The Balance Sheet: Reflecting on recent US and European events

Dr. Margaret Cullen

Margaret is a specialist in the areas of corporate and investment fund governance. Margaret holds a PhD in governance from University College Dublin. Her doctoral research explored the role and effectiveness of boards of directors in investment fund governance.

She is a published behavioural researcher with particular interest in board effectiveness, processes, dynamics and decision-making, board and corporate culture, stewardship and corporate social responsibility. Prior to completing her doctoral research, Margaret worked for 12 years in the financial services industry. She has held senior positions at ABN AMRO International Financial Services Company, the Central Bank, JP Morgan Bank Ireland plc and RBC Dexia Investor Services Ireland Limited where she gained significant experience in the areas of treasury management, investment fund regulation, compliance and risk management. Following completion of her doctoral research Margaret joined IOB as Director of Executive Education.

She designed and ran the IOBs Certified Bank Director (CBD) and Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) Programmes from 2012. Margaret was the founding CEO and Academic Director of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute (CIFDI), a specialist institute of IOB which focuses on raising professional standards in investment fund governance through its CIFD Programme. Margaret taught investment fund governance on the programme for eight years up to April 2020.

Margaret has been an assistant professor at the UCD Smurfit Business School for 13 years lecturing on the Professional Diploma in Corporate Governance in the areas of executive remuneration and behavioural aspects of boards and, since 2018, on the MSc in Strategic Management Accounting in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics.

Margaret serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several financial services organisations. She has extensive board and board committee experience. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Fund Boards Council in the UK

Kevin McConnell

Kevin, a Chartered Financial Analyst, is an external specialist consultant in the banking and investment sectors with over 25 years of experience in financial markets. Working with banks, regulators and investors in Credit, Capital, Stress Testing and Strategy, Kevin has experience in over a dozen regulatory jurisdictions across Europe, US and Emerging markets.

He has worked through a range of mid-tier to top tier M&A transactions providing stress testing/due diligence consultancy, and transaction advisory. He was a member of Committee on Collective Investment Governance (CCIG) of Central Bank of Ireland (2014) which supported the development of CP86.

He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute. He developed and delivers the post graduate programs in Alternative Assets at IOB (UCD), in Wealth Management in the Masters in Finance at Trinity College Dublin, and on the Certified Bank Director program in Ireland and UK.

Kevin is also deputy chair of the Irish platform one of the largest CLO originators in Europe and is chief executive of GEM Strategic, a specialist consultancy firm.