Our Board

Damian McParlandChairman

Damian has been a Corporate/Commercial Partner in Northern Ireland law firm Millar McCall Wylie LLP for over 15 years and one of the leading media and entertainment lawyers in Northern Ireland for over 20 years.

Damian has had a long-term working relationship with Northern Ireland Screen and many other film and television, media and entertainment entities in advising on the development, funding, production and financing of film and television projects and has worked on the best known productions to have been filmed in Northern Ireland.  He has advised lenders and borrowers on some of the largest funding transactions in Northern Ireland in recent years in addition to advising on commercial contracts, restructuring and reorganisations and mergers and acquisitions.  He regularly advises charities and not for profits on corporate structures, governance, liabilities and constitutional documents.

Damian has also been a lecturer and tutor in Company Law and Corporate Governance at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, Queens University Belfast, for over 15 years.

Damian is ranked by Chambers Europe as a leading European Lawyer; by Chambers Legal Directory as the leading lawyer in Northern Ireland in Media & Entertainment Law; by Chambers and Legal 500 legal directories as a leading lawyer in Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions in Northern Ireland.

Millar McCall Wylie and Damian have been active members of Arts & Business NI for many years and have been involved through sponsorship of events, mentoring organisations, supporting the Young Professionals programme and sitting on funding and awards judging panels.

Stuart Deignan

Stuart is originally from Northern Ireland and splits his time between London and Hillsborough. He is a senior business and operations leader with almost 20 years’ experience in management consulting, account management and digital/technology/business services, including 10 years at executive/partner level in global roles working at board level. He has held senior leadership positions across several industry sectors (including Energy, Engineering & Construction, Public Sector and Utilities). 

Stuart has significant experience of defining and executing strategy, driving change within large organisations to improve business performance.  Key to the successful outcomes has been to create enthused and entrepreneurial teams that work alongside clients to solve critical business problems through flawless delivery and innovation. In addition to a strong focus on developing himself and his direct reports, Stuart is passionate about coaching and mentoring others. He is proactive in developing both high performing and underperforming staff, and in establishing policies and processes around recruitment, retention and development and in bringing gender and cultural diversity to high performing teams.

Stuart also has a great passion for the arts, be that opera, ballet, jazz, theatre or the many exhibitions he is fortunate to enjoy.  Whilst a lot of this is in major centres such as London or New York, he is particularly passionate about enabling and encouraging the arts and business in Northern Ireland. 

Claire Sharpe

Claire is a highly motivated and enthusiastic marketing graduate who thrives under pressure. She has a wide range of transferrable skills, particularly in the digital and project management field, with a keen interest in upcoming digital technologies and the opportunities they present to organisations. Working in a Belfast-based Advertising Agency with a range of clients on a global and local scale to deliver strategic and comprehensive marketing campaigns, she soon developed a curiosity for the developing digital world. Since moving from agency to client side of marketing, at Tourism Northern Ireland she has established a passion for tourism, in particular utilising developing technology to innovate the delivery of services to the tourism industry and visitors of Northern Ireland. She joins us through the Arts & Business NI Young Professionals on Arts Boards programme.

Professor Gillian Armstrong

Gillian Armstrong is a Professor of Business Education and is Ulster University Business School’s first Director of Business Engagement. She has been with Ulster University and Higher Education for almost 25 years and has been actively involved in the development and management of academic excellence within the Business School. Gillian joined Ulster University in 1997 and was awarded a Senior Lectureship in 2007 and a Chair in Business Education in 2013. Prior to her current role, she was Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics from 2010 – 2018 at Ulster.

Deeply committed to supporting the growth and development of the regional economy, Gillian has sought to ensure that the Business School works closely with priority sectors to actively support the supply of skills and the attractiveness of Northern Ireland as a location to do business. She has been actively involved in the development of work based learning and innovative educational models to support employers in securing talent and in upskilling and retaining graduates in a range of sectors. She has worked in partnership with Deloitte NI to develop the first-Degree Apprenticeship programme within the region and is currently leading a Business School initiative to support Future of Work requirements and related educational models.

Gillian is an active member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) and is a Council member of the NI Chamber of Commerce (NICC). She is also a Visiting Professor at Hebei Geo University (HUI) in China, as a result of increasing international partnership activity, whilst her teaching and research interests are in the use of big data consumer analytics and have been supported by a range of research funders (DAERA, Invest NI).