Catherine Guy and Liz Joyce are also joining the Board of the FAI as Independent Directors.
The appointments were ratified at a meeting of the FAI Board in Dublin, following recommendations received from the Nominations Committee in relation to the appointment of the Independent Chairperson and the Independent Directors.
A fourth Independent Director is to be appointed in the coming weeks. The appointment of an Independent Chairperson and three Independent Directors is a cornerstone of the Governance Review Group report published last July.
Newly appointed Independent Chairperson of the FAI, Roy Barrett said: “I have decided to take on the role of Non-Executive Chairman of the FAI at this critical time because I believe the organisation has an important role to play in developing the game at every level in Ireland.
“There is a serious job of work to be done to address the very significant failures which have beset the organisation in terms of its governance and its finances. The new Board will now deal with this task with urgency, working collaboratively with its stakeholders.”
Welcoming the appointments, outgoing FAI President Donal Conway said: “This is another milestone in the reform of the FAI and I am delighted to welcome Roy Barrett, Catherine Guy and Liz Joyce to the Board at this critical juncture.
“Roy, Catherine and Liz are outstanding candidates with skillsets which will bring real strengths to the Board. The appointment of an Independent Chairperson and Independent Directors is a significant step for the Association as it looks to restore public and government confidence in Irish football.
“I wish our new Chairperson and Independent Directors well and I would like to thank the Nominations Committee, Amrop and Sport Ireland for their work in getting the Association to this point.”
Profiles
Roy Barrett
Roy Barrett is the Managing Director at Goodbody Stockbrokers, Ireland’s longest established stockbroking firm. Roy joined Goodbody as Head of Equities in 1995 from the NCB Group where he was Head of Institutional Equities since 1990. Prior to that, he worked in the UK with both SG Warburg and Paribas. In 1996, he was appointed Managing Director. Roy was educated at Blackrock College and qualified with a Bachelor of Civil Law from UCD in 1985. He continued his studies, attaining a Masters in Business Studies (Banking and Finance) in 1987. He is an executive director at financial services firm, Fexco.
Catherine Guy
Catherine Guy took up the role of CEO of Autolease Fleet Management Limited (which trades as Sixt Leasing) in September 2019. Prior to this she was Managing Partner for six years at ByrneWallace, one of Irelands largest law firms, where she was a partner for over 20 years. As Managing Partner, she led the development and growth of the business. Catherine holds a BCL from UCD and is qualified as a Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors. In 2013 Catherine joined the board of Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) which has responsibility for delivery of services by the three children’s hospitals in Dublin, and is a member of the Governance and Capital Projects committees of CHI.
Liz Joyce
Liz Joyce is Director of Human Resources at the Central Bank of Ireland. She joined the Central Bank from Pioneer Investments where she held a number of HR roles. She was previously the Human Resources Director at Greenstar and at United Beverages (a subsidiary of Diageo). Prior to this, she worked in HR with Concern Worldwide for 10 years, ultimately as Human Resources Director. Liz has prior experience as a non-Executive Director most recently on the board of Aware (2014 to 2018). Liz holds a BA degree in psychology from UCG and an MBS in Human Resources Strategies from DCU. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is qualified as a Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors.