Noel took up the role of Director General of the EBU in September 2017. The EBU is the largest public service media alliance in the world, with member organizations across Europe and associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Its members operate nearly 2,000 TV, radio and online services, reaching more than one billion people in over 160 languages.

Before joining the EBU, Noel was Director General, Managing Director of Television and Editor of Current Affairs at RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster. He has also worked in commercial media.

A strong advocate of public service media, Noel is an award-winning investigative journalist and producer. His documentaries have received numerous national and international journalism awards.

He graduated from Dublin City University with a degree in Communication Studies, specialising in broadcasting policy, and is currently Adjunct Professor of Journalism at DCU.

Noel is married to singer-songwriter Eimear Quinn, and they have two daughters.