Org. Cat: Council

An accountant by profession, Professor Anthony Walsh was a member of the academic staff of Dublin City University (DCU) from 1980 to 1999. From 1999 to 2011, Anthony was Chief Executive of the Institute of Banking and oversaw the establishment of the Institute as a recognised College of University College Dublin.

He served terms on the Higher Education Authority and the National Council for Educational Awards. Anthony is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and holds PhD and Masters degrees from the Bayes School of Business at City, University of London. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Banking and an Honorary Life Member of LIA.

Dr Diarmuid Bradley is Programme Director with the Institute of Banking which is a Recognised College of University College Dublin and provides programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Prior to joining the Institute of Banking Dr Bradley’s career was in the financial services industry.

From 1978 to 1986 he was Investment Manager with Allied Irish Investment Bank. Subsequently he became Chief Executive of the Irish Futures & Options Foreign Exchange. From 1992 to 2001 he held a number of positions including Deputy Chief Executive with Permanent TSB Bank, one of Ireland’s leading retail banks. He is a former (2004-2005) President of the Irish Bankers Federation.

Margaret D’Arcy is Director of Financial Services, Funds, and Wealth Planning Education at IOB. She began her career in Retail Financial Services, gaining experience in IT, Card Services, Finance, Strategy, Treasury, and International roles.

A graduate of DCU with a BA in Accounting and Finance, she is also a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. With five years at IOB, she leads the development of new programmes and oversees the delivery of both accredited and non-accredited education.

Beyond her role at IOB, Margaret has lectured at UCD Smurfit, DCU, Maynooth, and NCI. She is also the author of An Introduction to Financial Accounting, published by Chartered Accountants Ireland. Additionally, she has prepared students for professional qualification exams, including those for Chartered Accountants Ireland, Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and Accounting Technicians.

Bill Hannan is an actuary by profession. He was Chief Risk Officer at Permanent TSB from 2012 to 2014. He was Group Head of Risk and Compliance at Irish Life & Permanent from 2009 to 2012, where he was previously Group Head of Compliance, and, prior to that, Chief Operating Officer – Retail of Irish Life Assurance. He was until 1999 Deputy Managing Director and Actuary of Irish Progressive Life Assurance Company, where he had worked since 1974.

He is Chairman of the QFA Board. He is a Past President of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland, of The Insurance Institute of Ireland, and of the Irish Institute of Pensions Management. He is an Honorary Life Member of LIA, a Fellow of the Institute of Banking and a Fellow of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland.

Willie Holmes has worked in the Life Assurance industry for 44 years. Willie, who is a QFA and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland, joined Irish Life in 1973 as an actuarial student, and spent his career there working across areas such as sales, investments, marketing and administration – ultimately being appointed General Manager in 1990.

Willie is a founding member of the Sales Institute of Ireland and has been a Director on a number of Boards. Willie served on LIA’s Board of Directors from 2009 to 2016, serving as President in 2015.

Joanne has worked with LIA for 20 years in various roles, culminating in her appointment as Chief Executive Officer in 2020.

Joanne holds qualifications in Management, Public Relations and is a Master in NLP. In addition, Joanne holds LIA’s CUA, CUG and various APA designations.

Mary O’Dea is Chief Executive of the Institute of Banking which is a Recognised College of University College Dublin and provides programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Mary joined the Institute in April 2018 from the Central Bank of Ireland where she was Director of Securities and Markets Supervision. She was previously Ireland’s representative at the World Bank and prior to that held the role of Alternate Executive Director representing Ireland with the International Monetary Fund.

Mary held several director roles with the Central Bank of Ireland, including Director of Financial Operations, Consumer Director and acting Chief Executive of the Financial Regulator. Mary is a Non-Executive Director of Euronext Dublin (the Dublin Stock Exchange). She holds two Masters – one in Economics (UCD) and one in Investment and Treasury Management (DCU).