Team

At Cognate Health, we’ve built a multidisciplinary team dedicated to delivering quality service nationwide.

Led by Professor John Gallagher, our team of occupational health experts have worked with our clients on the design and management of their occupational health support for over 25 years.

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Team

At Cognate Health, we have built a multidisciplinary team that is dedicated to delivering quality service nationwide.

Led by Professor John Gallagher, our team of occupational health experts have worked with our clients in the design and management of their occupational health for over 20 years.

[team]

Founder & Chief Medical Officer
Professor John Gallagher

Chief Financial Officer
Jim O’Shaughnessy

Senior Medical Consultant
Dr Shane Farrelly

Occupational Health Manager
Sharon Cleary

Business Planning Manager
Charlotte Driscoll

Consultant Occupational Physician
Dr. Kevin O’Sullivan

Consultant Occupational Health Physician
Dr Paola Chavez

Occupational Health Advisor
Susan Carter

Occupational Health Consultant
Dr Raul Venegas Perez

Chief Executive Officer

Paula Cogan

Paula has a long and distinguished career in business, most recently as a senior executive in the Doyle Hotel Group where she held the role of Director of Sales and Marketing for their Irish and international chain of hotels. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience particularly in the areas of business development and sales growth.

Paula is currently President of Cork Chamber of Commerce as well as serving on a number of other advisory boards.

She holds a BA and MA from University College Cork and completed a Diploma in International Sales and Marketing with Cornell University.

Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Professor John Gallagher

Professor John Gallagher is a medical doctor specialising in Occupational Medicine. He graduated in 1985 at University College Cork (UCC), attained his Membership of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 1992 and Fellowship in 1997. He completed a Masters degree at the Institute of Occupational Health, University of Birmingham in 1991 and was the winner of the inaugural John Darwall Prize.

John is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland since 2005 and is the Occupational Physician and Head of the Occupational Health Department for HSE South, based at Cork University Hospital. At UCC, John is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Occupational Medicine and the Academic Director of the Diploma in Safety, Health & Welfare at Work.

He is also an examiner, trainer and past Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. John is the Founder and Managing Director of Employment Health Advisers Ltd.

Chief Financial Officer

Jim O’Shaughnessy

Jim O’Shaughnessy is Chief Finance Officer at Cognate Health having joined the company in October 2019.

A highly motivated and experienced finance professional, Jim worked for 24 years at the Bon Secours Health System — the largest provider of private healthcare in the State — where as Chief Finance Officer he managed all aspects of the finance function. This included Financial Planning, Corporate Reporting, Treasury, Risk Management, Insurance and compliance with Companies and Charities legislation.

Educated at Presentation Brothers Cork, Jim holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University College Cork (1982) and a post graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting from University College Dublin (1983). He completed professional accounting training with PricewaterhouseCoopers (1985) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (FCA) since 1995.

Post qualification in 1985, Jim spent a number of years abroad in London and the USA working in various financial roles in investment banking, advertising and food manufacturing, returning to Ireland in 1997 to take up his role at Bon Secours.

Jim gives generously of his time and is on the Board of Cork Simon and is also a member of the Board of Management of the School of the Divine Child (Lavanagh) in Cork.

Chairperson

Noel Creedon

Noel has a proven track record of scaling businesses in a CEO/Chairman role. Noel has senior executive experience in a variety of roles and sectors including financial services, private banking, hospitality and healthcare.

He has held senior management roles with Bank of Scotland and Halifax in the UK, as well as lead regional roles in the middle east for UK insurers.

In 2012, Noel set up iNua Hospitality and has since then, established this business as the leading regional hotel chain in Ireland.

He has also served on the Board of the Ditchley Care Group specialising in nursing home and primary care facilities.

Noel took up his role with Cognate Health in January 2020 and works closely with the CEO and Senior -Executive Team of Cognate Health and chairs the Board of Directors.

Senior Medical Consultant

Dr Shane Farrelly

Dr Shane Farrelly has over 30 years’ experience as an expert in International Occupational Medicine. He is a consultant to a number of international companies providing guidance to the Companies Corporate Health Departments in the design and implementation of Global Occupational Health Programmes. In 2014, he was appointed as one of three Senior Medical Advisors to the Irish Health & Safety Authority.

He is an expert in rehabilitating employees with long term absence back to work and has worked with the insurance industry in designing and implementing proven and effective rehabilitation programmes globally. Dr Farrelly is also a specialist in Absence and Strategic Case Management and has designed and implemented programmes which have significantly reduced short, medium and long term absence.

Operations Manager

Michael Philpott

Michael is responsible for building and controlling the operating processes and systems at Cognate Health, which service both existing and new business.

He has invaluable experience and insights having held Support and Systems Engineering positions with both Citco and Dell, and more recently, senior management roles in CareChoice and Ditchley Nursing Home Group, ensuring all homes were fit for purpose and operated in a safe and efficient manner.

Michael is a Computer Science graduate from University College Cork and holds a MSc in Occupational Health and a HDip Safety, Health and Welfare at Work, both also from UCC.

Occupational Health Manager

Sharon Cleary

Sharon is a Registered General Nurse and Specialist Community Public Health Nurse – Occupational Health. She has 17 years of occupational health experience and eight years’ practice in managing occupational health services in Ireland and the UK.

Sharon has occupational health expertise and knowledge in a wide variety of disciplines, which include corporate, manufacturing, airport and aviation industry, transportation, construction, cleaning, government departments, utilities, and pharmaceutical, along with the NHS and HSE.

Business Planning Manager

Charlotte Driscoll

Charlotte has worked with Cognate Health since 2002, previously as a Quality & Document Control Manager before taking up the role of Business Planning Manager.

As Business Planning Manager, Charlotte facilitates the cooperative running of all key functions of the business. This includes ensuring key objectives are met and exceeded, the collation of key metrics from the company’s business unit, marketing, communications and strategic planning.

Charlotte holds a HDip in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work from University College Cork.

Human Resources Manager

Ann Shalloe

Ann is a Human Resources Professional with over 20 years experience providing guidance and leadership to Managers in different industries including the retail, manufacturing and services sectors.

Ann graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) from University College Cork (1992) and with a Masters Degree in Human Resource and Occupational Psychology also from U.C.C (1993). Ann has extensive experience across all areas of Human Resources, especially in recruitment, performance management, employee development, employee relations and compensation and benefits. She has been working as a Human Resources Manager in the Occupational Health Services for over 10 years.

Consultant Occupational Physician

Dr. Kevin O’Sullivan

MB BCh BAO MRCGP MFOMI

Dr Kevin O’Sullivan is a specialist in Occupational Medicine, which he practices in all areas but has a particular interest in musculoskeletal medicine and ergonomics. He holds a Diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine and a Diploma in Sports Medicine from the Royal Colleges of Scotland. Kevin is a part time lecturer in UCC for the Higher Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work and also for the Msc course in Occupational Health. Kevin has a particular interest in travel medicine.

Consultant Occupational Health Physician

Dr Paola Chavez

Dr Paola Chavez graduated from Scientific University of the South (Universidad Científica del Sur) in Lima, Peru in 2007. She finished her training in Occupational Health in Valladolid-Spain (2010-2014). Dr Chavez has been working as an Occupational Health Consultant since then, between the cities of Valladolid and Barcelona. She has a Master Degree in Bodily Injury and Medical Expertise from Barcelona University (2017-2019).

Physician

Dr Rozali Athanasaki

Dr. Rozali Athanasaki is a medical doctor who initially specialised and practiced Forensic Medicine in Greece. She completed her medical degree at the University of Nis, Serbia (1999) and went on to gain a Masters degree in Medical Ethics and Law from Keele University UK (2009) before completing a PhD in medico-legal ethics from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (2014).

From being the Consultant Forensic Pathologist for the North Aegean area to an accredited Doping Control Officer by WADA in Greece, Dr Athanasaki has held posts with high responsibility throughout her career. Forensic medicine, report writing, drug testing and traumatology are her areas of special expertise.

Dr Athanasaki has a particular interest in medico-legal cases and medical ethics and is a key member of the occupational medical expert team at Cognate Health.

Physician

Dr. Andrew Crosbie

Dr Andrew Crosbie graduated from UCC and holds General Practice Memberships in both Ireland and the UK. Dr Andrew works on a sessional basis at Cognate Health bringing his wide-ranging generalist skills to Occupational Medicine. He has a range of interests including musculoskeletal medicine and workplace injury.

Occupational Health Advisor

Susan Carter

Susan qualified from London South Bank University as an RGN in 2003 with a BSc (Hons) in General Nursing. She has worked as a Clinical Nurse Manager in London in medical, surgical settings and Cardiac HDU.

She returned to Ireland in 2007 and continued to work within the speciality of cardiology and has over 10 years’ experience in Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratories and Urgent Cardiac Care. In 2015, Susan completed a Diploma in Health Services Management.

She has a keen interest in employee health & wellbeing, health promotion and education within the workplace. She joined Cognate Health in 2017 as an Occupational Health Nurse and recently completed a MSc in Occupational Health and Safety from University College Cork.

Physician

Dr Eibhlis O’Leary

Administrator

Sandra Cronin

After completing a diploma to become Pharmacy Technician, Sandra devoted much of her career to the pharmaceutical industry. For thirty years to be exact. Recently, she decided to return to education to learn all about the world of Medical Administration and has now joined Cognate Health to put this education into practice and to keep the team in check.

Administrator

Caroline Foley

After completing a BSc in Computer Science at University College Cork, Caroline worked as a Course Administrator at the Law Society of Ireland’s law school in Cork. Caroline later relocated to Blackhall Place, Dublin where she took up the role of Administration Team Leader at the Law Society of Ireland’s Diploma Centre.

Caroline moved back to Cork and joined Cognate Health in 2018 as a Central Administrator. The Central Administration team support the smooth running of Cognate Health’s operational activities. Together with her colleagues, Caroline facilitates appointment bookings, issues reports and medical certificates and fields queries. She liaises closely with Cognate Health’s network clinics around Ireland in addition to Cognate Health’s clients.

Administrator

Ciara Barber

After beginning her career in the hospitality industry, an opportunity arose for Ciara to further her education and return to college full time. She completed a Business Administration – Medical Secretary course in the Mallow College of Further Education in 2015. On completion of this course, Ciara was successful in immediately securing a position as a PA for a private consultant in the Mater hospital.

Her extensive experience of dealing with the public became invaluable when communicating with the clients and a multi-disciplinary team within the hospital and private clinic. During her time there, she further developed her skills and knowledge in the medical sector.

Ciara joined the team at Cognate Health in November 2019 where she began the role of Network Administrator.

Finance Manager

Nora Kennelly

Nora joined Cognate Health in July 2018, two years after relocating from Dublin. After qualifying as a CPA from Griffith College, Dublin, Nora worked for many years in Practice, Industry and Professional Services and brings this vast experience to her role in Cognate.

Outside of work, Nora walks her two Jack Russell dogs and is a Munster supporter.

Occupational Health Consultant

Dr Raul Venegas Perez

Dr Raul Venegas Perez is an experienced Occupational Health (OH) physician. He relocated from Spain to Dublin to fulfil his role, enhancing the multi-lingual capability at Cognate Health. He brings more than 15 years’ international experience as a medical professional specialising in the area of Occupational Health.

Dr Venegas Perez previously held senior positions within Health and Safety, and Occupational Health services, across industries including energy and healthcare.

As an OH physician, Dr Venegas Perez is motivated by the goal to maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers in all occupations, given the amount of time spent each week at work and the impact this has on quality of life.

Dr Venegas Perez was drawn Cognate Health as an organisation that aims to enhance the health and wellbeing of employees across Ireland, working side by side with the employer. He supports the solutions based approach to occupational health, responding with a complete service [and innovative occupational health capabilities based on employer and employee needs], supporting a healthier workforce.

His areas of specialty include industrial safety, toxicology, ergonomics and health care management.

Dr Venegas Perez was awarded a Specialist in Occupational Health Medicine qualification in 2013 from the University of Barcelona in Spain, following a Master’s in Evaluating Medicine in 2012. He also holds a postgraduate qualification in Occupational Toxicology from the University of Barcelona. Dr Venegas Perez graduated from Anahuac University, Mexico with an honours degree in Medicine in 2006.

He is a member of the Spanish Association of Occupational Medicine (AEEMT).

Dr Venegas Perez has acted as a medical volunteer at the Red Cross in Andorra and Salamanca Spain, as well as working to support people with disabilities.