About Us
Meet our Management Team
Ruairí O’Flynn - Managing Director, Canada Life
Ruairí joined Canada Life in 2002 and was appointed Managing Director in August 2009, having held a number of senior positions within Canada Life: Executive Director-Operations and Strategy (2002-2004), Vice President-Information Services Europe (2005-2007) and Managing Director of Setanta Asset Management (2007-2009). Ruairí is Chairman of Setanta Asset Management, Canada Life's investment business.
Ruairí has over 20 years experience in senior executive roles in banking and insurance. He was a senior executive at Bank of Ireland Group where he had a number of executive and management roles. He was Managing Director of the Bank's Lifetime Assurance business for 6 years and held positions as Director - U.K., Lifetime Assurance, Regional Manager Branch Banking and Head of Retail Marketing.
In 1981, Ruairí graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a first class honours degree in Business Studies. In 1993, he completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School, and in 2000 he graduated from Trinity College Dublin with the MSc. (Mgmt.) in Organisational Behaviour.
David P. Boyle, General Counsel – Ireland
David joined Canada Life in 1999 as a solicitor in the company’s Legal & Compliance Department. He was appointed to head the department in 2006.
In his role as General Counsel, he manages all of the legal and compliance affairs of Canada Life’s Irish Division. He is Company Secretary for all the Irish Division companies and is also the designated Officer for Money Laundering Reporting and Data Protection in Ireland.
Prior to joining Canada Life, he was employed in a civil law practice in Dublin where his main focus was defence litigation and commercial law. A graduate of University College Dublin, David is a member of the Law Society of Ireland.
Kieran Dempsey - Managing Director, Setanta Asset Management
Kieran joined Setanta Asset Management in January 2008 and is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. He has 26 years investment experience, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of GE Asset Management Ltd. He had been with GE for 13 years, including seven years in Munich, Germany as Chief Investment Officer of GE Insurance Solutions. Prior to GE, Kieran worked at ABN Amro in London for 9 years in various investment roles, including 3 years as Head of Investments of Private Banking. Kieran holds a BA from University College Dublin. He is Chairman of Canada Life International Re Limited and a Director of Canada Life Irish Holding Company Limited. Kieran is a board member of the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM).
Donal Hennigan - Operations Director
Donal joined Canada Life in January 2002 and held a number of roles in the Pensions Department before being appointed as Director of Operations in 2008.
Donal has over 20 years experience in the Life & Pensions industry and prior to joining Canada Life spent 14 years with Zurich Life where he held various roles in the pensions administration function.
Donal is a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and an Associate of the Irish Taxation Institute.
Linda Kerrigan, Appointed Actuary – Ireland
Since joining Canada Life in 1998, Linda has held a variety of positions within the actuarial areas of Corporate Reporting and Product Development. In 2005, she was appointed Business Development Director with Canada Life Ireland. In 2007, Linda became Appointed Actuary for Canada Life (Ireland) and Head of the Corporate Actuarial Department. In this role, Linda has responsibility for leading the actuarial teams in risk management, actuarial valuations and solvency reporting, financial reporting and technical services. Linda is also the PRSA Actuary for Canada Life.
Linda is a graduate of University College Dublin and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.
Oonagh O'Driscoll - HR Director
Since joining Canada Life in 1995, Oonagh has held a variety of positions within HR. She was appointed HR Manager in 2002 and HR Director in 2008. In her role, Oonagh manages all aspects of Human Resources across the Great West businesses in Ireland including Canada Life’s Irish and German Divisions and both the London Life and Canada Life Reinsurance businesses. In 2010 Oonagh assumed responsibility for Facilities Management including Health & Safety and Business Continuity within Canada Life. Oonagh has spent the majority of her career with Canada Life, prior experience was with Intel and Norwich Union. A Business Studies graduate of the University of Limerick, Oonagh is a Fellow of the CIPD and also holds a project management qualification.
Pat Hayes - Financial Controller
Pat joined Canada Life in October 2011 as Financial Controller for Canada Life Ireland, Canada Life Europe and Setanta Asset Management. Prior to joining Canada Life, Pat was the Finance Director with The Hartford from 2004 to 2011. Pat has over 20 years experience in the insurance industry, including holding roles with Zurich Life, Bank of Ireland Life and The Hartford. Pat is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants.