Niall Saul is currently Group HR Director with Michael McNamara and Co, one of the leading construction operations in Ireland.  Niall joined McNamara’s from Irish Life & Permanent where he was Group Head of HR and Organisation Development.  Niall has over 30 year’s experience in the areas of HRM, OD, IR and Change Management in a series of major companies.

This experience includes leading and supporting major organisational change / business turnaround and Merger & Acquisition Projects in Ireland and internationally.  His career includes Senior HR Management/Director level positions in the Banking / Financial Services, European Automotive, Construction, Luxury branded goods, Retail and Electronics industries. He has worked in consultancy posts in the IR/Labour Management Relations areas with the FIE (now IBEC) and the Irish Productivity Centre.

His particular areas of interest include the role of the HR in turnaround / survival situations, the Management of Change, maximising value in Merger & Acquisition initiatives, the creation of “competitively focused” organisations, and the development of competence based approaches to performance management.  Niall is an advocate of HR as a strategic enterprise business partner.  Through his connection with the High Performance Group and Symbio HR consultancy firms, he is involved in the design and implementation of lean organisation strategies, particularly in service industries. He is also interested in the development of commercial/competitiveness driven partnership models for the management of change. 

Niall is a Fellow of the CIPD and holds a Master’s Degree in Change Management, (HEC/INSEAD-France). He is an adjunct professor of the National College of Ireland, a member of the National Executive Council of IBEC and Chairman IBEC’s Human Resource and Social Policy Committee. He is a board member and Chairman of the Audit Committee of FAS, a board member of Skillnets and is on the board of Dublin Simon Community. Niall was a member of IBEC’s negotiating team on the talks leading to the recent National Agreement “Towards 2016” and is a Trustee of the Industrial Relations Research Trust based at Trinity College in Dublin.