Invest Northern Ireland announces appointment of Chief Development Officer

Invest Northern Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of Alison Currie to the position of Chief Development Officer (CDO).

This role is part of a new Executive Committee (ExeCo) and completes a recent restructuring of Invest NI’s senior leadership. Alison will join the Executive Committee of Invest NI on Monday 5 January 2026.

Welcoming the appointment, Kieran Donoghue, Chief Executive of Invest NI said: “I am delighted to welcome Alison to our Executive Team. The Chief Development Officer is responsible for our regional development agenda, regional business group, land and property and a new client solutions group.

"Alison will join our Chief Commercial Officer (Anne Beggs), Chief Operating Officer (Kathryn Hill), Paula Logue, Executive Director, People and Culture, and Peter Harbinson, Executive Director, Communications and Marketing on the ExeCo.  

“Our Executive Team is pivotal in overseeing the successful delivery of our Business Strategy and ensuring our continued commitment to support the Minister to deliver her Economic Vision.”  

Alison Currie is currently the Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland, providing leadership and direction in the delivery of key strategic priorities to support collaborative innovation, clustering, investor readiness, and entrepreneurship.  

In this role Alison has worked closely with The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in Ireland. She has over 20 years’ experience in economic development and innovation ecosystems in Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland.  

Alison has held several senior roles including responsibility for programme delivery to SMEs, stakeholder engagement, business development, sector initiatives and leadership of EU funded initiatives and national business support programmes.