Minister appoints nine Non-Executive Members to the Board of Belfast Harbour Commissioners

1. The appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland Code of Practice.
2. Eight appointments took effect from 1 April and Ms Ferguson’s appointment will be from 1 June 2025 and will be for a maximum of four years.
3. Biographies

Mel Chittock

Mel Chittock has over 28 years of economic development experience with Invest NI, and a predecessor agency, working with many local and international companies to help grow the NI economy.  His international experience includes both public and private sector organisations having spent ten years in industry prior to joining Invest NI. In addition, Mel is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.  He holds no other public appointments.

Rachael Ferguson

Rachael Ferguson has been a director of Strathfoyle Women's Activity Group for several years, driving community-led initiatives and strategic development.  She previously served as a Commissioner for Londonderry Port and Harbour and was an Elected Member of Derry Strabane District Council, where she championed community engagement and policy development. Since 2022, Rachael has been serving as a Non-Executive Board Member of the Education Authority. Her remuneration for this role is £8,800 per annum.  She holds no other public appointments.

Noel Lavery

Noel Lavery has been a Non-Executive Member of BHC since 1 April 2021.  He was formerly the Permanent Secretary in the NICS departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and, prior to his retirement in 2019, the Department for Economy,  Noel has been a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland since 1995.  He holds no other public appointments.

Gerard McGinn

Mr Gerard McGinn has been a Non-Executive Member of BHC since 1 April 2021 and is an experienced business leader. He has been CEO of financial institutions in London, Dublin, and Belfast, as well as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education and the former Department for Regional Development.  He is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Axa Insurance.  He holds no other public appointments.

Malcolm McKibbin

Sir Malcolm McKibbin was Head of the NICS from 2011 to 2017. He was the Permanent Secretary of the former Departments for Regional Development and Agriculture and Rural Development. He also chaired a number of political negotiations. He is an Associate of Deloitte and is a member of the Board of Co-operation Ireland (not remunerated).  Malcolm has served as a Non-Executive Member of Belfast Harbour Commissioners since 2021.  He holds no other public appointments.

Peter McNaney

Peter McNaney is a former corporate lawyer and has previously served as Chief Executive of Belfast City Council.  He is an experienced Non-Executive, with terms serving on the Board/Council of Invest NI, Northern Ireland Water, Belfast Metropolitan College and the University of Ulster.  He holds no other public appointments.

Sharon O’Connor

Sharon O'Connor is a Chartered Director with over 25 years of senior leadership experience.  She serves as Non-Executive Director on the Departmental Board of Department for Communities and on the Scrutiny Board of the NI Investment Fund, the renumeration is £500 per day.  Sharon also previously held a Non-Executive Member position in NITHC from 2021-2024.  She holds no other public appointments.

Eamonn O’Reilly

Eamonn O’Reilly is the former Chief Executive of Dublin Port Company (2010 to 2022) and Chairman of the European Sea Ports Organisation (2017 to 2021). Eamonn is an electrical engineer (UCD) and holds an MBA (Trinity College). Prior to Dublin Port, Eamonn held a variety of roles including with Doyle Shipping Group, KPMG, Irish Cement and Shanahan Engineering.  He holds no other public appointments.

 Michael Wardlow

Dr Wardlow has served for eight years as Chief Commissioner for the Equality Commission, and was Chair of Translink from 2021 until February 2025.  Before joining the Commission, he was the CEO of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education.  He is a member of the OFCOM Communications Consumer Panel and the British Council’s NI Advisory Committee.  Michael is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and is also a Visiting Scholar in George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.  Michael is a member of the NI Advisory Committee of the British Council NI (Voluntary) and is a panel member of OFCOM’s Communications Consumer Panel, for which he receives remuneration of £9k (per annum).

4. The Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Rachael Ferguson has declared that she has previously undertaken political activity on behalf of the Alliance Party.  All other appointees have declared that they have not undertaken any political activity.  All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.
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