Appointments

New and notable appointments at Aspira, Sidero, and Cantec Group

By Business & Finance
12 August 2021

Pictured: Joe Dowling, Chief Technology Officer, Sidero

This week sees new and notable appointments at Aspira, Sidero, and Cantec Group.


Thomas McGrath, Head of Business Consulting,
Aspira

Pictured: Thomas McGrath, Head of Business Consulting, Aspira

 

Aspira, the Irish-headquartered international consulting and technology company, has announced the appointment of Thomas McGrath as Head of Business Consulting. The appointment is driven by further growth in Aspira’s international business.

Previously Advisory & Resourcing Manager at Aspira, Mr McGrath has over 20 years’ experience in programme delivery and change management consultancy. Prior to joining Aspira he previously held leadership roles in multinational organisations in the US and Europe. Aspira employs a team of over 160 across their offices in Cork, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Malaysia. The company offers a diverse range of consulting and technology services and has completed close to 1,500 projects for their clients to date.

Commenting on the appointment, Aspira CEO Pat Lucey said: “Organisations are now looking to deliver change at a pace never imagined. Over the past year we have collaborated closely with our clients to help them embrace this change and ensure the successful delivery of technology projects. Throughout his career, Thomas has worked on large scale change management initiatives in both the public and private sector. Due to his ability to lead and deliver complex technical and business assignments, we know that this appointment will benefit our customers as we move forward post-pandemic.”

Mr McGrath said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Head of Business Consulting at Aspira, at a time of transformation for people, processes and technology. Through our services, expertise and global locations, Aspira is well positioned to support and further expand our customer base and I look forward to further developing opportunities both internally and with our customers.”

Mr McGrath completed his studies in both Sligo Institute of Technology and the University of Ulster. He holds an additional role as the Director of Volunteering for the Irish Chapter of the Project Management Institute.


Joe Dowling, Chief Technology Officer,
Sidero

Pictured: Joe Dowling, Chief Technology Officer, Sidero

 

Sidero – Ireland’s software, cloud, and digital transformation specialist – announces the appointment of Joe Dowling as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Joe brings nearly 30 years’ experience in the technology industry – during which he has been granted three US patents – to the role.

As CTO, Joe will lead the technology direction for Sidero in order to deliver agile digital transformation solutions for customers. Leveraging the company’s cloud-native capabilities, he will be responsible for enabling the delivery of application migration and modernisation projects at scale, aligned with customers’ evolving needs as the acceleration of the digital workplace continues in earnest. He will also build out Sidero’s micro-services, containerisation and DevOps offerings, ensuring continuous integration and delivery workflows.

Prior to this appointment, Joe spent more than five years as Agile Line Manager with Sidero, leading and managing service delivery from four teams and a number of individual consultants to some of the company’s key clients.

Joe joined Sidero from the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Athlone lab, where he was Technical Research Lead overseeing unique research and innovation programmes. Before this, he was a Senior Researcher and Programme Leader for Wireless, Internet of Things (IoT) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) projects at the Institute.

Previously, Joe spent 15 years working with Nokia in its London and San Diego bases. During this time, he held positions across multiple business units as a Systems Engineer and Consultant.

During his career, Joe has been granted three US patents in the areas of telecommunications systems; priority channels in communication; and intermodulation distortion, a metric of signal linearity.

A recent graduate of a Masters in Cloud-Native Computing from Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT), he has been published in a number of conference and journal publications.

Joe Dowling, Chief Technology Officer, Sidero said, “I am thrilled to step into this role at Sidero. My previous positions have required a combination of technical and leadership skills, both of which I plan to apply to the role of CTO, as well as my academic knowledge.

“Having been part of the Sidero team since 2016, I aim to leverage my innate understanding of the company and its vision to drive the technology direction and enable customers to digitally transform. I will also take advantage of my experience with international markets as the company’s footprint continues to expand.

“I look forward to my next chapter at Sidero.”


Brendan White, Digital Marketing Executive,
Cantec Group

Pictured: Brendan White, Digital Marketing Executive, Cantec Group

Cantec Group has announced the appointment of Brendan White as Digital Marketing Executive. Founded in 1994, Contact Group has evolved over the past 27 years to operate three distinct divisions within the group – Docutec, leaders in managed print services, SmartOffice Automation, providers of cutting edge Business Automation Software and Promotive, the Creative Graphic Design and Marketing division of the group.

Over the coming months, Brendan will play an integral role in developing and executing Cantec Group’s digital marketing strategies as well as his role within Promotive, helping customers to grow their brands and online presence in this evolving space.

Brendan brings a vast amount of experience to his new role, having previously held roles with national and global media companies. Brendan holds an Honours Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University and has combined his journalism expertise with almost a decade in digital marketing roles, specialising in content writing, email and social media marketing as well as SEO.

Commenting on his new role, Brendan said, “I’m delighted to join the team at Cantec Group who are really leading the way in technology solutions for businesses across Ireland. The current growth and expansion of Cantec across Ireland is powered by a fantastic team who I very much look forward to working alongside. As part of the Promotive division within the Cantec Group, I’m passionate about delivering results and will work closely with our clients to develop their brands and online presence across various industries.

A Waterford-native, you will most likely find Brendan on the football pitch when away from his desk, where he is actively involved in coaching local teams Tramore AFC and Waterford FC.