Our Senior Team - Bios

Gabriel Makhlouf, Governor

Gabriel Makhlouf took up his position as Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland on 1 September 2019. He chairs the Central Bank Commission, is a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund.

Before joining the Central Bank Gabriel was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the Government's chief economic and financial adviser from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Secretary, he led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing. In addition Gabriel was New Zealand's Alternate Governor at the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was also co-chair of the Trans-Tasman Banking Council.

Previously Gabriel worked in the UK civil service where his roles ranged from policy on domestic and international tax issues through to large-scale operational delivery. He has also chaired the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs and was responsible for the UK's Government Banking Service.

Sharon Donnery, Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation

Sharon Donnery was appointed Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation on 1 July 2022. She is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board.

As Deputy Governor, Financial Regulation, Sharon is responsible for leading the regulation and supervision of credit institutions, credit unions and payments/electronic money institutions and the insurance sector.  She is responsible for overseeing the Central Bank’s horizontal risk, data and analytics and regulatory policy functions and is responsible for leading the Central Bank’s regulatory policy at national, European and global level. She chairs the Central Bank’s Supervisory Risk Committee. 

Sharon was Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland from 1 June 2019 to 31 August 2019.

Sharon was previously Deputy Governor, Central Banking from 1 March 2016 to 30 June 2022 and was the Governor’s Alternate on the Governing Council of the ECB.  She was responsible for leading the Central Bank’s work on economic analysis, monetary policy, financial operations and statistics.  She also led the establishment of the resolution and crisis management function following the transposition of the Bank and Recovery Resolution Directive (BRRD). 

Sharon has extensive experience chairing international committees, including being the Chair of the ECB Budget Committee (BuCom), Chair of the ECB High Level Group on Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), Chair of the European Banking Authority's (EBA) Consumer Protection Group and Vice-Chair of the EBA Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and Financial Innovation.  Sharon currently co-chairs the Financial Stability Board’s Open-ended Funds Working Group.

Sharon has held a range of senior positions in the Central Bank. She was Director of Credit Institutions Supervision with responsibility for supervision of the Irish banking sector when the Single Supervisory Mechanism was being established. She was also an alternate member of the Supervisory Board at that time. She previously held the statutory position of Registrar of Credit Unions and was the Head of Consumer Protection.

Sharon joined the Central Bank in 1996 as an Economist in the Monetary Policy Division. Prior to joining the Central Bank, Sharon lectured in economics at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

Sharon holds a B.A. in Economics and Politics and a M.A. in Economics from University College Dublin and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors. In 2019, she was admitted to the Institute of Directors in London as a Chartered Director. In 2020, she was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Economics in Trinity College Dublin.

Marcella Flood, Chief Operations Officer

Marcella Flood was appointed Chief Operations Officer on 20 March 2023. As Chief Operations Officer she is responsible for leading across the key operations areas of the People Directorate, Information Management and Technology, Finance and Business Performance, along with  Currency, Workplace and Regulatory Services. She also serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

Prior to joining the Central Bank, Marcella held the roles of Transformation Program Manager for Allianz SE and previously was the Regional COO, North, Central and Eastern Europe at Allianz Partners. She has attained considerable Executive experience having held a number of C-suite roles and has deep technical expertise in Operations, Technology, Change and Transformation gained in Allianz, Microsoft, Bank of Ireland as well as start-ups and consultancies. Marcella is a Chartered Director and has held a number of Board positions including the Health Insurance Authority and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland.

Vasileios Madouros, Deputy Governor, Monetary and Financial Stability

Vasileios Madouros was appointed Deputy Governor, Monetary and Financial Stability in November 2022. In this role, he oversees the Economics & Statistics, Financial Stability and Financial Operations Directorates and leads engagement with domestic, Eurosystem and broader international stakeholders representing the Central Bank on wider financial system matters. Vasileios is an ex-officio Member of the Central Bank Commission  and is the Governor’s alternate at the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.

Prior to this appointment, Vasileios was Director of Financial Stability. In this role, he was responsible for the Central Bank's work to monitor threats to financial stability and provide advice on the use of macro-prudential tools, or other policy interventions, to mitigate those risks. Vasileios was also responsible for enhancing the Central Bank’s financial crisis preparedness and management capabilities as well as preparing for, and managing, the orderly resolution of relevant financial institutions. In this role, Vasileios was a member of the Plenary Board of the Single Resolution Board.  

Prior to joining the Central Bank, Vasileios spent most of his career at the Bank of England. His work at the Bank of England spanned a range of areas related to financial stability, covering macro-prudential policy development, stress testing, international finance, prudential policy and macro-financial risk assessment.

Vasileios holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Warwick and a M.Sc. in Economics from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Derville Rowland, Deputy Governor, Consumer and Investor Protection

Derville Rowland is Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Ireland. Prior to this, Derville was Director General of Financial Conduct. She is responsible for Consumer and Investor Protection, overseeing Retail Conduct, Securities and Markets Supervision as well as oversight of Anti-Money Laundering, Financial Sanctions and Enforcement.

Derville also serves as a member of both the management board and the board of supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and chairs its Investment Management Standing Committee.  Derville is a board member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and is vice-chair of IOSCO’s European Regional Committee.

Prior to joining the Bank, Derville practiced as a barrister in the UK, where she completed a Bachelor of Law Degree and barrister's training (Inns of Court School of Law) in London. Subsequently she obtained a Barrister-at-Law degree from Kings Inns in Dublin and a Diploma in Applied Finance Law.

Annemarie Britz, Director of Finance & Business Performance

Annemarie Britz was appointed Director of Finance and Business Performance on 1 January 2024.

She joined the Central Bank in 2019 as the Head of the Financial Control Division. Prior to joining the Central Bank, Annemarie spent most of her career working in the private sector in South Africa where she held several CFO positions, and thereafter she joined the Reserve Bank of South Africa where she held the positions of Deputy CFO and Deputy Head Financial Markets. She represents the Central Bank as a member of the Budget Committee and the Accounting and Monetary Income Committee of the ECB.  Annemarie holds a BCom Accounting Honours degree, a Certificate in the Theory of Accounting from the University of Pretoria (South Africa), and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Glenn Calverley, Director of Strategy and Governance

Glenn Calverley was appointed Director of Strategy and Governance on 1 December 2021.

He joined the Central Bank in 2015 and prior to this appointment, held the positions of Head of Organisational Risk and subsequently, Head of Strategy and Foresight. Before joining the Central Bank, Glenn’s career spanned more than 15 years in various senior management positions, primarily in commercial banking, within the areas of risk management and organisational change.

Glenn has represented the Central Bank on various Eurosystem bodies, including the Risk Management Committee and as Chair of the Eurosystem Resilience Taskforce.

Glenn holds a MSc in Business from Trinity College Dublin and a MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Business.

Mark Cassidy, Director of Financial Stability

Mark Cassidy was appointed Director of Financial Stability on 1 November 2022. He is responsible for the Central Bank's work to monitor threats to financial stability and provide advice on the use of macro-prudential tools, or other policy interventions, to mitigate those risks. Mark is also responsible for enhancing the Central Bank’s financial crisis preparedness and management capabilities as well as preparing for, and managing, the orderly resolution of relevant financial institutions. Mark is a member of the Plenary Board of the Single Resolution Board.

Mark was Acting Deputy Governor, Monetary and Financial Stability, from 1 July 2022 to 31 October 2022. Previously he held the role of Director of Economics and Statistics, where he had been since December 2017. In this latter role, he was responsible for the Monetary Policy Division, the Irish Economic Analysis Division and the Statistics Division. Prior to his appointment Mark was Head of Financial Stability and has also been Head of Monetary Policy.

Mark has represented the Central Bank on a range of Eurosystem and international committees including the ECB’s Financial Stability Committee, the Monetary Policy Committee, the International Relations Committee and Banking Supervision Committee. He is also Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Bank’s Superannuation Scheme and was previously the Chair of the Central Bank's Brexit Taskforce.

Mark has over twenty years' experience in central banking and academia and holds a Ph.D in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.’

Gerry Cross, Director of Financial Regulation - Policy and Risk

Gerry Cross was appointed as Director of Financial Regulation - Policy and Risk in May 2015.  He leads the Central Bank’s work on prudential and markets conduct regulatory policy and its supervisory risk framework (PRISM). Gerry is a member of the EBA Board of Supervisors and alternate member of the EIOPA Board of Supervisors. He co-chairs EBA’s Standing Committee on Regulation and Policy.

Gerry has had an extensive career in the area of financial services regulation. Before joining the Central Bank he worked at the European Commission, the UK Financial Services Authority, Fortis Group, the Institute of International Finance, and the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.

Domhnall Cullinan, Director of Insurance Supervision

Domhnall Cullinan was appointed as Director of Insurance Supervision in September 2019.  As Director of Insurance Supervision, Domhnall is responsible for overseeing the supervision of 200 life, non-life and reinsurance firms. Domhnall sits on the Board of Supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the Steering Committee of the EU-US Insurance Dialogue Project. Domhnall previously represented the Central Bank of Ireland at the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Domhnall joined the Central Bank in 2003 and worked in various roles in insurance supervision before being appointed as Head of General Insurance Supervision in June 2012. In June 2014, Domhnall was appointed as Head of the Central Bank’s Anti-Money Laundering Division before re-joining insurance supervision in 2019.  Domhnall was a trustee of the Central Bank & Financial Services Authority of Ireland Superannuation Scheme for six years between November 2015 and November 2021.  Domhnall is a member of the Central Bank’s Supervisory Risk, Performance & Resourcing and Policy Committees.  Domhnall is also a member of the Central Bank's Diversity & Inclusion Working Group.

Prior to joining the Central Bank, Domhnall spent two years as the Head of Investigations and Compliance at the Irish Pensions Regulator. Before joining the Pensions Regulator Domhnall spent more than a decade working in the Life and Pensions industry.

Domhnall holds an MBS in Business Practice (Irish Management Institute/University College Cork), holds the QFA FLIA designation, is a Qualified Pensions Trustee (National College of Ireland) and holds a Diploma in Corporate Governance (Corporate Governance Institute/Glasgow Caledonian University).

Seána Cunningham, Director of Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering

Seána Cunningham was appointed Director of Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering in January 2018. Prior to this appointment, she was Head of Enforcement Advisory Division and Deputy Head of the Anti-Money Laundering Division at the Central Bank. She joined the Central Bank in 2011, having previously worked as a solicitor for over a decade in private practice in Ireland and the UK.

Louise Dennehy, Chief Information Officer

Louise Dennehy was appointed as Chief Information Officer in September 2019. She joined the Central Bank of Ireland as Head of IT Delivery in April 2017. Louise has over 25 year's experience in IT within the financial services industry, including holding a number of Head of IT roles. Louise is a graduate of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin in science and IT related disciplines.

Patricia Dunne, Director of Securities and Markets Supervision

Patricia Dunne was appointed Director of Securities and Markets Supervision on 13 December 2021. The Securities and Markets Supervision Directorate (SMSD) is responsible for the supervision of primary and secondary securities markets; market integrity; wholesale market conduct supervision and the supervision of investments funds, fund service providers and trading venues.

Patricia has more than three decades of regulatory, supervisory and policy expertise in the asset management, investment funds and banking sectors which she has used to positively influence the leadership and strategic direction of financial regulation and the wider Central Bank. Prior to her appointment as Director, she was Head of Markets Supervision, responsible for the supervision and surveillance of financial markets, including the development of integrated data analytics and risk analysis supervision. She has enhanced the Central Bank’s effectiveness in the area of European and international policy development and contributed to the formulation of European regulatory policy and legislation on asset management and investment funds, representing the Central Bank on the Investment Management Standing Committee of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and chairing several ESMA working groups.

Robert Kelly, Director of Economics and Statistics

Robert Kelly was appointed Director of Economics and Statistics on 1 February 2023. He is responsible for domestic economic forecasts and analysis, contributing to the development of euro area monetary policy and the compiling of Irish financial statistics to inform decision making of the European Central Bank, the Government, financial services firms and the public.

He joined the Central Bank in 2009 and prior to this appointment, he was Head of Macro Financial Division and held divisional management roles in the Economics and Statistics Directorate and Financial Stability Directorate. He has represented the Central Bank on a range of Eurosystem and international committees including the ECB’s Financial Stability Committee and the ESRB Advisory Technical Committee.

Robert has taught at Maynooth University and Trinity College Dublin and he has published research on credit dynamics, monetary and macroprudential policies in leading peer review publications.

Robert holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D in Economics and Finance from Maynooth University.

Colm Kincaid, Director of Consumer Protection

Colm Kincaid was appointed Director of Consumer Protection on 1 October 2021. Prior to this role, he was Director of Securities and Markets Supervision, and prior to that he was Head of Consumer Protection - Policy & Authorisations Division and Deputy Head of the Legal Division at the Central Bank. He joined the Central Bank in 2004, having previously practised as a solicitor in London and Dublin.

Anne Marie McKiernan, Director of Financial Operations

Anne Marie re-joined the Central Bank of Ireland in September 2023, to take up the role as Director of Financial Operations. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the core elements of the Central Bank’s Balance sheet, managing the Central Bank’s investment assets, developing and implementing Eurosystem monetary policy operation, leading payments policy development, operating the Irish component of Eurosystem’s payments and settlements infrastructures, and promoting the safety and efficiency of payment and securities settlements. She is the chair of the Central Bank’s Pension Investment Advisory Committee. 

Mary-Elizabeth McMunn, Director of Banking, Payments and Credit Union Supervision

Mary-Elizabeth McMunn was appointed Director in 2018. She is responsible for the supervision and authorisation of banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions, and for the Registry of Credit Unions. Mary-Elizabeth joined the Central Bank in 1997 and prior to this appointment, held divisional management roles in regulatory policy, banking supervision and insurance supervision, as well as having worked for a period in consulting.

She serves as an Alternate Member of the Supervisory Board of the ECB Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority.

Mary-Elizabeth holds an MSc in Investment & Treasury from Dublin City University, a BA in Economics from University College Dublin and is a graduate of the Smurfit Business School.

William Molloy,Chief People Officer

William Molloy was appointed Chief People Officer on 1 May 2023.  He is responsible for the development and implementation of the Central Bank’s People strategy to enable and facilitate the development of a progressive, effective and efficient organisation, which is a fulfilling place to work.

Prior to taking up this position, William served as the Central Bank’s Director of Financial Operations with responsibility for overseeing the core elements of the Central Bank’s balance sheet, implementing Eurosystem monetary policy in Ireland, managing the Central Bank's investment assets, operating the Irish component of the Eurosystem's real time gross settlement system (TARGET2) and promoting the safety and efficiency of payments and securities settlement systems operating in Ireland and the Eurosystem.

William has also held leadership positions in the Central Bank in the Payments & Securities Settlement, Banking Supervision, Financial Markets and Organisational Risk divisions.  He has represented the Central Bank on a range of Eurosystem and international committees, including the ECB’s High Level Task Forces on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Climate Change-related Sustainable and Responsible Investments (SRI).

He holds a B.A. in History, a Bachelor of Financial Services, an M.A. in History, an M.Sc. in Risk Management, and an MBS in Business Practice.

Bernard Sheridan, Director of Currency, Workplace and Regulatory Services

Adrian Varley, Director of Prudential Analysis & Inspections

Adrian Varley was appointed Director of Prudential Analysis and Inspections on 1 February 2018. Working with the directors of prudential supervision for the insurance, banking and asset management sectors, he is responsible for the risk analysts and inspectors that support the firm specific supervision teams. Specifically, he is responsible for the Risk Analysis, Data Analytics and Reporting Division, Governance and Operational Risk Division and Financial Risks Division.

Adrian joined the Central Bank in 2010 and prior to his appointment was Head of the Banking Supervision Analysis Division. He has a PhD in Mathematics from Warwick University and more than twenty years' experience of academia, investment banking and prudential supervision.

Elaine Byrne, Registrar of Credit Unions

Elaine Byrne was appointed Registrar of Credit Unions on 21 November 2022. Prior to this she held the position of Deputy Registrar of Credit Unions with functional responsibility for Policy and Restructuring. Elaine is Chair of the International Credit Union Regulators' Network (ICURN).

Elaine joined the Central Bank in 1987 and has occupied leadership positions in the Banking Supervision Division, Legal and Finance Division and in the Registry of Credit Unions, including as Deputy Registrar of Credit Unions since 2006. Elaine was appointed as the Central Bank nominee to the board of the statutory organisation, the Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo), on its establishment in 2013. She is the current Chair of the International Credit Union Regulators Network (ICURN), the global network for the supervision of financial cooperatives.

Prior to joining the Central Bank Elaine qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG.   Elaine holds a BComm from University College Dublin, a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors and in 2022 was admitted to the Institute of Directors in London as a Chartered Director.