By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Niamh O’Gorman, Sustainability Lead, Accenture Ireland
There were new and notable appointments this week at Accenture, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, OpenSky, Principal Connections — Executive Search and Smarts.
Niamh O’Gorman, Sustainability Lead,
Accenture Ireland
Accenture has announced the appointment of Niamh O’Gorman as Sustainability Lead for Accenture in Ireland.
Niamh’s new role will see her take responsibility for shaping and delivering Accenture’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy locally, as well as supporting Accenture’s clie
Niamh has held a number of senior roles in Accenture over the past 22 years, most recently leading the Risk & Regulatory practice in Ireland. She is a managing director in Accenture’s financial services practice, a role which she will continue with alongside her focus on the firm’s sustainability agenda.
Commenting on Niamh’s appointment, Alastair Blair, country managing director of Accenture in Ireland said:
“I am delighted to announce Niamh O’Gorman’s appointment into the pivotal role of Sustainability Lead for Ireland. Sustainability is a vital issue for both society and our clients, and Accenture has built a strong reputation advising businesses in Ireland on a host of related risks and opportunities.
“In assuming this role, Niamh will become an integral part of our sustainability team and under her leadership, will help our clients to position themselves to manage the many challenges ahead. I wish Niamh every success as we work together to create a more sustainable future for our business, clients and our country.”
Commenting on her appointment, Niamh said:
“Sustainability is one of the greatest responsibilities for our clients and for us as a company. I am very pleased to be stepping into this new role as Sustainability Lead for Ireland, and extremely proud to have the opportunity to lead the Accenture team’s efforts to drive sustainable impact, as well as help our clients navigate the opportunities, and the statutory and regulatory commitments, that are on the horizon.”
Niamh holds a B. Eng. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from University College Dublin. She lives in Dublin with her husband and two children.
Michael Finn & Jonathan Hoare, Executive Members,
Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has appointed Michael Finn and Jonathan Hoare as Executive Members of its Authority, the three-person executive that leads the regulator of Ireland’s sea-fisheries and sea-food production sectors.
The appointments were announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD, following a competitive recruitment process undertaken through the Public Appointments Service.
Both appointees will work with Paschal Hayes, Executive Chairperson of the SFPA, to ensure the effective regulation of Ireland’s sea-fisheries sector, promoting and encouraging compliance with national and EU sea-fisheries legislation and sea-food safety law.
Michael Finn is a former Assistant Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, where he was responsible for policing and security in the Southern Region. His previous responsibilities included being part of the Senior Leadership Team and contributing to overall organisational strategy, policing and the delivery of policing and security outcomes.
Jonathan Hoare formerly worked as a Programme Manager with responsibility for co-ordinating and implementing the South-West Regional Enterprise Plan and also held the position of Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Irish Local Development Network. He has held several public service roles including work with the Houses of the Oireachtas and as a former Ministerial advisor.
Mr Paschal Hayes, Executive Chairperson said:
“On behalf of the SFPA, I welcome the new appointments to the Executive Authority following a rigorous and independent recruitment process through the Public Appointments Service. Jonathan and Michael will bring a wealth of experience to the Authority, having contributed to, and supported, significant organisational developments in their previous positions.
“The SFPA has an ambitious strategy of development underway as part of our work to ensure the continued delivery of an effective, efficient and transparent regulatory framework to underpin Ireland’s vital and valuable sea-fisheries and seafood production sector.
“I am looking forward to working closely with both Jonathan and Michael on this exciting and ambitious work and to ensure the ongoing sustainability of Ireland’s marine resources for current and future generations.”
Gopal Ganeshan, Head of Projects Delivery — Digital Services Division,
OpenSky
Gopal Ganeshan, Head of Projects Delivery — Digital Services Division, OpenSky
Enterprise automation specialistsOpenSky has appointed Gopal Ganeshan as Head of Projects Delivery in its Digital Services Division. This appointment comes at a time of growth for OpenSky.
It will enable the company to meet the expanding demand among public sector organisations and large private enterprises for its services, particularly in the areas of automation, database management and cloud services.
Mr Ganeshan, who previously served as Software Development Project Manager at OpenSky, has more than 12 years’ experience working in technical development projects and project management, with a particular focus on database management, cloud services, and customer relationship management systems.
Gopal Ganeshan said: “I’m excited to take up this role at OpenSky and to work closely with our government and commercial partners. At OpenSky, when our clients win, we do, and I’m looking forward to bringing my project management and extensive technical expertise to bear to ensure our clients’ projects are successful.”
Michael Cronin, Managing Director at OpenSky, said: “We are pleased to appoint Gopal as Head of Projects Delivery in our Digital Services Division in recognition of his ability and his track record of exceeding client expectations. This appointment will further enable OpenSky to meet growing demand from public and private sector clients who are on their digital transformation journeys and who are seeking to harness the power of AI and process automation to work more efficiently and effectively, and to unlock the insights hiding in their disparate data streams.”
Before joining OpenSky, Mr Ganeshan worked for Datavail, a Database Administration company in the United States, as well as in several other development & content creation roles. He holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and Graduation in Information Technology, as well as certifications in AWS, CCP, ITIL and PMP.
Eilish Devine, Practive Leader,
Principal Connections — Executive Search
Pictured: Eilish Devine, Practice Leader, Principal Connections — Executive Search
Principal Connections — executive search, part of Agilium Worldwide LLC, has announced the appointment of Eilish Devine as Practice Leader – Executive Search.
Having initiated her career in the human capital management industry in 2006, Ms Devine will focus her time on Board, CEO and Senior Executive appointments, partnering with private and public companies as well as government bodies and not-for-profit entities to support their strategic objectives.
Prior to joining Principal Connections – executive search, Ms. Devine was a Partner with a market leading executive search firm based in Australia where she worked for close to 10 years. On returning to Ireland, Ms. Devine spent a number of years leading the delivery of senior executive and leadership appointments on behalf of an international recruitment firm. During her earlier career, Ms. Devine held a number of HR positions across education, government/public-sector and mining.
Ms. Devine has a particular interest in increasing the general diversity and specifically gender balance at decision-making levels in organisations. She is a graduate of University College Dublin.
Commenting on the appointment, Pat O’Donnell, Managing Partner said:
“Eilish is an excellent addition to our team, bringing extensive experience of advising clients across a range of sectors from technology and financial services through to consumer goods, professional services, manufacturing and government. We look forward to the contributions she will make to our clients and our firm.”
Commenting on the appointment, Eilish Devine said:
“I’m delighted to take up this position at Principal Connections – executive search. I’ve long admired Principal Connections’ as a firm and its reputation as one of Ireland’s top executive search houses with global reach, as part of the Agilium Worldwide family. I’m looking forward to bringing further firepower to the team and to advising clients across multiple sectors on C-suite and leadership talent.”
Greg Jones, European CEO,
Smarts
Pictured: Greg Jones, European CEO, Smarts
Smarts, the PR & creative agency headquartered in Holywood, Co Down, has appointed Greg Jones as its new European CEO.
The company, which includes a portfolio of clients from across the island of Ireland, has a total of 130 staff – almost 100 of whom operate from its headquarters in Co. Down. Smarts has experienced notable growth in recent years. In the past 12 months, it has increased its Northern Irish workforce by 34%. The Northern Irish company has offices in London, New York, Glasgow and Edinburgh, who service both local and global clients.
Mr Jones will be based in Smarts’ London office and will drive the strategy for its European operations, specifically looking to grow the business in Great Britain and mainland Europe. He will work closely with Pippa Arlow, Smarts’ Global CEO, as well as the agency’s existing management team.
The business works with global brands including Diageo, Bosch and Zalando as well as well-known local brands such as Bank of Ireland, Maxol and Bushmills Irish Whiskey.
After Smarts delivered a 55% rise in revenue last year, Jones will now be responsible for accelerating a further step-change in the agency’s European growth and profile working with the global leadership team to build deeper specialisms in core areas including creative, strategy, earned media, content creation and social activity.
Pippa Arlow, Global CEO of Smarts, said:
“This is a huge milestone in Smarts’ history. For more than 20 years we’ve been telling engaging stories that make brands famous, changing thinking and behaviours. Following a period of huge success, we want to build on this momentum further by accelerating growth across our European business, and in Greg we’ve found an experienced, driven leader who shares our passion in using creativity to bring big ideas to life.”
Jones spent more than six years at Mischief, the Consumer PR agency previously owned by Engine. He initially joined as Creative Director in 2016, before taking on the Managing Director role in July 2019.
Previously Jones was Managing Partner at Shine Communications, and has also been a Creative Associate at Splendid, a Director at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and the Co-Founder and Creative Partner of PR shop Glass Jar.
Mr Jones commented on his appointment:
“Smarts is a brilliant agency and I’m excited by the opportunity to help turbo charge its growth both in Great Britain and across Europe. Pippa and the Smarts leadership team have long recognised the value of telling powerful stories through a combination of earned, creative and social and I’m looking forward to evolving this approach even further.”
Catch up on recent notable appointments below:
New and notable appointments at Bank of Ireland, Fuzion Communications, Sidero and IPUT Real Estat
New and notable appointments at Matheson LLP, Objectway, Green Rebel and Zyte
