LIA is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Joanne Keane as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Pat O’Sullivan who retires from the role at the end of December 2019. Joanne has worked with LIA for 20 years in various roles, culminating in her appointment as Deputy CEO in 2015. Joanne’s appointment is as CEO Designate effective 1st September 2019, after which she will assume the role of CEO on 1st January 2020.
LIA President, Gavin Brennan, in announcing the news, said: “Following a year-long succession planning process, our Board of Directors is delighted to welcome Joanne as the next CEO of LIA. Joanne’s knowledge and experience of the operations and history of LIA, her proven track record, together with her understanding of our members’ needs, make her the outstanding choice for the position. Among Joanne’s recent achievements are the key roles she has played in devising LIA’s current three-year strategic plan, the implementation of recent technology enhancements and our success in acquiring our own academic accreditation – these demonstrate the vision Joanne has for the association, and we look forward to the next phase of LIA under Joanne’s leadership.”
In accepting her appointment Joanne said: “LIA has been a very important part of my life for the last 20 years and has made huge strides under Pat’s guidance since 2008 and I couldn’t be more honoured to have been chosen to lead the association. The opportunities ahead are vast but to deliver for our members we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A large part of my role is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products and services to our members. I have the privilege of working with the most committed employees and senior leadership team and have learned so much under Pat’s guidance. I very much look forward to continuing to work with our team to build on our achievements under the leadership of Pat and his predecessor, Brendan Glennon. I look forward to getting out and meeting as many of our members and corporate partners as possible throughout the transition period.”
Joanne holds qualifications in Management, Public Relations and is a Master in NLP. In addition, Joanne holds LIA’s CUA, CUG and various APA designations. Joanne is married to Shane, and has two children, Yasmin and Josh.