BACKGROUND:With the founder's departure imminent, the focus at Goal has turned to who will succeed him, writes PAUL CULLEN
OVER 35 years, the aid agency founded by former sports journalist John O’Shea has grown into a highly respected and competent organisation delivering assistance to some of the most needy people in the world.
However, O’Shea’s stewardship of Goal has also been marked by periods of tumult and disagreement, both internal and external. In the 1990s, the Department of Foreign Affairs suspended funding for a time over accounting issues that were later resolved. Last year saw a series of departures from the board after a row over corporate management.
Meanwhile, O’Shea’s forceful personality has repeatedly seen him involved in vitriolic disputes over issues such as corruption and the United Nations’ involvement in aid.
At 68, and following a battle with cancer, the Goal founder is at an age when most people would prefer to be on the golf course rather than at the office. O’Shea, however, isn’t like most people; if he was, he wouldn’t have had the drive to set up an aid agency single-handedly and deliver humanitarian aid in some of the toughest environments on earth.
Far from bowing out quietly, he went to the High Court last month to prevent Goal from dismissing him as chief executive. That case was eventually settled, and O’Shea agreed to depart at the end of August. The board, which had denied trying to remove him, gave a vague undertaking to “explore opportunities to collaborate” with O’Shea “for the betterment of the organisation” in the future.
Though formally he remains in situ, O’Shea is currently on holiday and is unlikely to reappear in the Dún Laoghaire office prior to his retirement. The agency was unable to say yesterday how this event would be marked.
With his departure imminent, interest is now focusing on who will succeed him at the helm of Goal.
His daughter Lisa, head of marketing and fundraising, has been the public face of the agency in recent years, and is considered a likely candidate.
However, other prominent members of senior management are also likely to be interested in the post. These include acting chief operating officer Jonathan Edgar and internal audit manager Jerry Cole. Edgar will take over as acting chief executive on O’Shea’s departure.
Edgar and Cole are the two senior employees who feature in a draft report prepared by KPMG in relation to the charity’s tax treatment of them, which has just surfaced. Both, along with another employee, David Adams, are UK-domiciled but work most of the time in the Republic.
The report was commissioned on foot of concerns raised by senior management about the organisation’s tax compliance. This occurred before O’Shea went to the High Court.
Despite the settlement in that case, it has now been leaked. While no one will go on the record, some in Goal are interpreting this as an attempt to impugn the reputation of Edgar and Cole. On the other side of the dispute, a member of staff has contacted the Revenue Commissioners about the tax issues involved.
Goal’s board is due to meet soon to make arrangements for a successor to be appointed to O’Shea. For the sake of the agency’s reputation, it might be wise to act promptly to bring this unhappy chapter in Goal’s history to a quick end.