executive Vice President for Learning and Development at Citco Ireland. She fits this list because the role is directly focused on the capabilities people need in a growing, changing organisation. Her Ireland remit also shows how learning leaders can work across a local operation while supporting people who hold wider global responsibilities.

IDA Ireland describes Citco’s learning work under White as covering leadership capabilities, frontline manager skills and expertise in newer technologies. The fact is useful because it shows a balanced development agenda: future skills matter, but so do the everyday leadership habits that shape employee experience. Read the IDA Ireland feature for the current sourced account.

8. Dave McCormack

Chief People Officer, AIB

Dave McCormack is Chief People Officer at AIB. He fits this list because his role sits at the centre of a large organisation’s people systems, including learning and development, career opportunities, performance and inclusion.

AIB’s HR overview is a useful distinctive source because it explains that Centres of Excellence support employees across the full career journey, from joining the organisation through the employee lifecycle. It also links people development with the bank’s purpose of helping employees reach their potential. See the AIB HR page for McCormack’s current role and the wider people remit.

9. Yvonne Cooke

Executive Director, People and Development, An Garda Síochána

Yvonne Cooke is Executive Director, People and Development at An Garda Síochána. She fits this list because the role combines human resources, people development and the organisational conditions needed for a large public service to change well.

The Garda leadership profile says Cooke specialises in people and organisational development, service design and complex cultural change. That combination is the distinctive reason to follow her: it connects the people side of change with how a public service is designed and experienced. Read the official senior leadership profile for her current remit and background.

10. Adrian Breen

Head of Organisational Development and Culture, Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

Adrian Breen is Head of Organisational Development and Culture in the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. He fits this list because the role is explicitly about how a public organisation becomes more effective, more engaged and better able to develop its people.

The department describes Breen’s unit as responsible for organisational effectiveness, organisational culture, employee engagement and talent development. That four-part remit is the distinctive fact worth keeping in view because it shows the field’s full range in plain terms. Read the current government biography for the role and responsibilities.

11. Eleanor Nash

Chief People Officer, An Post

Eleanor Nash is Chief People Officer at An Post. She fits this list because the role covers people leadership in a major Irish employer with a large frontline workforce, where culture and development have to work across many different jobs and locations. Her remit is a useful reminder that organisational development is not only about senior leaders.

An Post’s 2026 gender pay update links Nash’s people agenda with the Aspire and Elevate programmes, which support female talent and frontline managers in developing strengths and skills. That is a practical distinctive fact because it shows career development being connected with wider inclusion work. See the An Post management profile and 2026 update.

12. Daragh O’Mahony

Chief People Officer, National Broadband Ireland

Daragh O’Mahony is Chief People Officer at National Broadband Ireland. He fits this list because the role supports a large, purpose-led infrastructure organisation whose success depends on bringing together technical capability, community connection and growth.

NBI’s current team page is the distinctive source here. It places O’Mahony in the senior team of the organisation designing and building Ireland’s wholesale broadband network, alongside the leaders responsible for its commercial, legal and delivery work. Read the NBI team page for the current role and the wider organisational context.

13. Sarah Williams

Chief People Officer for the UK and Ireland, OCS

Sarah Williams is Chief People Officer for the UK and Ireland at OCS. She fits this list because her remit covers a large, frontline services workforce and because her appointment was framed around culture, listening and practical people leadership.

OCS describes Williams’s leadership approach as listening and learning directly from frontline colleagues, while embedding its TRUE values of Trust, Respect, Unity and Empowerment. That is the distinctive fact worth celebrating because it gives a clear people-development lens for a distributed workforce. Read the OCS appointment profile for the current role and approach.

14. Mark McGuinness

Learning and Development Manager, University of Galway

Mark McGuinness is Learning and Development Manager at the University of Galway. His role fits this list because it turns staff learning into practical programmes for people at different stages of university life. He is especially relevant to leaders interested in how development teams can support academic leadership, change and collaboration rather than focusing only on compliance or course completion.

McGuinness is quoted in the University of Galway story about the ENLIGHT academic leadership programme, which focuses on strategic leadership, leading change and building an international network. That is a distinctive example of development work designed around the real challenges leaders face. See the official people directory and programme story.

15. Grace Bosonnet

Organisation Design and Development Manager, Trinity College Dublin

Grace Bosonnet is Organisation Design and Development Manager at Trinity College Dublin. She fits this list because the title names one of the clearest parts of organisation development: helping the shape of work, teams and responsibilities support the institution’s purpose.

Trinity’s current Learning and Organisation Development team lists Bosonnet alongside the Head of Culture and Organisation Development and the managers responsible for learning and organisation development. That team structure is the distinctive fact because it shows organisation design being treated as a specialist capability. Read the current Trinity team page for the role and the wider development offer.

Final thought

Organisational development becomes visible when people can do better work, lead with more confidence and adapt without losing the organisation’s purpose. These leaders offer useful examples from different parts of Ireland’s working life.

Related reading

If you are building a people and culture system that lasts beyond a workshop, read 25 Ways to Build a Working Genius Culture That Actually Sticks. It is a practical companion for leaders who want development ideas to change everyday work.

About the Author

Jonno White is a leadership consultant, keynote speaker and Certified Working Genius Facilitator. He helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at, with practical ideas people can use on Monday morning. To enquire about a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.