On his first day as director general of the scandal-hit RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst on Monday morning told staff he was standing down the executive management board of the broadcaster.
Separate to the board of directors chaired by Siún Ní Raghallaigh, the executive board is made up of senior management. This will be replaced with a temporary interim leadership team to continue running the organisation. So who had made up the executive board?
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Adrian Lynch
Adrian Lynch had been acting as deputy director general, effectively the interim top position in RTÉ, in recent weeks.
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Mr Lynch previously had been director of audience, channels and marketing, but stepped up following the suspension of former director general Dee Forbes, at the start of the Ryan Tubridy secret payments controversy.
At RTÉ since 2014, Mr Lynch had fronted much of the RTÉ executive board appearances at the various Oireachtas committee hearings in recent weeks, apologising for the failures of governance and transparency.
Richard Collins
Joining RTÉ as chief financial officer in 2020, Richard Collins faced some of the most bruising questioning at the hands of TDs and Senators at Oireachtas committee hearings.
He previously worked as a financial officer in the retail sector for many years, as director of finances at Dunnes Stores and finance director of Superquinn.
In one damaging moment during an Oireachtas hearing, Mr Collins initially said that he did not know what his exact salary was “off the top of my head”. He later clarified he was paid a base salary of around €200,000, with a car allowance of €25,000.
Geraldine O’Leary
Director of commercial at RTÉ, Geraldine O’Leary has worked in the national broadcaster for close to 25 years and had been due to step down from the role in the coming weeks.
She joined the national broadcaster in 1997 as manager of television sales and was appointed commercial director in 2003, before being made group head of commercial in 2018.
Much of the recent focus of the RTÉ controversy, such as details of spending from the “slush fund” barter account, related to the commercial department. At one Oireachtas committee hearing Ms O’Leary said she was not sure if her position was “tenable”.
Rory Coveney
Rory Coveney, director of strategy on the RTÉ executive board, on Sunday announced he was resigning in order to give the new director general a “fresh” leadership team.
Mr Coveney, who is the brother of Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney, had been working for RTÉ since 2007, joining from the Irish Aid division in the Department of Foreign Affairs.
He had been appointed strategic advisor to the director general in 2011 and later director of strategy.
On the executive board, Mr Coveney had responsibility for the Toy Show the Musical, a controversial production last Christmas beset with problems and setbacks that resulted in a loss of €2.2 million to RTÉ.
Jim Jennings
RTÉ's director of content, Jim Jennings, has worked in the national broadcaster since the 1980s. He has been unwell in recent weeks and as a result unable to attend the numerous Oireachtas hearings.
Mr Jennings was appointed managing director of RTÉ Radio in 2013 and overall director of content in 2017.
The other members of the executive board include Deirdre McCarthy, managing director of RTÉ News and Current Affairs, Richard Waghorn, director of operations and technology, and Eimear Cusack, head of human resources.
