Infrastructure Minister announces appointments to the Board of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company

Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, has announced the appointment of five Non-Executive Members to the Board of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHC).

The Minister has appointed, Tzvetelina Bogoina-Seenan, Marie Mallon, Mike Brown, Sharon O’Connor and Edward Wills to serve first terms. 

Minister Mallon said:

“I congratulate all the appointees. I am confident that their experience and knowledge will add significant value to the Board.  The challenges facing the company are very clear, but so too are the opportunities and I am committed to working with the new Board to ensure that Translink plays a full role in our COVID recovery; in improving connectivity across this island; and in addressing the climate emergency.

“I also want to take this opportunity to put on record my sincere thanks to the outgoing members, Tony Depledge, Bernard Mitchell, Hilary McCartan, Angela Reavey and Mark Sweeney, their contribution to the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company during their tenure has been invaluable.”

The appointments are effective from 1 October 2021. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s Code of Practice.

Notes to editors: 

1. The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHC) is a Public Corporation which was established by the Transport Act (NI) 1967. Its responsibilities include holding and managing property assets and the oversight, in terms of support, control and supervision, of its private limited subsidiary companies, the principal ones being Ulsterbus, Metro (previously Citybus) and Northern Ireland Railways, trading jointly as Translink.  It is expected to operate commercially and has a duty to operate in line with Ministerial policy. 
2. The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company currently has a membership of a Chair, three Executive Members and five Non Executive Members.  The Non-Executive Members of the NITHC Board currently receive remuneration of £12,858 per annum.
3. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. All appointees have declared that they have not undertaken any recent political activity.
4. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) does not reappoint Non-Executive Members to a second term without competition.
5. The appointment terms are either three or five years.
6. Tzvetelina Bogoina - Seenan has governance, commercial and financial experience developing major infrastructure, regeneration and property investment projects in UK and Ireland.  She is a Development and Assets Committee member for Choice Housing Association and is a Board member for two of its commercial subsidiaries. She is a Board Director for the Cathedral Quarters Business Improvement District, Destination CQ. These board positions are non-remunerated.
7. Mike Brown has a background in Transport having held Senior Executive roles in London Underground and London Rail and in Heathrow Airport and, most recently, he was the Commissioner for Transport for London.  He is the current Chair of the Delivery Authority to manage the Restoration and Renewal of the Houses of Parliament.
8. Marie Mallon MBE has a public service background as a former Deputy Chief Executive and Director of HR of the Belfast HSC Trust, with business transformation experience.  She is an associate of the HSC Leadership Centre and a member of the NIAO Advisory Board for which she receives remuneration of £500 per day.  She was the former Chair of the Labour Relations Agency and has also served as Chair of the Public Sector Chairs Forum.
9. Sharon O’Connor is a Fellow and Chartered Director of the Institute of Directors with senior leadership experience.  She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel Development and professionally qualified in Marketing.  She was the former Chair of the Education Authority and former Chief Executive of Derry City Council. She has experience in business transformation.  She currently serves on the Accounts Commission for Scotland; as a Board member of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI); and as the voluntary Chair of Donegall Pass Community Enterprise. 
10. Edward Wills has a background in Transport, including experience of bus operations.  He is currently employed by the UK based transport company the Go-Ahead Group which has a number of international operations. He has held senior roles within the UK and Ireland and has commercial experience. He does hold any other public appointments.
11. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office at: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
12. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
13. Follow the Department on Twitter @deptinfra and on Facebook @DepartmentforInfrastructure.

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