Insurance Ireland / Willis Towers Watson INED Forum

Date: Wednesday, 3 December 2025

Time: 11.15am – 12.30pm (followed by a networking lunch)

Venue: Willis Towers Watson House, Elm Park, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 P231

Overview
As part of the Insurance Ireland INED Council’s ongoing work to support the industry’s INED community, we are partnering with Willis Towers Watson to deliver a series of Insurance Ireland’s INED Forums focusing on INEDs and their role in an ever-changing environment.

We are delighted to announce that Seána Cunningham, Director of Insurance Supervision, Central Bank of Ireland will join us for a fireside chat. Seána will share how the Central Bank of Ireland’s approach to the regulation and supervision of the insurance sector is evolving and will discuss some key areas of focus for INEDs.

Agenda

11:15am: Registration

11.30am: Welcome: Aidan Flynn, Director of Advocacy & Public Affairs, Insurance Ireland

11:35am: Keynote Interview: Seána Cunnigham, Director of Insurance Supervision, Central Bank of Ireland in conversation with Darragh McHugh, Ireland ICT Life Leader, UK&I M&A Proposition Leader, Willis Towers Watson

12:15pm: Q&A Session

12:25pm: Closing remarks: Aidan Flynn, Director of Advocacy, Public Affairs & Communications, Insurance Ireland

12.30pm: Light Lunch: An invitation to network and join for lunch

Speakers

Aidan Flynn, Director of Advocacy, Public Affairs & Communications 

Aidan Flynn is the Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs at Insurance Ireland, where he leads the organisation’s policy engagement at both national and EU levels. He previously served as Chief Executive of the Freight Transport Association Ireland, having joined the organisation during its early development in 2011.

Aidan brings extensive experience in lobbying and public affairs, with a strong focus on collaboration between industry, government, and academia. He has been instrumental in addressing shared challenges such as operational costs, skills shortages, sustainability, and regulation. Notably, he led the development of two apprenticeship programmes for the freight sector and continues to promote lifelong learning as a core value in workforce development.

Seána Cunningham, Director of Insurance Supervision, Central Bank of Ireland

Seána Cunningham has been appointed as Director of Insurance Supervision in the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) with effect from 1 January 2025. As Director of Insurance Supervision, Seána will be responsible for overseeing the supervision of almost 200 life, non-life and reinsurance firms. She will also serve as a member of the Board of Supervisors (BoS) of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).

Seána joins the Insurance Supervision Directorate from the Central Bank’s Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directorate where she currently holds the position of Director. As the Director of Enforcement and AML, she has overseen a number of complex regulatory investigations of (re)insurance undertakings, taking enforcement actions where breaches were identified. She was appointed to this position in January 2018 with responsibility for overseeing enforcement investigations, AML and CFT (Countering the Financing of Terrorism) supervision of credit and financial institutions and policy development.

Darragh McHugh, Ireland ICT Life Leader, UK&I M&A Proposition Leader, Willis Towers Watson

Darragh McHugh leads WTW’s life insurance consulting practice in Ireland and is Deputy EMEA lead for Life insurance M&A work. A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland and Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA), he has supported clients both domestically and international on transaction work, outsourced regulatory roles, and transfers of insurance business.

There are a limited number of car parking spaces available. If you have any questions or would like to reserve a parking space, please email::tara.oconnell@insuranceireland.eu.