Top UK business executive appointed honorary treasurer of Queen's 

08 September 2015

Senate has approved the appointment of Ms Orla Corr as the University’s new Honorary Treasurer. Ms Corr replaces Dr Stephen Kingon, who recently took up the position of Pro-Chancellor.

A Queen’s 1989 BSc Accounting graduate, Ms Corr is a shareholder and Executive Chair of The McAvoy Group Limited in Dungannon, a leading UK and Irish off-site construction firm. Ms Corr is one of the few women in the building industry to hold a post at this senior level.

The principal role of the Honorary Treasurer is to oversee the financial affairs of the University on behalf of Senate, Queen’s Governing Body. Not directly involved in day-to-day executive financial management, the Honorary Treasurer works closely with the Vice-Chancellor, the Registrar and Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Finance. 

Ms Corr has been credited with turning the family-run business, formed in 1973, into an international company with an annual turnover in excess of £40m in just 10 years. The McAvoy Group is located in Dungannon, Lisburn, Dublin and London, employs 150 staff and has a turnover of £24m. The firm has secured major contracts at hospitals, schools, government buildings, offices, airports and harbours across the UK and Ireland.

Winner in 2011 of the Women in Business NI’s Award for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and a former Outstanding Business Woman of the Year, Ms Corr was the first female to be introduced into the Invest NI Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame in recognition of her business achievements within the McAvoy Group. 

The title of Outstanding Business Woman of the Year also brought with it the honour of being the first Entrepreneur in Residence at the Leadership Institute at Queen’s University Management School.

Ms Corr was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for services to the construction industry in Northern Ireland. Currently a Director of the Odyssey Trust Company (OTC), she is also Chair of Odyssey Millennium Limited, OTC’s commercial trading company.

The Honorary Treasurer also plays an essential governance role, and acts as Chair of the Investment Committee. An important ambassador for the University Ms Corr will also participate in key ceremonial events throughout the academic year, including graduation.

Ms Corr has been appointed for an initial four year period, beginning on 1 October 2015.

For further details on the role of Honorary Treasurer, please contact Clare Jamison in the Registrar's Office on 028 9097 2505.

 

 

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