THE council-owned company responsible for running Belfast’s Waterfront and Ulster Hall venues has appointed a member of its own board of directors as its new chief executive, four months after hiring a headhunting firm for the six figure role.
Rob McConnell has been confirmed as the new boss of Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall (BWUH) Ltd.
A former head of technology firm Expleo’s Northern Ireland operations, Mr McConnell has sat on the BWUH board since April 1 2023.
With a lengthy career in the tech industry, he announced his departure from Expleo in a Linkedin post just before Christmas.
The council-owned events company, which is responsible for the ICC Belfast, Waterfront and Ulster Hall venues had been without a permanent CEO since the exit of Julia Corkey last year.
In September, BWUH hired the Belfast headhunting firm 4C Executive to help draw up a list of potential interview candidates for the vacant role.
It’s understood the position was originally promoted with a salary in the region of £120,000 per year.
BWUH Ltd chair Steve Daniels said: “Not only has Rob established his own credentials in leadership, business growth and sales development, he has a strong commercial drive and an extensive knowledge of Northern Ireland’s business and public sectors.
“Having worked closely with him in his non-executive role on our board, we have been impressed by his knowledge of our industry, his strategic approach to solutions and his passion to drive our venues forward in a data driven, innovative way.”
The latest accounts for BWUH Ltd show the events business recorded a loss in the year ending March 31 2024.
One of the biggest increases in costs last year was staff, with outgoings rising 16% year-on-year to £4.3 million.
In that same period, remuneration for 10 senior managers increased by just over 13% to £513,493, compared to the £452,878 for 11 senior managers in 2022/23.
BWUH said the increased costs were down to the creation of a new senior sales manager role and the promotion of existing senior managers.
A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said the salary increases were within limits that did not require council approval.
Allowances paid to BWUH’s eight directors also increased by 13% to £202,239 in the same period.
