Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has appointed Maria McAllister to the board of Invest NI following the resignation of Peter Lynch.
The appointment will take effect from 1 August 2026 and run until 31 March 2029. The Department for the Economy said it has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.
Dr Archibald said Ms McAllister brings experience in governance and risk management to the board as Invest NI continues work to support businesses, attract investment and drive economic growth. The minister also thanked Mr Lynch for his contribution during his time on the board.
Invest NI was established under the Industrial Development Act (Northern Ireland) 2002. It is Northern Ireland’s economic development agency and a delivery partner of the Department for the Economy, supporting entrepreneurs and investors through programmes, advice and sector-specific support.
The department said Ms McAllister is an experienced non-executive director and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. It said she has more than 30 years of strategic, financial, governance and risk management experience, largely in financial services.
Her previous roles include senior leadership posts at Bank of Ireland, where the department said she worked on organisational programmes involving cultural transformation, business development, governance, risk oversight and customer outcomes. She is currently Transformation and Governance Director at GM Marketing (Ireland) Limited.
Ms McAllister is also a non-executive director with the NOW Group, a social enterprise based in Belfast and Dublin. The board role carries remuneration of £15,565 a year, and the department said Ms McAllister holds no other public appointments.