Appointments

On the move: appointments update 12.10.17

By Business & Finance
12 October 2017
dr martina byrne PRII
Dr Martina Byrne, CEO, Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII)

In association with Next Generation, Business & Finance highlights notable new appointments at the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII), Mainstay Medical, 4site and IDA Ireland.

dr martina byrne PRII

Dr Martina Byrne

Dr Martina Byrne, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII)

The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) has appointed Dr Martina Byrne as its new Chief Executive. She will also serve as Chief Executive of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA).

Martina has over 15 years’ experience at senior management and board level in the communications profession and 10 years’ experience in research and education.

Prior to being awarded a PhD in Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2014, and subsequently lecturing in TCD and University College Dublin (UCD), Martina was Director of Public Affairs and a member of the Board of Wilson Hartnell PR.

Dr Byrne has been on the PRII National Council and the PRCA Board and was awarded a Fellowship of the PRII (FPRII) in 2004 in recognition of her contribution to the development of the profession. Martina has won PRCA and international awards for her work.

She has also lectured on the Institute’s Diploma in Public Relations and delivered CPD training. In 2015, Dr Byrne was commissioned by the PRII to review and future-proof the diploma’s curriculum and in 2016 was appointed External Examiner of the Institute’s entire educational output.

Dr Byrne is currently working with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and will take on the CEO role at the end of October.

jason hannon mainstay medical

Jason Hannon

Jason Hannon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Mainstay Medical

Following the announcement of his appointment early last month, Jason Hannon has taken up his role as CEO and has been appointed as a Director of Mainstay Medical.

He joins Mainstay at a critical time in the company’s development with the focus of commercialising the market-changing ReActiv8 technology in Europe and beyond, while simultaneously completing the global clinical trial in support of submission for FDA approval.

Mr Hannon said: “Mainstay has pioneered a new approach to treating chronic low back pain which seeks to help the body repair itself rather than merely masking pain. ReActiv8 is aimed at providing a new therapy for the large number of patients for whom other treatments have failed. I look forward to working with the team to maximize the potential of ReActiv8 globally and build on Mainstay’s technology platform.”

Mr Hannon most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NuVasive, a leading medical-device company focused on transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally-integrated solutions. During his 12 years at NuVasive, the company’s commercial presence was expanded globally to more than 40 countries and revenue grew from $61 million to $962 million.

ray o connor 4site

Ray O’Connor

Ray O’Connor, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
4site

Ray O’Connor has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of 4site, a network infrastructure company.

Ray will play a key role on the senior management team as 4site continues to invest in people, resources and technology while deploying their services across a range of exciting projects in Ireland and further afield.

Ray joins 4site from AirSpeed Telecom where he spent over six years in developing and selling MPLS solutions to clients. He also played an instrumental role in developing the market in Northern Ireland for the company.

Prior to this, Ray spent three years with the Sunday Tribune as Deputy Commercial Manager where his role was to maximise the commercial operations of the publication.

Ian Duggan, CEO of 4site, said: “Our business is continually expanding and managing this growth is critical to the ongoing success of the company. Our mission is to harness our proven engineering expertise to design, build and maintain world-class network infrastructure for utilities companies and network infrastructure owners. Our creative approach to designing solutions for cost-effective, fast deployment continues to ensure maximum value for our customers. With over 20 years’ experience in commercial roles, Ray brings a wealth of valuable knowledge with him. His focus will ensure that as we continue to grow in a sustained manner, we will maintain delivery excellence across the company.”

celine crawford ida ireland

Céline Crawford

Céline Crawford, Press and PR Manager
IDA Ireland

Céline Crawford has been appointed as Press and PR Manager of IDA Ireland.

Prior to joining IDA Ireland, Céline was a senior Client Director with MKC Communications where she was responsible implementing external communications programmes for a number of high-profile clients, including Google. Before this, Céline worked as an Account Director with the tech and finance PR agency Simpson PR.

Céline holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music and Politics) and a Bachelor of Music from University College Dublin. She also holds a Master of Arts in Public Relations from DIT Aungier Street and a Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Irish Times Training Institute.

Director of Global Communications at IDA Ireland, Kevin Sammon, said: “Céline’s deep knowledge and experience in dealing with multinational sector in Ireland will be a huge benefit to us as she starts her role here in IDA. Winning investment has never been as competitive as it is today, and Céline will lead a team that will enable the organisation to highlight the many benefits there are to doing business here.”