Cork City Council and Port of Cork to name Valerie O'Sullivan and Ann Doherty as CEOs

The outgoing chiefs of Cork's two local authorities are to take on the roles, with Ms O'Sullivan taking on the job just vacated by Ms Doherty

Composite photo of outgoing Cork County Council CEO Valerie O'Sullivan, left, and Cork City Council CEO Ann Doherty. Pictures: Brian Lougheed

Cork City Council and the Port of Cork are set to appoint Valerie O’Sullivan and Ann Doherty respectively as chief executives, the Irish Examiner understands.

Ms Doherty’s term as CEO of Cork City Council officially ended at midnight on Saturday and it is understood she is now poised to land the top job at the Port of Cork.

Following board approval — understood to have come down to a split vote on Friday — Ms Doherty’s appointment will require a further stage of approval before it can be ratified.

As CEO, she will oversee the port’s development of infrastructure to facilitate the offshore wind energy sector, and will also be expected to progress the transfer of port operations from the city quays and Tivoli to the lower harbour. 

The role came with a pay package last year of just over €221,000, made up of a salary of €175,000 and other benefits, including the cost of a company car, totalling €46,335.

Ann Doherty

Ms Doherty became the first female chief executive of the city council in 2014 for an initial seven-year period, which she extended by three, following a career in the HSE including the role of CEO of the University of Limerick Hospitals Group.

Shortly after her appointment as Cork City Council CEO, Ann Doherty was thrust into the process which led to a major expansion of the city's boundaries which came into effect in May 2019. 

Within months of her appointment, she was thrust into the city boundary review process which, after several reports, reviews, and tense negotiations, led in 2019 to the first extension of Cork City's boundary since 1965, growing its population by 85,000 to 210,000.

Ms Doherty posted a statement on LinkedIn to mark her finishing in the role in which she highlighted that Cork had been designated by government as a growth cityand that “for the first time ever that ambition, policy direction and funding are aligned offering enormous opportunity” now and in future.

Meanwhile, a shortlist of several candidates, including one Dublin-based, competed for the city council chief role, with Ms O’Sullivan poised to take over from Ms Doherty.

Valerie O'Sullivan 

Ms O’Sullivan, who was acting CEO of Cork County Council before the recent appointment of Moira Murrell, former Kerry County Council chief, to the top role, emerged on Friday as the preferred candidate for the city job following a selection and recruitment process overseen by the Public Appointments Service.

Ms O'Sullivan's name will be put forward to city councillors within days as the preferred candidate.

The job, which has a salary of just under €183,000, is for an initial seven-year term with the option of a three-year extension.

She will have overall responsibility for an annual budget of €292m to run the city through its 1,600 staff during a period of what is expected to be unprecedented growth and development.

Ms O’Sullivan was a director of services in the city council until 2019, during which time she held a number of senior roles including in recreation, amenity and culture, in corporate affairs, and in housing.

She moved to Cork County Council in 2019 and was appointed divisional manager for the south Cork division, where she also had countywide responsibility for planning, roads and municipal districts.

She was appointed temporary chief executive of the county when Tim Lucey left the role last October.

Women continue to lead both Cork authorities 

That appointment meant that both local authorities in Cork had female CEOs at the same time - and that is set to continue.

Separately, Ms Doherty looks set to become port chief at a time when the company is facing a High Court challenge by its ex-CEO, Eoin McGettigan, who stepped down early from the role earlier this year.

The company has declined to comment on the case and it would not comment on Ms Doherty’s selection as the preferred candidate for the top job.

In a statement, it said: “We can confirm that there is an ongoing process to recruit a new CEO.

“The position was advertised in the national media on April 5, 2024 with a closing date for applications of April 22, 2024. We appointed Amrop Executive Search Firm to manage the recruitment process on behalf of the board.

“When the process is fully concluded, like all senior appointments in the semi state sector, it will be announced publicly.” 

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The department of transport said: “The Board of a Commercial State Company undertake the recruitment process of a CEO as outlined in the establishing legislation of the agency.

“In keeping with this legislation, the terms and conditions of the role are determined by the directors with the consent of the Minster for Transport and the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP, Delivery and Reform.

“The Department has no role in an ongoing independent/commercially run recruitment campaign.”