Several members of RTE's top brass have been replaced as part of a shake-up of the broadcaster's leadership team.
Four of the old executive board have been replaced, as new director general Kevin Bakhurst rung the changes on his first day in the hotseat on Monday.
They are Geraldine O’Leary (Director of Commercial), Richard Collins (Chief Financial Officer), Jim Jennings (Director of Content) and Rory Coveney (Director of Strategy), who resigned on Sunday. Ms O’Leary also announced her early retirement from RTE following the restructure.
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The new temporary interim leadership team consists of:
- Kevin Bakhurst, Director General
- Eimear Cusack, Director of Human Resources
- Vivienne Flood, Head of Public Affairs
- Mike Fives, Group Financial Controller, RTÉ
- Adrian Lynch, Director Audiences, Channels, Marketing, and continuing as Acting Deputy DG
- Paula Mullooly, Director of Legal
- Deirdre McCarthy, Director of News & Current Affairs
- Niamh O'Connor, Deputy Director of Content
- Conor Mullen, Head of Strategy & Commercial Compliance, RTÉ Media Sales
- Richard Waghorn, Director of Operations and Technology
An external corporate governance expert will also be recruited.
Mr Bakhurst said: “In due course, there will be a new permanent leadership team. I want to underline that RTE, under my leadership and that of the re-constituted interim leadership team, will be an organisation dedicated to working closely with you, to listening, to being open and transparent, to strictly adhering to revised and rigorous governance processes and procedures, to being accountable and to delivering a public service to be proud of.
“This will take time, but it will happen. It must. There is too much at stake.”
He added: “I can confirm that RTE will publish the salaries of the executive/permanent interim leadership team along with the earnings of RTE’s 10 highest-paid presenters in our annual report every year, starting with annual report 2023.”
Meanwhile, Ms O’Leary said she is to take early retirement with immediate effect. In a statement, she said: “My career at RTE is a great source of pride and honour to me. Bringing my retirement forward by a number of weeks is not something I had anticipated.
“However, I recognise that a fresh leadership team, starting today, is vital as Kevin Bakhurst sets out to renew RTE, and I have agreed to facilitate that.”
She added: “Over more than 40 years in the advertising industry, I have acted with integrity and my positive reputation has been hard-earned. I truly hope that this will be my legacy.”
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