Compliance Institute Executive

Michael Kavanagh

CEO 

Role: As CEO of the Compliance Institute, Michael is responsible for providing leadership and direction to the organisation as well as managing its overall operations.

Background: Michael is a Chair of the IIPA (Irish Inter Professional Association - the Association for Professional Bodies in Ireland and a member of the Insurance Ireland Talent Steering Group.  Up to recently he was vice chair of the Sport Ireland/FAI Governance Oversight Group.

Prior to that he was Director of DPP with KPMG Ireland, CEO of IAASA (The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority) having previously been Head of Financial Reporting Supervision with the organisation. Michael established Ireland's statutory accounting enforcement function (tasked with examining whether the financial reports of listed entities comply with financial reporting standards) and oversaw the establishment of Ireland's statutory Audit Inspection regime (tasked with inspecting the quality of audit work conducted by Ireland's large audit firms). For 12 years, Michael was the Irish Observer at the Corporate Reporting Council of the FRC which produces UK and Irish accounting standards and also Ireland's representative at ESMA's European Enforcers Co-ordination Sessions which is tasked with coordinating accounting enforcement across Europe having chaired a number of ESMA sub-committees.

Michael is immediate past Vice-President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA Ireland), Chair of their Education Committee, and was a member of a number of CCAB-I committees. He has acted in the past as examiner, lecturer, solution writer and moderator for a number of accountancy bodies’ professional exams and was a frequent presenter on auditing and accounting matters at accountancy body Continuing Professional Development events.

Deirdre McDonnell

Head of Operations

Role: As Head of Operations, Deirdre is responsible for the day-to-day management of the operating units of the Compliance Institute which consist of Membership Services, Professional Development and Communications. 

Background: Deirdre McDonnell is Head of Operations at the Compliance Institute. Deirdre is an accountant by profession and was Director of Education at CPA Ireland before joining the Compliance Institute. Deirdre’s career also included roles in audit, financial control and management consulting, where her speciality was business continuity planning and project management on global projects with PA Consulting Group, based in the London office.

Faith Osullivan

Operations Manager

Role: As Operations Manager, Faith is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the operational and administration aspects of the Institute.

Background:  With a background within the Healthcare industry, most recently Faith worked in implementing quality, safety and risk control protocols for a large primary care organisation.

Faith has over 14 years’ experience in operations; across customer service, IT, people management, project management, recruitment and quality, safety and risk. Faith has previously worked in Centric Health and Locumotion.

Fiona Hanlon

Events & Communications Executive 

Role: Fiona delivers Compliance Institute's flagship events each year, including the Annual Conference, Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony. She manages the planning and execution of CPD events, ranging from in-person events to online and hybrid sessions, and serves as editor of the Irish Compliance Quarterly magazine. Fiona also manages the Institute’s website, social media, and digital communications, ensuring timely and professional engagement with members.

Background: Fiona brings diverse industry experience, with a strong focus on customer service, stakeholder management, and operations. She has held leadership roles at organisations including Balfour Beatty CLG, Lidl Ireland GmbH, IFA, and Ulster Bank Financial Markets. Throughout her career, she has driven improvements in customer satisfaction, implemented effective communication strategies, and led high-performing teams. Fiona holds a Level 6 FETAC qualification in Managing People.

Niamh Kennan

Education and Professional Development Manager 

Role: Education and Professional Development Manager, shaping and delivering the Institute’s education and professional development programmes. 

Background: 

With 25+ years in financial services and a background in the funds industry, she brings strong industry experience to learning strategy. 

Niamh's most recent previous position was as Learning & Development Manager at a global financial services firm.

Niamh specialises in enterprise-wide learning, compliance programmes, curriculum design and LMS strategy, and works closely with senior leaders to align learning with business and regulatory goals.

Sinead Stoneham

Office Administrator & Membership Services Executive

Role: As Office Administrator and Membership Services Executive, Sinead provides assistance to Compliance Institute members, helping them with their membership renewals, designations, education queries and invoicing.

Background: Sinead joined the Compliance Institute's executive as Office Administrator in 2018 and recently took up the role of Office Administrator and Member Services Executive.

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