Sinead Donovan joined Barden as Strategic Board Advisor in 2025. She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland (FCA; FCPA) and an honorary member of Accounting Technicians Ireland (ATI).
Sinead was a partner in Grant Thornton Ireland from January 2005 to January 2025, serving as Chairperson of the firm from January 2021 to January 2025.
During her time as a partner, Sinead held audit sign-off rights and led the audit department, specialising in public interest audits and international global statutory audits for some of the largest multinational companies in the tech, telecoms, and life sciences arenas. She also co-founded a specialist team – financial accounting and advisory services (FAAS), which serviced global multinational companies in reporting, compliance, back-office support, and delivery of financial projects. In this regard, she was the advisory partner lead for some of the firm’s largest international clients.
In her time as chairperson, the firm experienced its largest growth period and ultimately the successful amalgamation with Grant Thornton US to become a global entity, which transformed the professional services arena in Ireland.
Sinead is an active member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and served as president in 2023/2024, where she introduced, negotiated, and ultimately delivered the successful amalgamation of CAI and CPA Ireland, resulting in CAI becoming the largest professional body in Ireland.
Sinead currently acts as a non-executive director for a number of companies and continues to be active in the development of the accounting profession globally.
