The IoD Ireland Chartered Director Programme is led by a team of senior and highly qualified corporate governance experts, inclusive of the Programme Director Eileen Gleeson CDir, and course leaders such as Dr Simon Haslam, Carol Bolger CDir, Dr Deborah Benson, and Marie Collins CDir
Eileen Gleeson CDir
Eileen Gleeson is a Chartered Director (CDir) and the Programme Director for the Chartered Director Programme in Ireland.
Eileen has been a director of 16 companies over the past thirty years in business, at chair, non-executive and executive levels.
She has advised some of Ireland's leading business and political leaders on communications and public affairs, including a seven-year period as Adviser to President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Eileen has served as a non-executive director on State boards, plcs, financial services organisations and family businesses.
Professor Simon Haslam CDir
Professor Simon Haslam is a Chartered Director (CDir) and the course leader on the strategy aspect of the Chartered Director Programme.
Simon is also programme lead for strategy for the Institute of Directors UK.
Simon has an MBA from Durham University Business School and a PhD from Strathclyde Business School. He is a Visiting Professor at Durham where he leads the Strategic Management module of its Global MBA programme. Simon's international strategy consulting work covers clients in the private, public and third sectors. His book, Strategic Decision Making, co-written with Dr Ben Shenoy, was published by Kogan Page in 2018.
Carol Bolger CDir
Carol Bolger is a Chartered Director (CDir), a Certified Bank Director and is the course leader on the Governance and Diploma Programme modules of the IoD Chartered Director Programme.
Carol is also an Assessor on the IoD’s Board Evaluation service. Carol is Chairperson of An Post and a Non-Executive Director of BCM Global ASI Ltd. She is Chairperson of Utexam Solutions Ltd, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas and Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Department of Agriculture Food and Marine.
Carol is a former Corporate Banker and worked with Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. She is a Fellow and former Council Member of the Institute of Banking, where she held the position of Vice President. This year Carol became a Patron of Chapter Zero Ireland, a community of Non-Executive Directors who lead Irish boardroom discussions on the impacts of climate change.
Marie Collins CDir
Marie Collins is a Chartered Director (CDir) and is the course leader on the Governance and Diploma Programme aspect of the Chartered Director Programme.
Marie is a Chair of Home Building Finance Ireland DAC and Bank of Ireland’s General Investment Trust DAC. She is a non-executive director of IPUTplc and EcoUnesco clg. Marie is an independent member of the Communications Regulator (ComReg) Audit and Risk Committee.
She is a Trustee of Trinity College Dublin Foundation and Chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. Marie holds a Post Grad Dip in Corporate Governance for UCD and an MBA form Trinity College and is also a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute in the UK.
Dr Deborah Benson
Deborah Benson is a course leader on the leadership aspect of the Chartered Director Programme.
Deborah has over 20 years’ experience as both an executive and non- executive director, in the commercial, public and voluntary sectors.
Deborah is currently a non-executive director of Scottish Canals (waterways, tourism and regeneration), and a Trustee of Edinburgh Women's Aid (refuges & support services).
Talita Ferreira
Course Leader, IoD Ireland
Talita Ferreira is a Chartered Director and is a course leader on the leadership aspect of the Chartered Director Programme.
Talita is also a non-executive director and Chair of Audit on multiple UK-regulated bank boards. She is the former CFO and CHRO of BMW UK Ltd. and BMW Financial Services Ltd. and has led and implemented award-winning cultural transformation programmes in multiple industries. Talita published her first book, “The Authenticity Dilemma Resolved®”, in 2016. She is currently writing her second book, “Seven shifts to the transformation of Great Leadership”, based on the research from the interview series Global leadership Hypothesis – what makes a great leader.
Talita is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a fellow of the Institute of Directors (“IOD”). She delivers Finance, Strategy and Leadership training for directors at the IoD and has created “Finance Inspired 4 Success”, a training platform for finance professionals to improve leadership and team dynamics.
Caroline Kirrane CFA, MBA
Course Leader and Trainer, IoD Ireland
Caroline Kirrane is a course leader on the Finance Module of the Chartered Director Programme and a trainer on our IoD Essentials Workshop Series.
She has over a decade of experience working in financial markets. After completing her undergraduate degree in France, Caroline began her career working in a hedge fund in Paris.
She then returned to Dublin, working in US-based proprietary trading firm Susquehanna. She has held positions in Dexia and FinTech start-up Eagle Alpha and has also worked as an economist with the Central Bank of Ireland, advising senior policymakers on financial market developments.
Caroline has an undergraduate degree in European Business and French from Dublin City University. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Trinity College Dublin and is a CFA Charterholder.
Joan Gleeson
Programme Coordinator, Chartered Director Programme in Ireland, IoD Ireland
Joan supports delegates throughout the programme, ensuring a smooth and successful journey for them from modules through to exams.
Joan is involved in all programme communication and administration. Her background is in Marketing and Communications, with over 20 years’ experience at a senior level in financial services.
She Holds a B.Sc. (Mgmt.) and M.A. from Trinity College Dublin and a Diploma in Advanced Marketing Techniques awarded by the Dublin Institute of Technology.
