18 0 New Chairman Appointed Tom Maguire Wednesday 1 November 2023 After almost 10 years as our Chair, Declan Keane officially retired from the Board. Declan joined the Board in 2009 and became Chair 2014. Declan has led the Board through a significant amount of change in the intervening years. He has been a huge support to the organisation and, in particular, to me and the rest of the management team. He contributed across a broad range of issues from service development to strategic planning, as well as finance and governance issues, to highlight just a few. All of our Board members take on the role as volunteers and give up of their time freely, which given the level of responsibility is incredible. Through his commitment and dedication, Declan has made a significant contribution to the organisation over the past 14 years. I am also delighted to let you know that an existing Board Member, Tom Maguire has been appointed as our new Chair. A subcommittee of the Board was set up to select the new Chair and Tom was the unanimous choice. Tom is a retired civil servant who has a long and distinguished career, primarily in the Dept of Justice. Tom was the second person in Ireland to get a cochlear implant and therefore has a personal insight into the needs of our clients. With both his professional and lived experience, he promises to be a great Chair and representative of Chime. I hope you will all join with me in wishing Tom well in his new role.