Kevin Bakhurst – Director-General
Adrian Lynch – Deputy Director-General and Director Audiences, Channels, Marketing
Daniel Coady – Director Legal Affairs
Deirdre McCarthy – Director News and Current Affairs
Annette Malone – Chief People Officer
Eleanor O’Shaughnessy – Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
Gavin Deans – Director Commercial
Mari Hurley – Chief Financial Officer
Patricia Monahan – Director of Audio
Richard Waghorn – Chief Technology Officer
Steve Carson – Director of Video
Kevin Bakhurst
Director-General
Kevin Bakhurst officially commenced the role of Director-General of RTÉ on Monday 10th July 2023. Kevin Bakhurst was previously Managing Director of News & Current Affairs at RTÉ and Deputy Director-General from September 2012 – October 2016. He was also a member of the RTÉ Executive throughout this period and served as acting Director-General for a six-month period. Prior to re-joining RTÉ,
Kevin Bakhurst was Group Director, Broadcasting and Online at Ofcom where he was a member of the Ofcom Board. Kevin’s responsibilities included setting Broadcast Strategy and Policy for UK broadcasting regulation, creating and implementing the framework for regulating the BBC, enforcing and developing editorial standards for UK broadcasters and leading work on the future of UK Public Service Broadcasting which has led directly to new government legislation. He has led Ofcom’s work on the UK’s new Online Safety Policy and built a team of around 350 to deliver it, including a new data and technology team, and in the process shaping the overall transformation of Ofcom to take on the new duties. Between 2006 and 2012, Kevin Bakhurst held a range of senior editorial positions at the BBC, including Controller, BBC News Channel and Deputy Head, BBC Newsroom from 2005. He was also a member of the BBC’s London 2012 Olympics Steering Committee
Adrian Lynch
Deputy Director-General and Director Audiences, Channels, Marketing
Adrian Lynch was previously Channel Controller for RTÉ One and RTÉ2 and in that capacity, launched ambitious new schedules for the services. Adrian has been with RTÉ since the end of 2014 and is formerly the Managing Director of one of Ireland’s most successful independent television production companies, Animo Television. Adrian now has responsibility for Strategy and Transformation at RTÉ as the company remodels itself to meet changing audience behaviors.
Deirdre McCarthy
Managing Director, RTÉ News and Current Affairs
Deirdre McCarthy was appointed Managing Director, RTÉ News & Current Affairs in December 2022 following a public competition. Deirdre is the first woman appointed to this position. Deirdre has been Managing Editor of Regions and Radio News programmes as well as politics and business coverage, where she shaped and expanded the organisation’s political and regional news coverage and strategy, particularly enhancing digital output.
She steered the growth of the flagship radio news programmes (Morning Ireland, News at One and This Week) and strengthened and delivered excellence in broadcasting in all three award winning programmes. Before this, Deirdre was RTÉ’s Political Coverage Editor at Leinster House, leading the reporting of political news stories as well as overseeing the live broadcasting of national events such as General Elections, election debates, Referenda including Marriage Equality and Abortion and Commemoration events such as Battle of the Somme Centenary. From 2008-2012 Deirdre was the editor of RTÉ’s dedicated political programme, The Week in Politics and Leaders’ Questions programmes during a time of huge political and economic upheaval.
Annette Malone
Chief People Officer
Prior to taking up the role of Chief People Officer at the end of March 2026, Annette was RTÉ’s Head of Human Resources – Audio and Video (formerly Content) from 2018, Head of Human Resources – RTÉ Television (2012 – 2018) and Head of Human Resources – RTÉ Radio (2010 – 2012). Annette has great strategic and collaborative skills as well as extensive expertise in the area of employee/industrial relations. She also has comprehensive knowledge of employment law, wide experience of labour relations frameworks and strong communication, people, and team leadership skills.
Eleanor O’Shaughnessy
Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
Eleanor leads RTÉ’s Risk and Compliance function and is responsible for establishing effective systems and frameworks for the identification, management, mitigation, monitoring, reporting, and onward escalation of risk and compliance matters to RTÉ’s Leadership Team and the RTÉ Board.
Eleanor was previously Director of Risk and Compliance with Primark and has previously held senior risk management roles with Paddy Power Betfair/Flutter
Entertainment Group plc, Deutsche Bank (London), and as a consultant with KPMG Dublin, Accenture London and Deloitte London.
Richard Waghorn
Chief Technology Officer
Richard joined RTÉ as Chief Technology Officer in February 2012 and leads the Technology division. During 2013, he was appointed as a director of RTÉ Transmission Network DAC. Richard holds a MBA from Henley Management College and is a graduate of the University of Leeds. Between 2009 and 2011, Richard was Chief Technology Officer at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Before that, he was Controller of Distribution at the BBC leading the implementation of digital switchover. At the BBC, he worked in a number of areas including strategy, online, interactive TV, distribution and radio production. Richard was a board director of Freesat, and project manager for the 2002 launch of Freeview in the UK.
Daniel Coady
Director of Legal Affairs
Daniel joined RTÉ in 2018, fulfilling a number of legal roles before being appointed Director of Legal Affairs in January 2024. He also served as RTÉ’s Data Protection Officer for 3 years.
He has extensive experience in media, privacy and data protection law. Prior to joining RTÉ he worked for 12 years at a leading boutique media law firm where he advised and represented a broad range of local, national and international media clients. He has tutored graduate students in the Law Society of Ireland Professional Practice Course and lectured on various aspects of media law in the Law Society of Ireland. He has served as a voluntary director of RTÉ Credit Union and is a graduate of UCD where he studied law.
Gavin Deans
Commercial Director
Gavin Deans is Commercial Director at RTÉ and a member of the organisation’s leadership team. He leads RTÉ’s commercial strategy across video, audio, digital and partnerships, with responsibility for driving sustainable revenue growth in support of RTÉ’s public-service mission.
Working closely with the RTÉ Executive and Board, Gavin oversees revenue optimisation, market strategy, client and agency partnerships, and the development of
data-led, cross-platform commercial propositions aligned to evolving audience and advertiser needs. His remit includes the transformation and diversification of RTÉ’s commercial revenues and the delivery of insight-driven, audience-first solutions across RTÉ’s portfolio.
A highly experienced commercial and media leader, Gavin has a strong track record in building high-performance teams and delivering long-term value through strategic partnerships. He sits on a number of media and industry boards. Prior to joining RTÉ, he held senior leadership roles across the Irish media sector, including as Managing Director of Media Central, and in senior positions with Communicorp, News UK & Ireland and Reach
Mari Hurley
Chief Financial Officer
Mari took up the role of Chief Financial Officer at RTÉ in August 2024. Mari’s previous CFO roles include AA Ireland, Premier Lotteries Ireland (operator of the National Lottery) -both regulated entities, Hostelworld Group plc and Sherry FitzGerald Group.
Mari was CFO of Hostelworld when it listed on the UK and Irish stock exchanges in 2015. Mari is a graduate of University College Cork and has completed the executive management program at Harvard Business School. Mari also has non-executive board experience in two of Ireland’s leading semi-state entities. Mari was previously a Non-Executive Director of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and of Ervia. Mari has served as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and Chair of the Credit and Remuneration Committees in both bodies.
Patricia Monahan
Director of Audio
Patricia Monahan joined RTÉ’s Leadership Team as Director of Audio in September 2024, following a public competition.
The Director of Audio, along with the Director of Video, are pivotal positions in the reshaping and transformation of RTÉ. As we embark on an ambitious new audio strategy, Patricia has responsibility for the development and editorial management of RTÉ’s audio and digital-audio services, including the programming of RTE’s four FM radio stations– RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and RTÉ lyric fm – alongside RTÉ’s digital, online, and podcasting services.
Patricia was previously Managing Editor at Newstalk, where she lead content across all the station’s platforms, and was responsible for devising, developing and implementing the station’s content strategy. She was also a member of the Bauer Media Audio Ireland Senior Leadership Team.
Steve Carson
Director of Video
Steve Carson rejoined RTÉ and joined its Leadership Team as Director of Video in September 2024, following a public competition.
The Director of Video, along with the Director of Audio, are pivotal positions in the reshaping and transformation of RTÉ. Steve’s exceptional experience and track record of creativity, with the BBC in Northern Ireland and Scotland and formerly with RTÉ, positions him to deliver real success across all genres. In particular, As Director of Video, Steve is responsible for the development and delivery of a comprehensive editorial strategy across all of RTÉ’s television stations and RTÉ Player.
Steve was previously Director of BBC Scotland, where he led all the BBC’s TV, Radio and Online teams across Scotland. BBC Scotland produces content in English and Gaelic on a range of television, radio and digital platforms, working in partnership with the wider Scottish creative sector, and across 13 bases in Scotland. Formerly the Director of Programmes for RTÉ Television, Steve moved to BBC Northern Ireland as Head of Productions, and then to BBC Scotland.