Among his very first acts as RTÉ’s director general on Monday morning, Kevin Bakhurst stood down the organisation’s executive board, the top tier of management, which is separate from the actual board. This was replaced by an interim management team.
“These are the hard choices I had to take in regard to the executive team,” he said. “I needed to make changes and people will exit on different terms and in different ways.”
Here is where the key figures stand now.
The Old – the former executive board members
Dee Forbes: The former director general retired in June and has not been heard from publicly since
Rory Coveney: Director of strategy who had defended the controversial Toy Show the Musical production, announced his resignation on Sunday. A brother of Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney, he said he was resigning to help make way for a “fresh” leadership team
Geraldine O’Leary: Former director of commercial at RTÉ who announced her early retirement on Monday. During one recent committee appearance she said the unfolding scandal had affected her mental health. She will no longer attend Oireachtas committee hearings
Adrian Lynch: The acting deputy director general, effectively the top temporary position in RTÉ, had been a high-profile figure at Oireachtas committees in recent weeks
Richard Collins: Chief financial officer since 2020, Collins endured bruising encounters before Oireachtas committees, notably when he could not recall his own salary details. He has stepped back from the role of CFO but remains at the station and will attend Thursday’s sitting of the PAC
Jim Jennings: The director of content had been unwell in recent weeks and unable to attend the numerous Oireachtas hearings. He told Mr Bakhurst he no longer sees himself on the senior leadership team
Deirdre McCarthy: Managing director of RTÉ News and Current Affairs
Richard Waghorn: Director of operations and technology
Eimear Cusack: Head of human resources
The New – the interim management team
Kevin Bakhurst: The new director general replaces Ms Forbes
Adrian Lynch: The director of audiences, channels and marketing is probably the most high profile of the surviving top tier, having spent much of his time addressing the Oireachtas committees in recent weeks. He also continues as acting deputy director general
Vivienne Flood: RTÉ's head of public affairs, a leading strategic role including advocacy, policy, stakeholder engagement and corporate social responsibility
Mike Fives: Group financial controller, a chartered accountant with a background in broadcast and digital media and telecommunications.
Niamh O’Connor: Deputy director of content
Conor Mullen: Head of strategy and commercial compliance at media sales
Paula Mullooly: Director of legal is a well-known media lawyer who has led the broadcaster’s legal team since 2019
Eimear Cusack: The director of human resources remains in situ having served on the former executive board. She was formerly head of human resources at Ericsson UK and Ireland
Deirdre McCarthy: The relatively recently appointed director of news and current affairs at the broadcaster has also moved on to the interim team. She had previously held an acting role, and worked as a managing editor and political coverage editor
Richard Waghorn: Director of operations and technology previously worked as controller of distribution at the BBC and attended Harvard Business School and Stanford University. He also moves to the new team
