Five honoured at the inaugural MTU Alumni Awards

HSE CEO Bernard Gloster, Commodore Michael Malone, visual artist Maud Cotter and business executives Shane Gibney, of the Kerry Group, and Dave Murphy, the former CEO of the PM Group, were recognised

Fri, 27 Sep, 2024 - 08:47

Eoin English

The head of the HSE and the head of the naval service were among those honoured at Munster Technological University’s (MTU) first Alumni Awards celebration on Thursday night.

Bernard Gloster and Commodore Michael Malone, as well as visual artist Maud Cotter, and business executives Shane Gibney, of the Kerry Group, and Dave Murphy, the former CEO of the PM Group, were recognised for making a significant impact in their chosen fields.

They were presented with a specially commissioned fused glass work created by artist Suzanne O’Sullivan, a graduate of MTU Crawford College of Art and Design.

MTU President, Professor Maggie Cusack said each of the award recipients have made valuable contributions to their respective fields, to society and to their university.

“The impact of their work is evident in the southwest region,” she said.

Ms Cotter, who studied painting and sculpture at the Crawford Municipal College of Art and Design, now MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, is an internationally recognised visual artist who co-founded the National Sculpture Factory and who has lectured at leading art and architectural colleges across Europe and America. A member of Aosdána, she has exhibited around the world and is preparing for solo exhibitions in Drogheda and Dublin.

HSE chief executive since 2023, Bernard Gloster, studied social care at Cork Regional Technical College (RTC), now MTU, and holds an MBA from Oxford Brookes University and an MSc in management practice from UCC. He was CEO of Tusla, and held several senior management positions in the HSE before that.

Commodore Michael Malone, joined the Irish Naval Service in 1981 as a marine engineering cadet and was commissioned as an officer in 1983, after graduation from Cork RTC with a degree in Marine and Plant Engineering. He has also studied at the Royal Naval Engineering College in Plymouth, and at Pearl Harbour Naval Shipyard in Hawaii.

Throughout his nearly 43 years of service in the Naval Service, he has held several key positions, and served as the programme manager for the design and construction of the Navy’s P60 class offshore patrol vessels, and he was the project lead for the LE Niamh, during its build. He was promoted to Flag Officer Commanding in December 2017.

Shane McGibney, the chief business transformation officer at Kerry Group, joined the company in 1999 after graduating from IT Tralee, now MTU, with a degree in Business Studies (Accounting). He held several finance-related roles, before being appointed Global CFO of Kerry Taste and Nutrition in 2017, until he landed his current role in 2020.

Dave Murphy graduated from Cork RTC as a chemical engineer and joined international project delivery company, PM Group, in 1989. He worked in all areas of the business, was appointed to the board in 2006 and became CEO in 2011, a position he held until his retirement in December 2023.

He played a key role in the company's growth overseeing the delivery of numerous significant facilities and infrastructure projects for multinational clients.

The company employs over 3,500 people and operates in more than 20 countries across Europe, the US and Asia.