SOLAS Announces Appointment of Nessa White as Interim Chief Executive Officer

SOLAS/04.09.2025

SOLAS, the Further Education and Training (FET) Authority, has today (04.09.25) announced the appointment of Nessa White as Interim Chief Executive Officer from September 2025.

Nessa is taking up the position ahead of the departure of current CEO, Andrew Brownlee at the end of this month.

Nessa has been working in a number of Executive Director roles in SOLAS since 2020 and brings over 20 years of senior leadership experience in the education and health sectors. During her time in SOLAS Nessa has driven strategic reform, innovation, and collaboration across the FET sector.

Speaking about Nessa’s appointment SOLAS Chairperson, Sean Aylward said:

“On behalf of my board colleagues & the wider SOLAS team we are delighted to announce the appointment of Nessa White as the Interim CEO of SOLAS. Nessa brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role, especially in the areas of change management, strategic thinking and leading people.

Nessa’s appointment will ensure a smooth transition ahead of the departure of our esteemed current CEO, Andrew Brownlee at the end of September. We will support Nessa in this important role as we manage the process of change and begin the recruitment of a new permanent CEO for SOLAS.

The Board and I look forward to working with the SOLAS team, the current CEO (ahead of his departure), the interim CEO, and our broader FET sector colleagues as we continue to support the delivery of FET programmes that power the potential of individuals, communities and enterprise through lifelong learning and workforce transformation.”

Also commenting on her appointment Nessa White said:

“I am excited to be given an opportunity to lead such a vibrant and progressive Organisation. It’s a really interesting time for SOLAS and the FET, apprenticeships and construction activities it supports as we work towards realising the potential of FET as a driver of social and economic change.”

My priorities as Interim CEO include continuing to ensure that FET becomes a key provider of lifelong learning opportunities in Ireland; that FET can respond to the critical skills needs in Ireland, contributing to the development of future skills needed to meet national strategic challenges; and that SOLAS continues to be one of the most progressive public sector bodies in Ireland.”

Prior to taking up roles in SOLAS Nessa worked in the Department of Education as a Project Manager for the Education and Training Board (ETB) - SOLAS Project Management Office leading out on initiatives focused on reform in areas of communications, legal services and governance. In her previous roles in Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) she played a key part in driving ongoing change and shared vision and was appointed to the role of General Secretary of ETBI in May 2018.