Our People

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.

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.

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.

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.

As Non-Executive Director on the Board, Professor Mary Horgan works closely with Professor John Gallagher on ensuring the best clinical standards for the business.

The current/former President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine at Cork University Hospital, Professor Horgan served as Dean of the University College Cork School of Medicine from 2013-2017.

A renowned expert in infectious disease, Professor Horgan is the current Chair of the Health Research Board’s National Research Ethics Committee for COVID-19-related Research.

Professor Horgan also served on Boards for the Health Products Regulatory Authority; Mercy University Hospital; and the Governing Body of UCC. She is formerly a Board Member of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and previous Chair of the Council of Deans of Medical Schools of Ireland.

She graduated from University College Dublin in 1986 and was awarded her MD in 1995, MRCPI in 1988 and FRCPI in 1997.

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.

Denis has extensive commercial and industry experience built up over the last twenty years.  A BBS graduate from UCC, Denis also holds an MSc. in International Business & Marketing from the University of Dublin, Trinity College.  Prior to joining the Cognate Health team, Denis worked on the senior management team with Dairygold / 4HOME Superstores, Eurostyle Group, Dolmen Stockbrokers and he also trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in Dublin.

denis@cognatehealth.ie

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Rozali Athanasaki has been working in Cognate  health  since  2015. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Nis, Serbia, she then specialised in Forensic Pathology in the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. In 2009, Rozali received her MA in Medical Ethics and Law from Keele University UK and in 2014 was awarded a PhD  in Medico- Legal ethics from the University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her extensive research equipped her with a strong grasp of European regulations on healthcare and medical research.  From being the Consultant Forensic Pathologist for the North Aegean area in Greece to an accredited Doping Officer with WADA, Rozali has held posts with high responsibility throughout her career. She is experienced in sampling, inspection and auditing in health care environments and has a deep interest in improving quality control for reports and workflows.

Rozali holds a General Registration with the Irish Medical Council (Reg. Number : 419459)

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.