Kathleen M. O'Toole

Senior Leadership Council

It’s not surprising that Kathleen O’Toole was chosen from among many other internationally prominent senior police executives to serve as the Chief Inspector of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, the governance and oversight body responsible for bringing reform, best practices and accountability to the 17,000-member national police service in Ireland.

That’s because, for years now, she has been widely recognized here in the United States and increasingly across the world for her principled leadership and reform strategies with respect to police service – a term that she uses often, with passion and with strategic intent.

The reputation is well earned. As Boston Police Commissioner, O’Toole didn’t just manage 3,000 sworn and civilian personnel and an annual budget of $235 million. She also won accolades – at City Hall and on the streets – for her non-confrontational, cooperative style of leadership, a collaborative, consultative and grassroots-oriented approach that emphasizes partnership with community groups and city organizations to reduce crime and engage people directly in helping to make their neighbourhoods safe. She distinguished herself in a similar manner as member of Massachusetts Governor William Weld’s cabinet and the state’s Secretary of Public Service, overseeing 20 agencies, more than 10,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $1 billion.

O’Toole began her career in 1979. While still in law school, she became a patrol officer in the Boston Police Department and from position to position – across numerous patrol, investigative and administrative assignments – she quickly rose through the ranks of local and state law enforcement in Massachusetts. During this period, she served as Superintendent/Chief of the Metropolitan Police and was also a Lieutenant Colonel overseeing Special Operations in the Massachusetts State Police. Since then, she has also supported the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on police profiling cases and served as a member of the Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland as part of the peace process there.

O’Toole has excelled in the private sector as well. As a senior corporate security manager at Digital Equipment Corporation, she held global responsibility for executive protection, crisis management and major white collar crime investigations. She also founded an international consulting firm with offices in Dublin, Ireland and Boston, Massachusetts and, in addition to her role on the Hillard Heintze Senior Leadership Council, currently serves as an advisor to Monitor Quest, a global security firm with offices in London, England and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

O’Toole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, a juris doctor from New England School of Law and was admitted to the bar as a practicing attorney in 1982. She is now enrolled in the PhD program at the Business School of Trinity College, Dublin. She is an active member of many associations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (Terrorism Committee), the Police Executive Research Forum and the National Executive Institute Associates.