BUSINESS body the Institute of Directors, which has 800 members in Northern Ireland, has expanded its regional reach by opening a new office in Belfast city centre and adding to its staff numbers.
The two new roles, which bring the overall number employed by IoD NI to five, are focused on growing the organisation’s learning and professional development offering.
Dr Elaine O’Neill joins as programme director while Emma Jayne Mawhinney has taken the position of business development manager for professional development.
The IoD NI, which will continue to be headquartered at Riddel Hall, has also taken new space at the Scottish Provident Building to facilitate the expansion.
Regional chairman Ian Sheppard said: “This growth for the IoD in Northern Ireland heralds the beginning of what promises to be a tremendously exciting year for the organisation.
“Both Elaine and Emma Jayne bring with them a wealth of experience and I congratulate them on successfully coming through what was a very competitive recruitment process.
“The IoD has been at the forefront of promoting professionalism in business across Northern Ireland for more than six decades, which, in recent years has been evidenced by the widening pool of chartered directors locally, now numbering more than 60.
“I look forward to working with Elaine and Emma Jayne as we renew these efforts over the coming months ensuring local business leaders are equipped with the highest level of knowledge and expertise.”
Elaine, who will take the lead in developing the IoD NI’s programme of professional development, achieved a PhD in Management at Queen’s University from which she also received first class honours in business information technology.
She said: “I'm delighted to have joined IoD and look forward to helping to develop its suite of programmes as we seek to improve management practice and corporate governance at companies in all sectors, thereby supporting economic growth across Northern Ireland.
Emma Jayne Mawhinney has more than 17 years’ experience in business development and account management and has worked for a range of household names including Mercedes-Benz and UTV.
She said: “The continual development of leadership and management skills is as important to leaders in large private sector companies as it is to SMEs, family firms, start-ups and public sector bodies and I look forward to working with firms across these sectors over the coming months and years.”
