The Permanent Secretary of the Department for the Economy, Noel Lavery, has announced the appointment of Rose Mary Stalker as the new Chair of Invest Northern Ireland.
Noel Lavery said: “I want to congratulate Rose Mary on her new appointment. The position of Chair of Invest Northern Ireland is a challenging role and it is essential, particularly in this time of uncertainty, that we have strong and effective leaders with the skills and experience needed to deliver change.
“Rose Mary has been a Board member of Invest Northern Ireland since 2012, and until recently was also Chair of the Mid & East Antrim Manufacturing Task Force, and Chair of the Prince’s Trust Advisory Council in Northern Ireland. She has gained extensive business development experience across large and medium sized businesses. I am confident that her experience and drive will prove vital as we continue on the journey of transforming Northern Ireland into a globally competitive economy that works for everyone. Under her leadership Invest Northern Ireland will continue to fulfil its role of supporting local businesses to create jobs, innovate and grow their exports; and to attract new inward investors.”
The Permanent Secretary also paid tribute to the outgoing Chair, Mark Ennis, and said: “I would like to thank Mark for his determination and commitment during his time as Chair of Invest Northern Ireland. Throughout the past almost eight years, Mark has made a significant contribution to Invest Northern Ireland’s success, consistently showing strong leadership in challenging economic times.”
Notes to editors:
1. Photo caption: Outgoing Invest NI Chair Mark Ennis, incoming Invest NI Chair Rose Mary Stalker and Permanent Secretary of the Department for the Economy Noel Lavery.
2. Rose Mary Stalker
Rose Mary is an experienced business leader who has successfully operated for many years at Executive Team and Board level in complex multi-disciplinary global organisations, including Ford, Boeing and Rolls-Royce. She has been responsible for the successful delivery of multiple transformational projects in a range of disciplines, new product delivery, business models, manufacturing, logistics, service centres, recruitment and quality, across numerous industry sectors, aerospace, automotive, construction and energy.
A graduate of Queen's University Belfast, Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the recipient of numerous awards, including the European Woman of Achievement in Business and European Automotive Woman of the Year.
Rose Mary works as an independent consultant and serves as Non-Executive Chair for Metal Forming Innovation/Tirnaform an advanced engineering start-up and is founder of 4C UR Future CIC a Not for Profit Community Interest Company dedicated to informing, inspiring and improving employability and career awareness in schoolchildren.
She has until recently served as Chair of The Prince’s Trust in Northern Ireland, Chair of The Manufacturing Task Force for Mid & East Antrim Borough Council and previously chaired The Colin Neighbourhood Partnership, Catagen Limited and been a Non-Executive Director of Catalyst Inc.
Rose Mary has been an Invest Northern Ireland Board Member since 1 April 2012.
She does not hold any other public appointments and has not carried out any political activity in the past five years.
3. Invest Northern Ireland is a non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). Its sponsor Department is the Department for the Economy. Established under the Industrial Development Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, its role is to promote innovation, enterprise and competitiveness in Northern Ireland businesses, encourage new start-ups, and market Northern Ireland as a location for inward investment.
4. Under the provisions of the Act, the Board of Invest Northern Ireland shall consist of a Chair and not fewer than 10 nor more than 20 other members. Current membership stands at 11 (Chair and 10 other members).
5. The appointment is effective from 1 August 2019 for a term of three years. The appointment has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Northern Ireland. The Chair’s annual remuneration is currently £42,790.
6. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published.
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8. For media enquiries, please contact the Department for the Economy Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.