From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, has announced the appointment of Feargal O'Rourke as the new Chairperson of the IDA, succeeding Frank Ryan who served 10 years in the role. Mr O’Rourke recently stepped down as Managing Partner of PwC.
Minister Coveney also announced that he would be appointing Marian Corcoran, an existing Board Member, as Deputy Chair, as well as the appointments of Dr Leisha Daly and Dr Denis Doyle as Board members. The Chairperson and new Board members are being appointed following open, publicly advertised competitions which were managed independently by the Public Appointments Service.
Welcoming the appointments Minister Coveney said:
"I’m delighted to be announcing such experienced appointments to the Board of the IDA. Feargal, Marian, Leisha and Denis are bringing a wealth of expertise across a range of industries which I have no doubt will be of great support to the existing IDA Board members. I’d also like to thank Frank Ryan for his dedication, commitment and leadership to the organisation.
"The IDA is an integral part of Ireland’s economic success and to the government’s ambitions to grow a sustainable and regionally balanced economy. With over 300,000 people directly employed in IDA-client companies, and a further 240,000 indirectly employed, it’s vital that that organisation remains dynamic in what is a very competitive global market.
"I’d like to wish all the appointees every success in their new roles."
Feargal O’Rourke retired from professional services firm PwC in October 2023 after 37 years there, the last 8 of which he was Managing Partner. He has worked in the Foreign Direct Investment area for almost all of his professional career, focussing mainly, but not exclusively, on companies from the West Coast of the US setting up in Ireland and Europe. During his time in PwC he also led the tax practice and was heavily involved in the OECD BEPS process with companies, officials, governmental bodies and the OECD.
A native of Athlone, Feargal is a graduate of UCD, a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an Associate of the Irish Tax Institute. He is also Chair of the Institute of International and European Affairs, the Irish based international think tank.
Ms. Marian Corcoran is currently an IDA Board member with over 30 years of commercial experience leading strategic technology-enabled change programmes across multiple industries, and is a Chartered Director, Certified Bank Director, and an experienced non-executive Director with strong corporate governance experience. As well as the IDA Board, Ms. Corcoran currently serve on the boards of HP International Bank and Permanent TSB and is Chair of DCU Educational Support Services DAC as well as being a member of the Governing Authority at DCU.
Ms. Corcoran is also an Executive Coach with Praesta Ireland and the Managing Director of MC2 Change Limited, a firm that focuses on advising on delivering business value through strategy, change, and technology. Prior to her non-executive work, Ms. Corcoran was a Partner in Accenture holding a number of senior leadership positions in the company including Head of Management Consulting, Global Lead for Finance and Performance Management, Senior Client Consulting Director, and Executive Director on the Accenture Ireland board.
Dr Leisha Daly is former Head of Government Affairs & Policy for Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain in EMEA and for J&J Campus Ireland, a role she assumed in 2018. For the previous 10 years, Leisha was Country Director of Janssen, the pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson. Leisha is a former board member of Janssen Sciences Ireland and Chairman of the J&J Campus Ireland group, an entity which seeks to combine the strengths and expertise of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies in Ireland.
Leisha served as President of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) from 2014-2016. She has served as a member of the board of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland from 2019 to 2023 and chaired their Sustainability Taskforce. Leisha was a member of Ibec’s National Council from 2018 to 2023, during which she chaired Ibec’s Energy & Climate Committee. She is currently a member of the board of the Irish Management Institute, Business in The Community Ireland, Sage Advocacy and a member of the Institute of Directors. Leisha is also a member of the Advisory Council of Balance for Better Business.
She was recognised as one of the Top 25 most powerful businesswomen in Ireland by the Women’s Executive Network in 2016 and in 2018 was recognised by the IMI with a Life Fellowship Award for her contribution to Irish Management.
Leisha holds a PhD in Clinical Medicine from Trinity College Dublin and in 2023 qualified with a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.
Dr Denis Doyle is currently Board Chair of the Tyndall National Institute, a leading European research centre in ICT, based at University College, Cork. The institute employs 600 researchers, engineers and support staff, including over 150 full-time graduate students.
Denis is the former Vice President of internal silicon manufacturing for Analog Devices Inc, heading up the company’s 4 silicon chip fabrication facilities, including their plant in Limerick. Denis also served as Analog Devices’ General Manager in Ireland, spearheading many technology advances and infrastructural investments. Denis was made an ADI Fellow in 2001, having developed many of the company’s specialised silicon technologies.
Denis is an EMCC accredited Executive Coach, having completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Executive Coaching from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in 2022.
Denis is a UCC graduate, with a B.E. (Elect), and a Masters (M. Eng Sc.) and PhD in microelectronics.