Strong governance and a clear understanding of community impact are important foundations for supporting enterprise.
For the third article in our Meet Our Board series, we’re delighted to welcome Tori Shaw and Colin Jess. Their backgrounds in financial services and social enterprise bring two valuable perspectives to the East Belfast Enterprise board.
Tori Shaw: A focus on good practice and people
Tori is a Senior Manager within Bank of Ireland UK, where she leads a Compliance & Conduct Centre of Excellence. She has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, specialising in regulatory compliance, customer protection, data privacy and conduct risk.
Her career has centred on helping organisations meet their responsibilities and protect the people who use their services.
Before joining Bank of Ireland, Tori held senior compliance roles at Danske Bank UK, including Data Protection Officer and Lending Standards Compliance Officer. She has also served as Data Protection Officer for the Police Federation for Northern Ireland and held compliance leadership positions within the credit union sector.
Beyond her professional role, Tori is an active mentor with the SistersIN programme and volunteers with Young Enterprise NI. She is passionate about supporting people in vulnerable circumstances, creating opportunities for young people and strengthening connections between businesses and local communities.
Tori holds a BA (Hons) in Sociology from Queen’s University Belfast, a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance and professional qualifications in regulatory compliance, operational risk and data protection.
Her experience brings a strong understanding of governance and customer protection, alongside a personal commitment to supporting young people and communities.
Colin Jess: Championing the role of social enterprise
Colin brings extensive experience of the social enterprise sector and its contribution to Northern Ireland’s economy and communities.
He recently retired as Chief Executive of Social Enterprise NI after ten years leading the organisation. During that time, he helped raise awareness of the social economy across government, business and the community sector, strengthening recognition of the role social enterprises play.
Colin also represented the sector on the Minister for the Economy’s Vision Engagement Forum, bringing the social economy’s perspective into discussions about Northern Ireland’s economic future.
In 2020, he was appointed by the Minister of Finance to the reconstituted Procurement Board as a sectoral expert. His work included contributing to public procurement policy and advancing the inclusion of social value considerations through Public Procurement Note 01/21.
Throughout his career, Colin has developed relationships across the public, private, voluntary and education sectors. He also served as Secretariat to the All-Party Group on Social Enterprise, helping to strengthen connections between policymakers and the sector.
We’re pleased to welcome both Tori and Colin and the breadth of experience they bring to East Belfast Enterprise.
Catch up on the series
Read our earlier introductions to:
Front row, left to right: Duncan Graham, Jonathan McAlpin (Chief Executive) and Tori Shaw.
