Director: Centre for Not-for-profit and Public-sector Research (CNPR), 2021 - present

Chairperson: Credit Union CEO Forum (CU CEO Forum.ie), 2018 -present

Member of the Programme Implementation Group (QMS), 2016 - present

Chairman of the Credit Union Advisory Committee, Ireland (2014 - 2018). This Committee advises the Minister of Finance in relation to the improvement of the management of credit unions. Initially appointed in 2014 by  Michael Noonan TD; Minister for Finance and reappointed in 2017 by Paschal Donohoe TD; Minister for Finance

Member of the Research Committee of the European Association of Cooperative Banks (Brussels).

Member of the Program Committee for the Southern Finance Association (US).

Chair of the Commission on Credit Unions (Ireland) (2011-2012) established as an EU-IMF structural bench mark.

Advisor  (2012) Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (Northern Ireland) on issues pertaining to Welfare Reform.

My research interests are:

Ownership structure of financial institutions; governance of not-for-profit financial institutions; regulatory change and capital adjustment in US credit unions; merger and acquistion behaviour in financial institutions; and risk management in not-for-profit financial institutions.

Problems in the commercial banking industry have given rise to a renewed interest in non-traditional models of financial-services provision. One such model is that of the cooperative banking model. The ownership structure of financial cooperatives encourages long-term and prudent management, and a greater focus on the needs of customers. My research work has considered efficiency and performance, diversification and acquisitions and governance. Efficiency and performance studies have been undertaken for credit unions and Japanese cooperative banks and suggest that more efficient organisations tend to be larger, better capitalised and have higher levels of liquidity. Panel studies on growth, product diversification and acquisition behaviour for US credit unions highlight that small credit unions should remain as simple savings and loan institutions, while larger credit unions should incrementally exploit new product opportunities around their core retail competencies. An analysis of governance in US, Canadian and Irish credit unions suggests that the governance process has not accommodated or responded to changes in management theory or developments elsewhere in corporate governance.

Current Undergraduate Teaching: Financial Engineering (Final year module taken by Finance and Actuarial Science and Risk Management students).

Current Postgraduate Teaching: Financial Regulation and Risk Managment (Taken by students on the MSc Risk and Investment Management). 

External Examiner (Currently)

Kings College London (2018 - present) {MSc  Finance}

University of Essex (2018 - present) {BSc Finance}

External Examiner (Most Recently)

University of St Andrews (2013 - 2017) {MSc Management}

University College Cork (2012 - 2017) {Diploma and Certificate Credit Union Studies}

University College Galway (2013 - 2016) {BSc Finance and Accounting)