The Board
Board Members are appointed by the Department for Infrastructure on the basis of open public advertisement. The number of Board members, including the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, may be no less than ten and no more than fifteen and up to four Board Members shall be members of Belfast City Council.
The management of Belfast Harbour is independent of government and falls to the Board and the management team.
The duties of Board Members are akin to those of a company director, in particular to be accountable for the proper exercise of the statutory and administrative requirements placed upon them.
In addition Board Members are required to:
- Ensure high standards of corporate governance.
- Establish the overall strategic direction of the port having regard to the best interests of the port and the local economy following consultation with key stakeholders.
- Ensure that, in reaching decisions, government policy and relevant guidance provided by the sponsor department are taken into account.
Dr Theresa Donaldson
Chair
Dr Theresa Donaldson is Chair of Belfast Harbour and is a Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors. Theresa is also Vice Chair of the Eirgrid Group. Theresa previously held Non-Executive positions with NI Equality Commission and the NI Health and Social Care Board. She is a member of the LCJ Solicitors’ Disciplinary Panel and a Board member of the Centre for Effective Services and NI Appeals Committee for BBC Children in Need. She is a former Local Government Chief Executive and held several senior management positions in health and social care and legal services in NI, including as Director of Policy and Civil Service Delivery in the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission.
Joe O'Neill
CEO
Joe was appointed CEO of Belfast Harbour on 1st January, 2018, having joined the organisation in 1997 and having held a number of prior roles within Belfast Harbour, including Commercial Manager, Port Manager and Commercial Director.
Prior to joining the Port, Joe held positions with Undus Ltd and Cantrell and Cochrane Ltd. Joe was previously Chairman of the MAC theatre in Belfast, stepping down on 31st December, 2017.
Joe is Chair of the Simon Community and Chair of the Belfast City and Region Place Partnership. He is a member of the UK Major Ports Group, CBI Regional Council, the Centre for Competitiveness and the Advisory Board of Artemis Technologies. Joe is also a Council Member of the British Ports Association and is a Board Member for Business in the Community.
NOEL LAVERY CB
Board Member
Noel was appointed to the Board in April 2021. Prior to his retirement from the Northern Ireland Civil Service in November 2019, Noel was Permanent Secretary in the Department for the Economy. Before this he had held Permanent Secretary roles in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the former Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He has nearly 20 years of experience of economic development working in public sector policy, delivery and governance roles. He trained as a chartered accountant with PriceWaterhouse and the first 15 years of his career were in the private sector. He has been a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland since 1995. Noel is the current Northern Ireland Co-Chair of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership Steering Group. He is also a trustee of a number of charities.
STEPHEN MARTIN OBE QPM
Board Member
Stephen was appointed to the Board in April 2021. He is the Deputy Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, a police service which protects Great Britain’s major nuclear infrastructure and nuclear material in transit. He was previously a police officer in Northern Ireland for nearly 34 years, concluding in 2020 as the Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI.
Stephen is also the Non-Executive Chair of the Irish Football Association and sits on the Prince’s Trust Northern Ireland advisory committee. He is a Chartered Director, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
GERRY MCGINN CBE
Board Member
Gerry was first appointed to the Board in April 2021. He is an experienced business leader with extensive expertise in Banking, Financial Services, the Public Sector, and Education.
He is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Axa Insurance, a member of the Professional Standards Board of Chartered Accountants Ireland, and Chair of the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre.
Previous Senior Executive roles include CEO of Bank of Ireland UK and First Trust Bank, and Permanent Secretary of two Government Departments: Education and Regional Development.
Previous Non-Executive Director roles include Progressive Building Society, Strategic Investment Board, Invest NI, and Capita Asset Services Ireland.
Sir Malcolm McKibbin
Board Member
Malcolm was appointed to the Board in April 2021 after holding the position of Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service from 2011 to 2017. He was the Permanent Secretary of the former Departments of Regional Development and Agriculture and Rural Development. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Queens University in 2017 in recognition of his public service. Following his retirement he led one of the five strands in the 2019 political negotiations aimed at restoring devolution.
He is an Associate of Deloitte, providing advice on Strategic Issues, an independent non-executive member of Weavers Cross Programme Board, a member of the Board of Co-operation Ireland and in 2021 assisted Sir Peter Hendy on NI aspects of the UK Connectivity Review.
Ronan McLaughlin
Board Member
Ronan is an elected member of Belfast City Council and represents the Black Mountain District Electoral Area. He is the Deputy Party Group Leader for Sinn Féin. He is a member of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, City Growth and Regeneration Committee and the Business and Standards Committee. He holds no other public appointments positions.
Cllr Ryan Murphy
Board Member
Ryan is an elected member of Belfast City Council and represents the Oldpark Electoral Area in North Belfast. He is a former Mayor of the City of Belfast, the Chair of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and a member of the Planning Committee on the Council. He holds no other public appointments positions.
Cllr Jenna Maghie
Board Member
Jenna has been an elected member of Belfast City Council since 2022 and represents the Ormiston District Electoral Area. She currently sits on the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, People and Communities Committee and the Standards and Business Committee. She has previously chaired the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd Committee. She currently holds no other public appointments.
Cllr Nicola verner
Board Member
Nicola is an elected member of Belfast City Council and represents the Court District Electoral Area since 2019. She served as High Sheriff of Belfast in 2020, and in the same year received a BEM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Nicola currently sits on the People & Communities Committee, Waterfront and Ulster Hall and Audit & Risk Committee. She holds no other public appointments positions.
