CEDR Accreditation: CEDR Panel Admission: 2004 2011 Languages: Location: English Republic of Ireland "We were very pleased with the cool professionalism that Austin brought to this emotionally charged and bitter disagreement. Austin Kenny Mediation Feedback Overview An independent mediator and business consultant with a strong accountancy and business background, Austin Kenny is also chairman and non-executive director of three companies. He has conducted mediations in Ireland the U.K. across a broad range of sectors including property, manufacturing and retail sectors, with case values ranging from 0 to 10 million Euros. He has been a practitioner member of MII and panel member of International Mediators Institute (IMI) since 2009, a panel member of ICMA since 2005 and completed the conflict management coaching certificate in 2011. Professional Background Prior to becoming an independent mediator Austin owned and managed his own accountancy and business consultancy practice for 20 years. He has significant expertise and experience across a rich portfolio of professional services including accounting, audit, forensics, insolvency, tax planning structures, mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance, business contracts, raising finance, strategic planning, succession planning. He has also co-owned businesses in property, manufacturing and retail. His professional specialisms include forensic accounting, business diagnostics, mentor/adviser to a wide range of owner-managed and family businesses. 1
Expertise Aviation Energy & Natural Resources Property Banking & Finance ICT Public Sector Commercial Contracts Insurance Sale of Goods & Services Construction & Engineering Media & Entertainment Utilities Employment & Workplace Partnership & Shareholder Dispute Experience Aviation: Shareholding and reputation disputes. Banking & Finance: Pension fund service failure. Commercial Contracts: Distribution agreements (both cessation and sale). Construction & Engineering: Principal to sub-contractor claims for delays. Employment & Workplace: Termination and unfair dismissal. Energy & Natural Resources: Long term land rental arrangements and profit share on electricity generation. ICT Information, Communication & Technology: Sale of website IP address. Insurance: Multi-party fire claim and loss of earnings; professional indemnity & duty of care. Media & Entertainment: Film company directors dispute. 2
Partnership & Shareholder S 205 minority oppression claims. Dissolution of construction partnership. Dissolution of family fashion business. Family business disputes in farming, property and retail sectors. Partnership medical partnership shareholder dispute. Succession dispute between shareholders in engineering sector. Property: :Boundary Farming rights of way. :Landlord and Tenant Dilapidations and rights to renew dispute; rental revision. Public Sector Dispute between the Board of Management of a school and a group of unionised teachers (with their Union rep). Claim against Local Authority for repairs to sewerage scheme. Sale of Goods & Services: Professional fees. Utilities Sale of waste disposal business. CPO Compensation cliam over land and crops, damaged during instasation of electricity interconnector. Personal Style Austin works on building trust and confidence with the parties and their lawyers from the very start and is very keen on pre-mediation meetings. He is tough on the problem and will push for solutions and creativity from the parties from early on. He believes parties have the ability to resolve the dispute if he provides a safe environment and works on removing any barriers to settlement. Austin 3
has a strong business acumen which helps the parties to be deal-focussed. Austin has also trained as a Conflict Coach and can work with parties to face difficult situations, often in advance of a mediation. Feedback Quick off the mark and flexible. He is an extremely good character with great charisma and very experienced. He went the extra mile and to great lengths to attempt a settlement. An excellent mediator who was very professional and who focused on the right issues throughout the mediation. He has a good style, easy listener and does not overly impose his personality. At the end of the day, the thing this mediation most lacked and missed out on was that the mediator did not impose himself to assist the parties in bringing closure to the mediation. I guess you have to be patient and do accept that the mediator has only a facilitative not a dicatorial role. Austin combined very good interpersonal skills with common sense, commercial awareness and instilled confidence in himself and in the process of mediation. I would happily retain Austin as a Mediator again. (Solicitor) Austin Kenny helped us bring an end to a very acrimonious and legally expensive dispute between two sides. We were very pleased with the cool professionalism that Austin brought to this emotionally charged and bitter disagreement. (Party) Austin was involved in a very difficult mediation involving a number of the directors of a trust fund that had lost a lot of money. It took the directors six months to simply agree a mediator. The issues were many and complex but thanks to Austin the most contentious and complex issues were resolved completely, resulting in no legal action being taken. He was particularly skilful at getting the parties to recognise and park the emotive issues and facilitating the satisfactory resolution of the substantive and complex issues. I have no hesitation in recommending his services and would be delighted to use them personally again. (Party) 4
Professional Skills Forensic Accountant; Business Consultant 2008: MATA advanced mediator training Conflict Management Coach; Certified Conflict Dynamics Coach 5