Team category

Advisory board

 Helen Sullivan FCIPD

Chief People and Culture Officer, NIE Networks
Helen Sullivan recently joined NIE Networks as Chief People and Culture Officer, responsible for Human Resources, Health & Safety, Communications & Engagement, and the Learning & Culture agenda. Helen joined NIE from PwC, where her twenty-five year career spanned both client-facing consulting and internal leadership roles. Most recently she worked as Director and People Driver for the PwC Deals business globally, focusing on transformation, delivery models, and workforce planning. Prior to that she spent nearly twenty years working with clients in energy, utilities and government throughout the UK, leading HR and OD consulting projects across the employee life cycle then moving into HR function and tech transformation consulting programmes. Helen has a wealth of experience in strategic workforce planning, change management, culture, and talent management. She is currently a judge for the NI CIPD Awards.

Gordon Parkes

Executive Director, People & Culture

Gordon has worked for NIE Networks for 22 years. He has over 40 years’ experience in Human Resources across several organisations and sectors.

He is a Board Member of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Opera House Trust and of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

He is currently Chair of the Green Energy Skills Industry Reference Group established by the Department for the Economy.

He has been a Board member at the Labour Relations Agency and a member of the CBI Employment and Skills Committee. Since 2013 he has been a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and, in 2019, was awarded Chartered Companion status by the CIPD Board. He holds a Masters in Business Administration, is a member of the Institute of Directors and holds a Diploma in Company Direction (DipIoD).

Melanie McMordie

Client Managing Director, Fujitsu NI
Melanie is the Managing Director for Fujitsu in Northern Ireland. Fujitsu employs over 600 people in Northern Ireland and provides a wide range of IT services to Northern Ireland public sector clients and wider clients in the rest of the UK utilising modern digital technologies. Northern Ireland continues to be a focus for investment for Fujitsu as a major near-shore centre with a particular focus on digital applications capability. Melanie has over twenty years’ experience in the IT Industry and is passionate about driving continuous improvement through innovation and digital transformation.

Dalreen Buchanan

Business Support Manager, Ulster Carpets

Dalreen Buchanan is Business Support Manager at Ulster Carpets where she plays an integral role at one of Northern Ireland’s most successful exporters.

Having worked across a number of key departments at Ulster Carpets, including IT Support, Customer Services, and Production Planning, Dalreen is able to utilise nearly thrity-five years’ experience to ensure the smooth delivery of high service standards.

In a broad and diverse role, Dalreen’s wide-ranging understanding of the company’s central operational requirements is key to working with external suppliers.

Christina Bates

CFO, Allstate NI

Christina Bates is the Chief Financial Officer of Allstate Northern Ireland. Christina has led the Accounting and Finance team for almost twenty-five years and is part of the senior leadership team.

She has seen Allstate NI grow and develop through its lifecycle and provide high quality services to its parent company, the Allstate Corporation.

Christina trained with Ernst and Young in Belfast and was responsible for the entrepreneurial services department prior to moving to Allstate in 2000. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and a member of the UK Investment Council, which is a forum for global investors to interact with government in relation to UK inward investment.

Her undergraduate degree in Human Sciences from Oxford University provides a natural synergy with the Fellowship Programme, both in terms of place and subject matter. Coupled with her financial expertise, Christina brings vital strategic insight to the advisory board and wider Fellowship Programme.

Peter Cunningham

CEO, Camlin Group

Peter Cunningham is the Chief Executive Officer of the Camlin Group, responsible for setting and delivering upon the strategic vision and direction of the global organisation and its business units across the Energy and Rail market sectors.

Having become CEO in 2019 Peter has been responsible for setting a new purpose and strategic direction for the organisation and has led its subsequent revenue growth rate over 20% year on year. The company now forecasts a group-wide revenue target of £80M+ for 2023. The company employs approximately 560 people globally, with a strong engineering and operational majority based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

Before becoming CEO of Camlin, Peter was previously Managing Director of the UK division of its Energy business, Kelvatek, for 6 years then subsequently was Managing Director of Camlin, before taking over as CEO. He studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering (MEng) at Loughborough University. He is married with three children, and lives near Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

Derek Hynes

Managing Director, NIE Networks

Derek is the managing director for NIE Networks, working in the energy industry for over twenty years.

He is a director of Energy Networks Association Ltd, Centre for Competitiveness and Smart Grid Ireland. He was also Residential Ireland Manager of Electric Ireland, a retail business within ESB.

Derek is a chartered engineer with post graduate qualifications in Operations Management and Corporate Governance and he has completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard University.

Nick Coburn CBE

Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Ulster Carpets

Nick is managing director and deputy chairman of Ulster Carpets, the premier supplier of Axminster and Wilton carpets to the world market.

Nick joined his family’s company in 1977, working in a wide range of roles in manufacturing and sales before being appointed managing director in 2004 and also deputy chairman of Ulster Carpets Group in 2017.

A former chairman of the Textile Institute and past president of the NI Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nick is currently a member of the Strategic Trade Advisory Group with the Department for International Trade as well as a member of the Economic Advisory Group with the Department for the Economy.

Darragh McCarthy

Chair of the Advisory Board, CEO & Founder of FinTrU

Darragh McCarthy founded FinTrU in 2013 and serves as the company’s CEO. He is responsible for managing overall operations and setting the company’s strategic direction and objectives.

With over thirty years of experience in the financial services industry, Darragh founded FinTrU in response to global investment banks’ growing need for high-quality expertise to navigate an evolving regulatory landscape.

Under his leadership, FinTrU has become a leading provider of technology-enabled Client Lifecycle Management solutions, employing 1,400 people across Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Letterkenny, London, New York and Porto.

Whilst FinTrU is a profit-driven organisation, Darragh is highly motivated by creating high-quality professional employment. As a leader, his passion is to build connections with people and to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit – with the aim to inspire others to thrive and achieve their goals.

Outside of FinTrU, Darragh is the Chair of the Centre for Democracy and Peace. He is also the President of the Belfast Chamber Board and a member of the Innovation and Growth Advisory Board for the City of London.

In 2024, Darragh received a degree of Doctor of Science (DSc honoris causa) from Ulster University in recognition of highly impactful leadership in the financial services industry.

In 2025, he received an Honorary OBE for services to the economy in Northern Ireland.