Niamh Máire Brennan (born 1954) is the Michael MacCormac Professor of Management at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

(UCD),

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Background

Brennan was born in December 1954. She obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in microbiology and biochemistry from UCD in 1976, graduating first in her class. She then worked for accounting firm Stokes Kennedy Crowley (now KPMG) from 1976 to 1980, becoming a chartered accountant and a Fellow of

Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland was established by Royal Charter on 14 May 1888, and is Ireland's largest accountancy body. According to its website, it represents over 30,000 members globally. Chartered Accountants Ireland is part of the C ...

(FCA) in 1979. Brennan earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

in 1995. She became a Chartered Director (CDir) at the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

in 2007.

Career

Brennan has been the UCD Michael MacCormac Professor of Management since 1999 and the Founder and Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance since 2002. She has held visiting academic positions at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

Rotman School of Management The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management (commonly known as the Rotman School of Management, the Rotman School or just Rotman) is a graduate business school at the University of Toronto, located at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. Th ...

Swinburne University of Technology The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne ...

RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

, and

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

. Brennan is the former chairperson of the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of t ...

and the

Dublin Docklands Development Authority The Dublin Docklands Development Authority () (DDDA) was created by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 to lead a major project of physical, social and economic regeneration in the East side of Dublin, Ireland, along both banks of ...

. She has also served as a director for Children's Health Ireland, the

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) () is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005. The current director-general is Berna ...

(HSE),

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

Co-operation Ireland Co-operation Ireland is a non-political and non-denominational charity dedicated to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Much of Co-operation Ireland's work focuses on bringing the two main communities in North ...

Coillte Coillte (; ; meaning /) is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a 'land solut ...

and a number of private companies. She is chairperson of the audit and risk committee of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

Awards and honours

In 2018, Brennan received the British Accounting and Finance Association Distinguished Academic Award. She is an honorary fellow of the Institute of Directors in Ireland and of the

Society of Actuaries in Ireland The Society of Actuaries in Ireland is the professional body of Irish actuaries. The Society was founded on 3 May 1972 by seventeen fellow members of the Institute and the Faculty of Actuaries residing in Ireland. Since then, the membership has gr ...

. In 2020, Brennan was elected to the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

Personal life

Brennan is married to politician and barrister Michael McDowell since 1987. They have 3 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Niamh Academics of University College Dublin Irish accountants Irish women accountants Living people Irish women academics 1954 births Members of the Royal Irish Academy