M ulvey is appointed toseaton INM board
LABOUR relations trouble-shooter Kieran Mulvey has been appointed as a non-executive director of Independent News and Media (INM).
He was nominated to the board by Denis O’Brien, INM’s largest shareholder, and therefore will not be considered an independent non-executive.
The company said it is currently also seeking a further candidate to appoint as independent non-executive director, to comply with corporate governance standards setting out the best mix of board members.
Mr Mulvey joins INM fresh from brokering a deal between Ryanair and the Fórsa trade union representing its Irish pilots.
He’s the country’s best known labour relations expert, credited with helping defuse major industrial disputes – including chairing the talks that led to the Croke Park, Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road Agreements.
The connections between billionaire businessman Mr O’Brien and the former trade union official are understood to be longstanding. In 2014, Mr O’Brien cited Mr Mulvey’s instrumental role connecting the businessman to FAI chief executive John Delaney, in a move that eventually led to the businessman providing the majority of funding for the Ireland international soccer management team for a decade.
Mr Mulvey was director general of the Workplace Relations Commission and chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission for over 25 years until his retirement in 2016.
“His wide-ranging industrial relations and business experience will add significantly to the calibre of our board as we face up to the many challenges that lie ahead,” INM chairman Murdoch MacLennan said.
INM is due to report financial results for the first half of this year tomorrow. The company is also awaiting a High Court decision on the application by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) to appoint inspectors to the company to examine alleged corporate governance and data protection breaches.