Board of Directors

References to Council mean the Council of Directors and references to members of Council replaces previous references to Board of Directors. For clarity, members of Council of ACOI are the directors of the the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland.

President

Kathy Jacobs

Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London followed by a number of years working as a forensic accountant in the public and private sectors, Kathy Jacobs returned to Ireland in 2000 and commenced a career in Regulatory Compliance in KBC Group and has worked mainly in retail banking compliance. Kathy Jacobs is Director Regulatory Affairs, Risk and Compliance at The AA (Ireland) and the former Head of Compliance, Modulr Europe.

Kathy achieved the LCOI qualification in 2006 and spent a further 7 years at EBS Building Society working in all areas including Money Laundering, Data Protection and Conduct of Business. She set up and chaired the ACOI’s Data Protection Committee in 2009 and joined the Council of ACOI in January 2012. Kathy is currently Chair of the Financial Crime Compliance working group.

Lorraine Blayney

Lorraine Blayney is a longstanding member of the ACOI with over 17 years’ compliance experience in the Fund Industry. Lorraine is currently Chief Risk Officer for the Northern Trust Fund Administration and Depositary companies in Ireland with responsibility for Risk, Compliance and Business Continuity. Lorraine is also Chair of the Risk Committee for these entities and was previously Head of Compliance. Prior to joining Northern Trust Lorraine worked in Bank of New York in Dublin and began her compliance career in Barclays Ireland.

Lorraine is a graduate (B.A., LL.B) of the National University of Ireland, Galway and more recently has completed the Masters (MSc) Degree in Compliance Management from the Institute of Banking and University College Dublin.

Séamus Canning

Séamus Canning worked in the Financial Services for the past 35 years in various roles in the area of insurance claims. He has worked for an insurer, several loss adjusting companies in Ireland and the UK and latterly as a consultant acting on behalf of the consumer providing assistance with their insurance claims. He is also currently Chair of the Oversight Committee of St. Joseph’s Aviation Credit Union in Dublin Airport.

Séamus is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters. He is an Accredited Mediator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has an International MBA from DCU and recently obtained a MSc. in Compliance from UCD in association with the Institute of Banking. He is a Fellow of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland and is a Certified Data Protection Officer and Certified Financial Crime Prevention Practitioner. Séamus joined the Council of ACOI in January 2017.

Coleman Hudson

Coleman Hudson is a Licentiate of the Compliance Officers in Ireland and a Certified Data Protection Officer. He is currently Head of Compliance at Aon Risk Solutions. Prior to this he worked various positions in the Central Bank of Ireland. He is the current President for the Insurance Institute of Dublin and also served as the Institute's honorary CPD Officer.

Coleman is a member of the IBA Compliance Committee since 2012. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations. Coleman joined the Council of the ACOI in January 2017.

Mick Stewart

Mick Stewart is Head of Regulatory Risk and Data Protection/DPO in Permanent TSB, having joined in 2017. From 2011 to 2016 he was Deputy Head of Consumer Protection in the Central Bank covering all financial services sectors at various stages during his tenure. He represented the Central Bank both domestically, on Government committees, and internationally on ESA committees.

From 2014 Mick served a three year term as a director of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and a member of its Audit Committee. Prior to that, he worked in Bank of Ireland for 24 years holding a variety of positions in Finance, Investor Relations, Regulatory Compliance and Operational Risk.

Mick is a Fellow of the Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland, Licentiate of the Institute of Bankers, a Licentiate of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland and a Certified Data Protection Officer. He was elected to the Council in January 2020.

Claudette Whyte

Claudette Whyte has been an ACOI member since 2015 and is a Fellow of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland, Certified Data Protection Officer and Certified Financial Crime Prevention Practitioner, having completed the MSc in Compliance delivered by the IOB and awarded by UCD. Claudette works in Compliance Assurance at Barclays. Prior to this, she worked in various positions in Compliance, Legal and Forensic Investigation. 

Diarmuid Whyte

Diarmuid Whyte qualified as a Chartered Accountant working in KPMG in 2010. He has been a member of ACOI since 2013 and joined the Council of ACOI in January 2017. He holds the LCOI Professional Diploma in Compliance. Diarmuid is the Vice Chairperson of the Finance Risk and Administration Committee in ACOI.

He is Director EMEA Client Asset Oversight in Citi Bank. Previously he was Head of Compliance and Client Asset Oversight in Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Limited. Prior to this Diarmuid was the Chief Risk Officer and Head of Compliance for Willis Towers Watson in Ireland. This position included direct responsibility for a MiFID regulated investment firm, three trustee businesses, three businesses operating as investment and insurance mediation firms for the provision of individual life, pension, investment advisory services and two non-life intermediaries providing a broad range of insurance services.

Diarmuid also worked for the Central Bank of Ireland, where he was a member of MiFID and Client Asset Inspection units from 2010 to 2013.