BUSINESSMAN Mr Paul Coulson is now set to succeed Mr Noel Hanlon as chairman of the VHI early next year, according to reliable sources. The board is continuing its search for a new chief executive and has also decided to forge closer links with the organisation's own members' advisory council.
The VHI board is now working on a number of fronts to try to prepare the organisation for competition. The term of the current board chairman, Mr Noel Hanlon, will be completed next February and sources now say that Mr Coulson will then take over the chair. He was one of the new members appointed to the board earlier this year and is understood to have taken a leading role in the meantime.
He is the founder and chief executive of Yeoman International, the Shannon-based leasing group which recently bought Tipperary Crystal.
A sub-committee established by the board is understood meanwhile to have drawn up a short-list of potential candidates for the post of chief executive.
Mr Brian Duncan resigned from the past last month, following months of disagreement with the board.
The potential candidates are understood to come mostly from the US and Britain and to include some management consultants, as well as some executives working in the healthcare industry.
Interviews are expected to take place shortly and, while immediately after Mr Duncan left, it appeared likely that a management consultant would be appointed for a limited period to head the organisation, sources now say hat a senior healthcare professional from overseas is a leading contender for the post.
The board is also understood to have decided to forge new links with its members' advisory council. The council, established by the VHI to represent consumer interests, has in the past been openly critical of the organisation, particularly in relation to its failure to strike a deal on charges this year with the private hospitals. In future the council is to report directly to the board.
Board members are understood to hope that this will not only lead to a greater understanding by the organisation of its members' views but also that its members will get an insight into its dealings with healthcare providers, such as hospitals and consultants. There is a view on the board that the VHI needs to take a tougher line in some eases in negotiations with healthcare providers and will need its members' support to do so.
