Steve Cutler

Steve Cutler
Dr. Steve Cutler
Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Steve Cutler was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ICON plc in March 2017, having previously served as Chief Operating Officer from January 2014. Dr. Cutler served as Group President of Clinical Research Services since November 2011 until his appointment as Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Cutler was appointed to the Board of ICON plc in November 2015.

Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Cutler held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Kendle, having previously served as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Kendle, Dr. Cutler spent 14 years with Quintiles where he served as Senior Vice President, Global Project Management; Senior Vice President, Clinical, Medical and Regulatory; Senior Vice President, Project Management - Europe; and Vice President, Oncology - Europe, as well as regional leadership positions in South Africa and Australia. Prior to joining Quintiles, Dr. Cutler held positions with Sandoz (now Novartis) in Australia and Europe.

Dr. Cutler holds a B.Sc. and a Ph.D from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Edward Roberts

    Mr. Edward Roberts
    Non. Exec. Director

    Mr. Roberts has served as an outside director of the Company since February 1998.

    Mr. Roberts was Managing Director of the Pharmaceutical Division of Merck KGaA from 1990 to 1998. Prior to that, he held a number of senior management positions with Eli Lilly International in Europe and the United States.

    Mr. Roberts has over 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Mr Roberts serves as Chairman of Merz & Co. GmbH and is also on the Board of Lupin.

    Peter Gray

      Mr Peter Gray ****new
      Chief Executive Officer
      Peter Gray is the Chief Executive and a Director of ICON. He has been with
the company since 1997, initially as CFO and later as COO. He became CEO in 2002.
      Peter has over 16 years experience in the pharmaceutical services industry and has also worked in the engineering and food sectors. Peter qualified in Law from Trinity College Dublin in 1977 and with KPMG became a chartered accountant in 1980.

      John Climax

        John Climax
        Dr. John Climax
        Non-Executive Director

        Dr. John Climax, one of the ICON's co-founders, served as Chair of the Board of ICON plc from November 2002 to December 2009 and as Chief Executive Officer from June 1990 to October 2002. Since January 2010 he has held a position as a Non-Executive Director of ICON plc. Dr. Climax has over 30 years of experience in the clinical research industry.

        Dr. Climax received his primary degree in pharmacy in 1977 from the University of Singapore, his masters in applied pharmacology in 1979 from the University of Wales and his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the National University of Ireland in 1982. He has authored a significant number of papers and presentations, and holds adjunct professorship at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and an honorary professorship at the National University of Singapore. He is currently Executive Chair of DS Biopharma and CEO of Afimmune, both of which are private companies.

        Independent Director

        Dermot Kelleher

          Dermot Kelleher
          Prof. Dermot Kelleher
          Non-Executive Director

          Professor Dermot Kelleher has served as a non-executive director of ICON plc since May 2008.

          Professor Kelleher is currently Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. From 2012 to 2015 he was Vice President (Health) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London and concurrently Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore from 2012 to 2014. From 2004 to 2012 he was Head of the School of Medicine and Vice Provost for Medical Affairs at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland where he led the development of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Molecular Medicine Ireland. Professor Kelleher’s research interests have focused on immunology of gastrointestinal infection, cancer and inflammatory diseases and over a distinguished thirty year career he has led significant research projects in this field. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
           
          Alongside his notable academic appointments, Professor Kelleher has been President of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine, has served as a visiting research scientist with a major pharmaceutical company and has been a founder of a number of biotechnology companies.

          Ciaran Murray

            Ciaran Murray
            Mr. Ciaran Murray
            Chairman

            Mr. Ciaran Murray graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin in 1982. Mr. Murray subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC. Following qualification, Mr. Murray gained extensive global experience working as an executive in the fast moving consumer goods and technology sectors in Ireland, Italy, the UK and the US.

            Mr. Murray has been the Chair of ICON plc since March 2017. Mr. Murray served as Chief Executive Officer from October 2011 until March 2017 and was Chief Financial Officer from joining ICON plc in 2005 until his appointment as Chief Executive Officer in 2011.

            During his time with ICON plc, Mr. Murray was recognized for his leadership of ICON and the CRO industry. Mr. Murray served as Chair of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) which represents the CRO industry globally. In addition, Mr. Murray was named as a leader in CRO Innovation by PharmaVOICE100, a listing of the most influential people in the bio pharma industry.

            University College Dublin awarded Mr. Murray an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 2013 for his support of third level research and innovation in Ireland. In 2018, the Royal Dublin Society awarded Mr. Murray the RDS Gold Medal for Enterprise for making an exceptional impact on Irish industry and commerce. Mr. Murray is also a member of the advisory Board of UCD Smurfit Business School.

            Independent Director
            Chairman of the Board

            Ronan Murphy

            Rónán Murphy
            Mr. Rónán Murphy
            Non-Executive Director

            Mr. Rónán Murphy has served as a Non-Executive Director of ICON plc since October 2016. He was appointed as Lead Independent Director in January 2019. 

            Mr. Murphy is the former Senior Partner of PwC Ireland. He was elected Senior Partner in 2007 and was re-elected for a further four year term in 2011. Following completion of the maximum two terms, Mr. Murphy retired from the firm in 2015. Mr. Murphy was also a member of the PwC EMEA Leadership Board for a five year period from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Murphy joined PwC in 1980 and was admitted to the Partnership in 1992.

            Mr. Murphy is presently Chair of Greencoat Renewables PLC. Mr. Murphy previously served as a council member of the ESRI, as Chair of Business in the Community Ireland and as a Non-Executive Director of Davy Stockbrokers. He is also a founding Board Member of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Murphy completed a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Business Studies at University College Dublin before qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1982.

            Independent Director
            Lead Director

            Declan McKeon

              Declan McKeon
              Mr. Declan McKeon
              Non-Executive Director

              Mr. Declan McKeon has served as a non-executive director of ICON plc since April 2010 and served as acting Chairman from April 2016 until March 2017.  He served as the Lead Independent Director from March 2017 to December 2018.

              Mr. McKeon was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1986 to 2007. His roles included leadership of the audit and business advisory team for PwC Ireland, membership of the PwC Europe audit and business advisory services executive and market sector leader for consumer and industrial products. Mr. McKeon is a non-executive director of Ryanair plc.

              Mr. McKeon holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Business Studies from University College Dublin and is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

              Director Since

              Brendan Brennan

                Brendan Brennan
                Mr. Brendan Brennan
                Chief Financial Officer

                Mr. Brendan Brennan has served as Chief Financial Officer since February 2012. Mr. Brennan has developed his career over the last 21 years from experience in various industries. Mr. Brennan joined ICON in 2006 and he has served in a number of senior finance roles in the Company including the role of Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance. Prior to this he developed his broad financial experience in Cement Roadstone Holdings, a major Irish building materials organization. Mr. Brennan spent a number of years in public accounting with PwC prior to this. Mr. Brennan is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Dublin City University. Over his many years of experience in the CRO industry Mr. Brennan has been involved in many industry organizations and developments including ACRO (Association of Clinical Research Organizations) where he was the founding Chairman of the industry CFO round table group, a group formed to aid CROs dealing with the various industry challenges. Mr. Brennan held the position of Chairman of the round table from its foundation in 2017 to December 31, 2019.

                Director Since

                Diarmaid Cunningham

                  Mr. Diarmaid Cunningham
                  Mr. Diarmaid Cunningham
                  Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Company Secretary

                  Mr. Diarmaid Cunningham is Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Company Secretary. 

                  Mr. Cunningham joined the Company as General Counsel in November 2009.  From 2009 until 2013, Mr. Cunningham was based in the Company’s global headquarters in Dublin.  In 2013, Mr. Cunningham was seconded to the Company’s US headquarters in Pennsylvania and that secondment ended in 2018 when Mr. Cunningham returned to Dublin.

                  In July 2016, Mr. Cunningham’s role expanded to include Chief Administrative Officer in addition to General Counsel which added responsibility for the Company’s Quality Assurance, Client Contracts Services, Facilities and Procurement groups in addition to his responsibility for the Company’s Legal group. In 2023, Symphony Health (ICON's data business) moved to report to Mr. Cunningham and was also added to his group. 

                  Mr. Cunningham graduated with a Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies from University College Dublin in 1997, qualified as a lawyer in 2001 and completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University in California in 2015.  Mr. Cunningham served as Secretary to the Board of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) in 2013, 2014, 2020 and 2021. ACRO represents the CRO industry globally to key stakeholders including pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, regulators, legislators and patient groups.

                  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cunningham spent 10 years with A&L Goodbody, one of Ireland's premier corporate law firms.

                  In January 2021, Mr. Cunningham was appointed as a non-executive director of the Irish charity The Jack & Jill Foundation.



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