VITA BOARD
Vita’s Board is committed to maintaining the highest standard of governance and is collectively responsible for ensuring delivery of Vita’s mission, setting its strategic direction, and upholding its vision and core values.
Vita’s Board meets regularly and is advised by a series of subcommittees which are chaired by board members.
Vita’s Code of Conduct for Directors
Learn more about Vita’s Governance, Accountability & Transparency
Céline Reilly recently retired from her role as Executive Manager for the Environment & Transportation Department for Dublin City Council. She is a graduate of both NUI Galway (Bachelor of Engineering) and UCD (Masters in Water and Environmental Engineering) and is a Chartered Member of Engineers Ireland.
From 1982, Céline worked primarily in local government, initially as a Civil Engineer, and latterly – from 2006 – in a managerial role. Céline combined her role as Executive Manager with that of Energy Performance Officer for the Council and recently coordinated the Climate Change Action Plan for Dublin City Council. She also has experience in the planning and design of Water Treatment Works, garnered during a period working with consultants in the UK in the 1980s.
Among the projects for which Céline had responsibility are the following: delivering on energy targets for the City Council; coordinating the implementation of the Council’s Climate Action Plan; progressing initiatives on climate mitigation, adaptation and communication; initiatives on waste management and illegal dumping and initiatives on air quality and also delivering a Housing with Support development for older people;
Céline sits on the Environment subcommittee of the CCMA and represents this committee on the National Climate Action Steering Group, the EPA NEICE steering committee, the National Biodiversity Action Group, the Flood Forecasting Communications working group and the board of the National Waste Collection Permit Office. She also sits on the National Waste Enforcement Steering committee, the board of ESHI, (the Environmental sustainability and Health Institute) and the board of the East Link Toll Bridge.
Damien Farren’s career spans thirty years of senior management roles in technology companies both in Ireland and internationally. The organisations he has worked for include Digicel Group, dotMobi, Sigma Communications, Bank of Ireland, Softbank Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation. His expertise is in strategic change, business improvement and performance management with a particular focus on the revenue generation and supply chain channels. More recently Damien has been retained as a business consultant in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors and specialises in business transformation and project management.
Damien holds a Master of Science degree from Trinity College, a Master of Business Administration degree from UCD as well as a range of other business qualifications. His professional memberships include the Institute of Directors, the Marketing Institute of Ireland and the Project Management Institute.
Having spent time working and living abroad Damien and his family are now based in Dublin. He enjoys time outdoors and entertains his friends by sailing, hill-walking and cycling with more enthusiasm than skill.
Niall M. Kelly is a self-employed Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an Associate of The Irish Tax Institute (with a Bachelor of Commerce, Masters of Business Administration, and Business Related Postgraduates, amongst other qualifications).
Niall has worked in varied and dynamic environments, with commercial international organisations (and related indigenous / foreign subsidiaries – MNC, PLC, LIC), ‘big 4 practice’, ‘non-profit’ / ‘not for profit’, SME’s and ‘Startups’; organisations such as Arthur Andersen (in Ireland and in the U.K), Kerry Group plc., eircom plc., Vodafone Ireland Ltd., The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, etc.
Niall has broad experience in the Non-Profit / Not-for-Profit sector, on a ‘paid’ basis (self-employed’ / ‘employed’), on a voluntary basis as a Board Member / Chair / Executive Committee member of Chartered Accountants Managers, and also in terms of related personal and academic pursuits.
Dr Lance O’Brien, MA, PhD, MBA, is Head of Strategy & International Relations at Teagasc.He is a member of the Teagasc Senior Management Team and works on the development of Teagasc organisational policies and strategies, its relationships with international organisations, as well as leading its international agricultural development programme.
Janet Muir is an experienced finance professional with over 20 years of senior leadership roles in the not-for-profit sector. She currently serves as the Director of Finance at ICARDA, an international agricultural research organization based in Cairo, Egypt. ICARDA is a member of OneCGIAR, a global partnership dedicated to addressing food security and sustainable development in dry areas through research and collaboration.
Before joining ICARDA, Janet Muir held the position of Director of Finance at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, an organization that works to safeguard and enhance crop diversity around the world. Prior to that, she spent 15 years in senior finance roles at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, and Ernst & Young.
Janet Muir’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance, a Master’s degree in Accounting (MBS), and a Diploma in Corporate Governance. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of both Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Corporate Governance Institute.
Sr. Margaret’s life has been dedicated to improving the lives of others. She has worked as a nurse and mid-wife in hospitals, maternity units and nursing homes in Ireland. One of the most rewarding experiences was, when she the Director of Nursing at a Zonal Rural Health Centre in Zambia. She was also responsible for outreach and community health services and community development.
Margaret remains active within her religious community, having established and implemented an assisted living programme within the Western Province Groups in the West of Ireland.
For some rest and relaxation Sr. Margaret enjoys walking with friends, painting, singing and the occasional good party!
Ronan McCabe is a senior investment professional with over twenty years of global treasury and investment management experience with a passion for sustainability and the role that investments can play.
He currently works for an investment management firm based in Dublin. He was previously the Head of Portfolio Management Pacific with Mercer Investments as well as Global Chair of Equity Portfolio Management Team. He subsequently became Chief Investments Officer for Mercer New Zealand where he led the integration of sustainability into its investment process as well as the business’ commitments to Net Zero across all of its investment portfolios.
Prior to moving to the Pacific, McCabe worked as a Senior Investment Manager for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the Irish SWF that sits inside the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). McCabe was also a member of the NTMA’s Market and Liquidity Risk Committee.
McCabe joined the ISIF from a global asset management firm where he was a senior member of the Portfolio Construction team that took unique approach to investment management. Prior to this, he was a Portfolio Manager at a boutique credit investment firm. He started his career working for one of Germany’s largest banks where he was a Treasury dealer and subsequently ran a Trading Book.
McCabe has a BA in Physics from Trinity College Dublin and a MSc in Financial and Industrial Mathematics from Dublin City University. He is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder, and a former President of the CFA Society Ireland.
He is the current Adjunct Lecturer in Investments & Sustainability for the M.Sc in Law and Finance at TCD. He has also lectured in Treasury Management and Fixed Income Portfolio Management for the Masters in Finance courses at both TCD and NUI Galway. In addition, he has been a member of various global committees and task forces for CFA Institute with a focus on Curriculum and Examination.
Helen O’Connor has more than 20 years’ experience working on international development, with a focus on climate change and social inclusion. After almost two decades in the UK Government’s aid programme (DFID), she most recently started working for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) leading work on climate finance and how to enable money to reach the poorest and most vulnerable. She has worked in countries across Africa and Asia, more recently in Pakistan and Bangladesh, on a range of climate focused policies, programmes and projects. – from design to implementation and closure She has an educational background in biological and environmental sciences.
Nicola has 15 years’ experience in corporate sustainability and international development. She has worked for global, national and local organisations and spent time working in Peru, East Africa and Indonesia working on projects spanning impact measurement, communications and reporting, and sustainability strategy development and implementation.
After a number of years on the trading floor, Nicola transitioned to lead the CSR Programme for Japanese bank MUFG EMEA. She has also worked on an SDG impact project for grassroots organisation SHOFCO in Kenya and global NGO FairTrade to support development of their global strategy.
At EY since 2015, Nicola has worked with clients in the private and public sector to support them to understand their most material sustainability issues, building strategies to address impact and reporting on their climate and sustainability journey. This included diverse projects such as the development of Ireland’s first National Sustainable Finance Roadmap. Currently she leads ESG Reporting for EY Global where she focuses on the organisation’s own sustainability impact and reporting.
Nicolas has a business degree from Technology University Dublin and a Masters in Corporate Social Responsibility from London Metropolitan University.