Members of the Authority

Patricia Byron
Chair
Patricia Byron has worked as a senior executive in the Insurance and related financial services sector over many years. She was the first CEO of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), an independent State body, established to reform a costly personal injury claims environment. Patricia was appointed as Chairperson of the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland where she led a reform programme, focusing on business transformation and effectiveness. When appointed as Chairperson of the Association of Chief Executives of State Bodies, she became actively involved in a number of public sector reform initiatives.
Patricia now sits on the Board of the Central Bank of Ireland Commission and the National Treatment Purchase Fund and chairs a number of public sector Audit committees, including the Department of Finance.
Patricia is a graduate of UCD, a Chartered Insurer and a Past President of the Insurance Institute.
Dr John Evans
Dr. John Evans has over 20 years’ experience in the area of competition and regulation. He is currently the Director of Strategy and Economics at ComReg, the Irish communications regulator, which he joined in 2015. John’s responsibilities include strategic planning, research & economics, and international activities relating to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, in which he has served as an alternate member of the Board since 2018.
Prior to joining ComReg, John worked in various roles at the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (and previously the Irish Competition Authority), latterly as the Director of Civil Competition Law Enforcement.
John holds a PhD in Economics from UCD, Ireland.

Caroline Barlow
Caroline is a highly accomplished senior actuary with over 34 years’ experience in a wide variety of general insurance roles at both UK and European level, serving as the Head of Actuarial Function for a major International Insurance Company. Caroline’s professional career has given her a deep understanding of the insurance business and the associated risks.

Damien McShane
Damien is a lawyer admitted to the bar in both Ireland and New York. He is a seasoned legal advisor and corporate executive with significant senior level experience across the financial sector and health insurance sector. He holds degrees from the Queen’s University of Belfast, National University of Ireland, University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns and University of Oxford.

John Armstrong
John is a senior actuary and health economist. He completed his undergraduate studies in Trinity College Dublin and his postgraduate studies in Georgetown University, Washington DC. He has extensively researched on many health insurance reform topics and has active research and teaching links with both the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin.
He has over 25 years experience working in the health insurance industry. Furthermore, he has advised over 20 countries on health financing reform topics in many diverse parts of the world, including the reform of their health insurance sector.

Marcella Flood
Marcella is a seasoned business leader, with a strong commercial acumen, working at Director level for over a decade. She has extensive experience in operations and technology strategies. Marcella is a Chartered Director from the Institute of Directors UK and holds an MBA from Smurfit school, University College Dublin.

Michael A. O’Sullivan
Michael is a Civil Engineer, Chartered Management Accountant and holds an MBA from UCC. He has significant board experience in diverse roles including finance, business planning, regulatory affairs and healthcare.