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Northern Ireland

Welcome to the home of The Chartered Governance Institute, Northern Ireland branch. We provide support to the Institute's members and students in Northern Ireland.

About Us

The Northern Ireland branch was established in 1934 and comprises members who work in the private, public and voluntary and community sectors. The branch promotes the highest standards in Chartered Secretaryship and represents and supports the profession. In furtherance of this objective, the branch committee organises a mixture of professional and social events which take place throughout the year.   

The branch has a close relationship with the University of Ulster. Students who successfully complete the Postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Management and Corporate Governance can become graduate members of the Institute.

The committee encourages all members to attend events and assures new members of a warm welcome.

Upcoming events

The Northern Ireland branch offers a variety of events to support your professional development at every stage of your career. Whether you to want brush up on your knowledge and skills, network with peers or add to your CPD, we run sessions on a variety of topics and in a variety of formats, with contributions from experts and guest speakers across the governance community.
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Upcoming virtual branch event

Hot Topics

The North West and East Midlands branches invite you to a webinar to hear about Governance Hot Topics
Date: Monday 22 July 2024 Venue: Online Registration: 5:45pm Start: 6:00pm End: 7:00pm CPD: 1 Hour Price: Free The North West and East Midlands branches invite you to a webinar to hear about Governance Hot Topics Peter Swabey will take us through what he considers to be the latest hot topics for governance professionals, with time for Q&A at the end.
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Networking event

Networking coffee group

oin our North West of England branch for this event on Tuesday 23 July 2024.
Date: Tuesday 23 July 2024 Venue: Haunt Manchester St Georges House 58 Peter St, Manchester M2 3NQ Start: 9:30am End: 11:00am Price: Free The CGIUKI North West branch would like to invite you to a networking coffee group we are hosting on Tuesday 23 July 2024. Join us in a relaxing environment to informally meet and chat with others within the local CGIUKI network. Have a coffee and share stories, skills, knowledge and expertise. Guests are welcome. Free to attend. Drinks will be at your own expense.

Latest Blogs

Taking Notes Blog Hero
Blog

Four things you need to know about the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024

The FRC highlight key changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code of which company secretaries should be aware.
Critical Thinking Blog Hero
Blog

The truth is not enough − how to interrogate information effectively

CGIUKI’s inaugural Annual Lecture was a hugely successful evening including a deeply engaging lecture on the topic of misinformation and bias.
Tips For Board Effectiveness Blog Hero
Blog

Seven tips for board effectiveness

In a recent episode of the Enter the Boardroom podcast, Oliver Cummings, CEO of Nurole, discusses industry top tips on making the board as effective as it can be.

Meet the team

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland maintains a presence in Northern Ireland through its local branch committee. The local branch strives to enhance the presence of the Institute within Northern Ireland, to support members and students throughout their careers and study programmes, as qualified or aspiring governance professionals. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact us.
Branch Chair

Anthony Irvine

Anthony is a Corporate Governance professional with over 10 years of senior management experience across multiple industries including automotive, contact centre, telecommunications, government contracts, NGO, FMCG, and IT. Educated to Masters level with a MSc in Management and Corporate Governance, and BSc in Management and Leadership Development both from the Ulster University.
Council Member (Former Chair)

Hugh Ó Dreáin

[Member bio]
Student Champion

Josh Finlay

Having graduated from the MSc Management and Corporate Governance course in September 2018, Josh joined now named Ocorian Administration (UK) Limited, a Corporate Service Provider and has experienced working with and providing company secretarial services to listed and unlisted, onshore and offshore, funds.
Events secretary

Holly Tierney

Holly is a Junior Company Secretary at Ocorian Administration (UK) Limited and has experience of working in both the financial services industry and the public sector. Holly currently has responsible for providing corporate secretarial and corporate governance services to listed and private equity funds.
Treasurer

Krupa Balakrishna

Krupa always knew she belonged to Governance, her first steps in governance started as a company secretarial assistant in a firm of company secretaries in India. Passion for governance lead her to completing the Msc Management Corporate Governance post which she worked with Axiom Managed Solutions as a Analyst, Legal Entity Management. Krupa Believes that governance is not restricted to only conventional perception of entity management, she is currently working in as a funding analyst in Citi, Belfast which she thoroughly enjoys.
Social Media Champion

James Fennings

James has more than three years of experience working in Professional Services/Financial Services with listed companies, Investment Trusts and REITs. He is currently providing Company Secretarial services to a Tier 1 Investment Bank Client.
Council Member (Former Chair)

Geoffrey Jordan

Geoffrey is Group Company Secretary of W&R Barnett Limited a holding company of a diversified group of international commodity trading, storage, agribusiness and industrial companies and one of Northern Ireland’s Top 100 Companies. The group has grown from its origins as a grain merchant and expanded its operations to include a wide variety of enterprises including dry bulk commodities, derivatives, molasses, oils, feed mills, corrugated packaging, laboratory testing and storage both in Ireland and worldwide. Geoffrey was appointed Company Secretary in 2001 and has been involved with the Group during this period of sustained growth. He is a former Chair of the Chartered Governance Institute in Northern Ireland.
Council Member

Adrian Kelly

Adrian began his career as a Company Secretary within the investment funds industry in Dublin in 2013, before returning to Belfast in 2014 and commencing a role with Ulster Bank as a Corporate Governance Consultant and progressed to the role of Risk Governance Manager. This role involved providing secretarial support and governance advice to the Board Risk Committee and the Executive Risk Committee within the bank. More recently Adrian has returned to working in Dublin taking a role with Allied Irish Banks (AIB) as a Corporate Governance Manager, again with a particular focus on Risk Governance and working closely with the risk function of the Group and the Board Risk Committee.

Contact the NI branch

For membership and study enquiries please contact the student and membership team:

For branch support and event queries please contact the branch support team: