By Business & Finance 
There were new and notable appointments this week at Great-West Lifeco, Esri Ireland, FTI Consulting and Cork Society of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Sandra Rockett, Vice President — Global Sustainable Investments,
Great-West Lifeco
Irish Life has announced that Sandra Rockett has been appointed as Vice President — Global Sustainable Investments at Great-West Lifeco, the parent company of Irish Life.
In this new role, Rockett will be responsible for leading Great-West Lifeco’s Sustainable Investment Strategy, which is part of the Group’s commitment to achieving net-zero for its investment portfolio by 2050. She will report to Great-West’s Global Chief Investment Officer, Raman Srivastava.
Rockett is a qualified actuary and started her career at Irish Life in 2014. She is currently Director, Retail and Wealth Distribution, at Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM), and has been responsible for leading ILIM’s Responsible Investment and ESG policy and strategy development, including its commitment to help reach net zero by 2050 or sooner.
Under her leadership, ILIM has increased its responsibly managed assets to 49% of total Assets under Management, integrated responsible investment across all its proprietary solutions and joined the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
“I am delighted to be taking up this exciting new role,” said Rockett about her appointment.
“Across Great-West Lifeco and Irish Life we have a responsibility and an opportunity to make a real and meaningful difference in tackling climate change and helping shape a more sustainable society. I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved through the Irish life Group and look forward to working across the Great West Life Group to support our growing responsible investment activities.”
Jack Ffrench, Account Manager,
Esri Ireland
Esri Ireland, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) firm has announced the appointment of Jack Ffrench as Account Manager.
In his new role, Ffrench will be responsible for managing customer relationships, working closely with customers to understand their unique requirements and deliver tailored GIS solutions. He will also collaborate with different teams within the organisation, particularly with the Marketing and Professional Services teams, to identify and implement the solutions that best suit the needs of individual customers.
Ffrench joined Esri Ireland as a GIS Consultant, working with organisations across a range of industries to achieve their business goals using Esri’s ArcGIS technology.
Prior to this, he worked as a Technical Lead for the 5*S Project at Maynooth University’s Department of Geography. Here, he designed and delivered GIS workshops, provided school outreach, and delivered lectures to Master’s students. Previously, he worked as a GIS Technician at ICON Group.
Ffrench holds a BA in Geography and Business, as well as a Master’s of Science in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, both from Maynooth University.
Speaking on his appointment, Jack Ffrench said:
“I am delighted to be appointed as an Account Manager at Esri Ireland. I believe my experience to-date has equipped me with the necessary skills to succeed in this role and I plan to leverage my technical background to ensure delivery of best-in-class GIS solutions.”
“Working with a customer-centric company such as Esri Ireland is truly rewarding, and I eagerly anticipate collaborating with the team to deliver tangible solutions to help solve our customers’ business challenges,” he added.
Sarah Harte, Managing Director — Strategic Communications,
FTI Consulting
FTI Consulting has announced the appointment of Sarah Harte as a Managing Director in the firm’s Strategic Communications segment.
Harte, who will be based in Dublin, is a highly respected policy and communications specialist with more than a decade of global in-house and agency experience driving communications strategy and campaigns for organisations across the private, public and not-for-profit sector.
She joins FTI Consulting from Twitter, where she was the Global Policy Communications Lead responsible for developing global strategy, working with public policy leadership and providing counsel to senior leadership and the C-suite.
Whilst there, she established and led Twitter’s policy communications campaigning work on the Open Internet, developed strategies in key regulatory hubs to expand awareness, and led the Asia Pacific and EMEA Policy Communications teams in Singapore and Dublin, respectively.
In her role at FTI Consulting, Harte will focus on developing the firm’s integrated communications consulting services for a growing roster of global technology, media and telecommunications clients.
“The daily news cycle around AI and the use of technology in all sectors of the economy includes commentary from prime ministers and presidents, and calls for regulation and discussion on how to realise the societal benefits technology can bring,” said Charles Palmer, a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of TMT in the Strategic Communications segment at FTI Consulting.
“Against this backdrop, we are delighted to welcome Sarah to FTI Consulting as we work with our clients globally to help them navigate the intersection of policy and communications. A critical part of this is understanding the impact of technology regulation on highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, financial services and industrials.”
Harte’s appointment follows the arrival of Arnaud Cave, who recently joined FTI Consulting in Dublin as a Director in the corporate governance, ESG and activism practice.
Jonathan Neilan, Dublin office lead and a Senior Managing Director in the Strategic Communications segment, said:
“Companies are facing ever more complex regulatory, communication and reputation issues. Sarah brings significant global policy communications expertise to the firm, and we are delighted to welcome her to FTI Consulting.”
“We also continue to strengthen our position as one of the world’s leading advisors on governance, ESG and activism and are excited to welcome Arnaud to our Dublin team.”
Commenting on her appointment, Sarah Harte said,
“I am thrilled to join the talented Strategic Communications team at FTI Consulting, particularly at this exciting time for technology and tech policy. Effective policy communications can be a powerful tool for companies to manage risk, influence policy making, strengthen reputation and build trust.”
“I look forward to supporting the firm’s clients to navigate complex, business-critical communications challenges and advance their positions in the ever-shifting policy landscape.”
James Fox, Chairperson,
Cork Society of Chartered Accountants Ireland
James Fox, Indirect Tax Director, EY Ireland has been appointed Chairperson of the Cork Society of Chartered Accountants Ireland. Fox was voted in as Chair for the coming year at the society’s recent Annual General Meeting. He succeeds Ray Egan of PwC in the role.
Commenting on his appointment James Fox said, “It is a privilege to be elected Chair and I am delighted to have the opportunity to represent Cork Society members over the coming year.”
“My ambition is to be an advocate for the numerous skills and experience that Chartered Accountants contribute to the wider community and to support the promotion of the next generation of Chartered Accountants in an ever-changing world.”
“My key focus for the year is to work with the great team at CAI to continue to raise the profile of Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Cork Society and to encourage new talent into the profession through our engagement with second and third level students,” he continued.
“We will be building on the success of our established events, such as Christmas Lunch and Daffodil Day, by expanding into a range of networking, supporting continuous professional development and family events across Cork City and into regional locations.
“I am passionate about supporting all our members, including smaller practices, and we have great plans to develop a broad range of events to appeal and engage with our members across the board. I look forward to connecting with as many of the Cork Society members as possible and to running several new, exciting events, both virtually and in person throughout 2023/2024,” he concluded.
Fox is an Associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has worked in practice for thirteen years. He was educated in Mitchelstown CBS before proceeding to the University of Limerick and graduating in Law and Accounting.
Fox obtained a Masters in Accounting at Dublin City University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2013, having trained in KPMG. He joined EY Indirect Tax team in 2015, leading the Munster region from an Indirect Tax perspective. Fox is also a member of the Irish Tax Institute.
The Chartered Accountants Cork Society has over 2,500 members working in the city and county. Its role is to represent local members as well as to assist the members in professional development. The society also assists in ongoing contributions to the local community such as their events organised recently for the Irish Cancer Society and Edel House.
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