DIT Foundation Board Members
- Mr Peter Coyle
- Mr James Gahan
- Professor Neville Hogan
- Mr David Kennedy
- Mr Bobby Kerr
- Mr Eugene McCague (Chairman)
- Professor Brian Norton
- Dr Noel O’Connor
- Mr Pat Quinn
- Mr Jim Ruane
Biographies
Mr Peter Coyle
Peter spent over 30 years working on the development of Irish industry and the Irish economy with the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and latterly Enterprise Ireland (EI). He recently stepped down from EI where he was Executive Director with responsibility for International Marketing and is now a company director and business consultant. Peter was also a member of the Governing body of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) for over 15 years.
Mr Jim Gahan
Jim Gahan is a Chartered Surveyor with over 35 years experience, in both the public and private sectors. He has previously held the positions of Deputy Chief Valuer, Dublin City Council; Commercial Director, Custom House Docks Development Authority; Group Property Manager, CIE and Property Investment Director, Cosgrave Property Group. He now works as an independent Property Consultant. He was Chairman of the Society of Chartered Surveyors in 1989 and has been Chairman of the Education Board of The Society of Chartered Surveyors for the past 20 years. Jim has many years involvement in education matters with the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Professor Neville Hogan
Neville Hogan is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is Director of the Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation and a founder and director of Interactive Motion Technologies, Inc., a company offering innovative robotic tools to study and treat neuro-motor impairments. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he obtained a Dip. Eng. (with distinction) from Dublin Institute of Technology and M.S., M.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following industrial experience in engineering design, he joined MIT’s school of Engineering faculty in 1979 and has served as Head and Associate Head of the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department’s System Dynamics and Control Division. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Delft University of Technology and the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.
Mr David Kennedy
David Kennedy is a director of a number of companies in Ireland and overseas, including CRH, the Manchester Airport Group plc, Bon Secours Health System Limited, Drury Communications Limited, Pimco Funds Global Investors Series plc. David was formerly Chief Executive of Aer Lingus.
Mr Bobby Kerr
Bobby Kerr grew up in Kilkenny where his family owned the Newpark Hotel. He qualified with an Honours Certificate in Catering Management from DIT's Cathal Brugha Street college in 1981 and embarked on a career which included work on North Sea oil rigs, sports stadia in Canada and Jury’s Hotel in Ballsbridge before joining Campbell Catering as manager of the bar and food outlets in University College Cork in 1987. He remained with Campbell for 11 years rising to the position of Development Director and overseeing development of the Bewley brand in The UK, USA and Japan . He opened his first coffee shop in 1999 and through various mergers and acquisitions he emerged in 2003 as principal shareholder and CEO of Insomnia Coffee Company which he has developed to a chain of 50 shops. In 2008 he became a Dragon on the Irish version of The Dragons' Den television program and has made a number of investments in companies that pitched for financial support on the programme.
Mr Eugene McCague
Eugene McCague is Chairman of Arthur Cox one of Ireland’s leading corporate law firms where he specialises in corporate law and governance. He was President of Dublin Chamber of Commerce for the year 2006. He was the first practising lawyer to have been elected President of the Chamber in its 223 year history. Eugene is a member of the Board of the Health Services Executive which is in charge of the health service in Ireland. He has also served as Chairman of the Governing Body of the Dublin Institute of Technology and on the boards of Glencree and Co-operation Ireland. He is the author of a biography of Arthur Cox, the founder of his firm and is married with three children.
Professor Brian Norton
Professor Norton became the second President of Dublin Institute of Technology in September 2003. He holds doctorates from Cranfield University and the University of Nottingham, is a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and the Energy Institute and is a Chartered Engineer (both in Ireland and the UK) and a member of the Higher Education Academy. He is an Honorary Professor of the University of Ulster and co-author of over 140 journal papers in the field of solar energy. Professor Norton has chaired many national and international bodies in the fields of renewable energy and construction. He chaired the Northern Ireland Business Education Partnership and was Specialist Advisor to the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He is currently a member of the NI Government Energy Policy Steering Group and Chair of Action Renewables which is responsible for renewable energy in Northern Ireland.
Dr Noel O’Connor
Noel is Director of Student Services at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). He has overall responsibility for the management and development of student services within DIT. This covers a range of areas including the careers service, sports & recreation, medical services, community links, the international office and student administration services. In addition, his Directorate is responsible for planning the relocation of DIT to a new urban campus at Grangegorman in Dublin’s north inner city.
Noel is an academic with a background in management education, and tourism development and has a particular interest in curriculum design and development within higher education. For many years he lectured in strategic management in DIT and was Head of the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism. He is a graduate of DIT, TCD, UCD and NUI Maynooth.
Mr Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn was born and grew up in Dublin. He qualified as an Engineer at the College of Technology, Bolton Street and in 1956 emigrated to Canada where he was a founding partner of Quinn Dressel Associates. His firm became one of Canada’s foremost structural engineering firms responsible for many landmark buildings throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia including Calgary City Hall, the Elf Aquitaine Tower in Paris and Shanghai Stock Exchange. Pat has been President (twice) of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Ireland. He has served on numerous statutory and non-statutory bodies addressing both engineering and socio-economic matters and has a particular interest in the issues of Women in Engineering and Violence against Women. He has had several works published on engineering matters and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by DIT in 2007.
Mr Jim Ruane
Jim Ruane was Chief Executive - Corporate Banking at Bank of Ireland until 2004. His previous responsibilities included managing director roles in Bank of Ireland Finance and ICS Building Society. He holds B.Agr.Sc and M.Agr.Sc degrees from UCD and a Ph.D in Agricultural Economics from Pennsylvania State University where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers and a Member of the Institute of Management Consultants. A former President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Directors in Ireland, he is currently Chairman of the Eye and Ear Hospital, a Board Member of the Mater Private Hospital, ESB Building Society and several other financial services companies. He was recently appointed to the Higher Education Authority.
