By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Dervla McKay, Managing Director, Go-Ahead Ireland. Picture by Shane O’Neill, Coalesce.
This week sees new and notable appointments at Go-Ahead Ireland, SpinLaunch, Bord Bia, and Dillon Eustace.
Dervla McKay, Managing Director,
Go-Ahead Ireland
The Go-Ahead Group has appointed Dervla McKay as Managing Director of its bus company in Dublin, which operates services in and around the Greater Dublin Area.
Ms McKay, a Donegal native, joins Go-Ahead Ireland from her previous role as Managing Director of Aircoach and brings extensive experience in bus and coach operation across Ireland and England.
She took up her role last month and replaced Andrew Edwards, who moved to Go-Ahead London to become Operations Director after three years in Ireland.
With depot locations in Ballymount and Naas, Go-Ahead Ireland has a fleet of more than 225 buses operating on 33 routes and employs 760 colleagues. Go-Ahead Ireland was appointed by the National Transport Authority to begin running services in Dublin in 2018 and currently runs 28 services in the outer Dublin metropolitan area and five Dublin commuter routes, serving 14 million passengers per year.
Go-Ahead Ireland plays a key role in the NTA’s BusConnects network redesign, and work is under way on expanding its Ballymount depot by 50% in readiness for new network routes. The company is also active in supporting its local communities and is the title sponsor of Dublin GAA’s football, hurling, and camogie championships.
Upon her appointment, Ms McKay said: “Go-Ahead Ireland is an ambitious company which delivers great bus services to passengers, and I’m really excited to be taking on this new challenge.
“With the BusConnects network redesign comes the opportunity for Go-Ahead Ireland to demonstrate its continued dedication to providing safe, reliable, and accessible services for our customers.
“Go-Ahead Ireland is a trusted mobility provider across the Greater Dublin Area, and I’m thrilled to be at the helm of such an exciting business, one that continues to play an important role in Dublin’s public transport.”
Matt Carney, CEO of The Go-Ahead Group’s bus division, said: “Dervla has an outstanding track record in the bus industry and an impressive depth of understanding of public transport in Ireland. It’s a pleasure to welcome her on board.
“Go-Ahead Ireland has established itself as a successful bus operator in Dublin over the last five years. We’re proud of the way we serve local communities and we have a terrific team in place.
“We look forward to investing further and building on the strong service we deliver to customers.”
Dómhnal Slattery, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Greg McAdoo, Board Member, Ronan Dunne and David Scott, Advisors,
SpinLaunch
SpinLaunch, a space company enabling sustainable low-cost access to space, has announced major executive appointments that will provide the company with additional expertise in global investments, partnerships, commercialization, and go-to-market strategy.
Dómhnal Slattery appointed to Chairman of the SpinLaunch Board of Directors
Aerospace pioneer and investor Dómhnal Slattery has been elected Chairman of SpinLaunch’s Board of Directors. In his new role, Slattery will work closely with the executive leadership and key stakeholders to provide both guidance and oversight, ensuring that SpinLaunch continues to thrive as a leader of affordable and sustainable space solutions and enter global commercial markets.
Throughout Slattery’s career, he has raised and deployed more than $75 billion of debt and equity capital to finance aircraft for airlines and investors around the world. He founded and scaled two of the world’s three largest aircraft leasing firms including Avolon. Slattery is committed to working with innovative companies, which can revolutionize industries and positively contribute to a net zero economy.
His involvement in SpinLaunch signifies a powerful alliance that combines his exceptional background in aviation finance and the capital markets, with the company’s groundbreaking technology.
“Dómhnal’s extensive track record of executive leadership, along with his background capitalizing and growing global businesses, position him perfectly for this role,” said CEO Jonathan Yaney.
“Dómhnal has already made significant contributions to SpinLaunch as an investor and a valuable strategic advisor, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the company. We are excited to welcome him as our new Chairman of the Board.”
“I was attracted to SpinLaunch, both as an investor and advisor, because of the company’s incredible ability to innovate and build sustainable space solutions,” commented Slattery.
“Not only have they built and successfully launched from the world’s first suborbital kinetic launch system, but are now expanding into full space solutions, including satellites and services. I am impressed by the leadership and myriad of strong supporters, and look forward to my expanded role as Chairman of the Board.”
Greg McAdoo to Board of Directors
Long-standing tech investment veteran and executive Greg McAdoo joins the SpinLaunch Board of Directors. Previously a senior partner at Sequoia Capital, Greg led Sequoia’s investments in Airbnb, Y Combinator, among others. He has served on numerous boards including Airbnb, Dell EMC Isilon, as well as several aerospace-related organizations such as the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and supersonic airliner pioneer Boom. Greg’s appointment to the Board comes after five years of active involvement as an investor and advisor to SpinLaunch.
“Greg is joining our Board of Directors at a key inflection point, as the company expands from an innovative startup with a unique kinetic launch concept, towards commercializing a fully integrated array of space solutions across launch, satellites, and services,” continued CEO Yaney. “With his deep expertise in these areas, he continues to be a driving force behind our success as we embrace our next phase of product deployment.”
Expansion of the SpinLaunch Advisory Board
SpinLaunch announced the addition of two senior executive leaders to its Board of Advisors: Ronan Dunne and David Scott. Dunne is a Strategic Advisor and Non Executive Director and the former CEO of Verizon Wireless and Verizon Consumer Group and of Telefonica UK (O2), and Scott is the CEO of the Investment Diplomacy Group, the current and founding Chairman of the UAE-based agtech firm, Pure Harvest Smart Farms, and a previous White House and State Department official. They will support the expansion of SpinLaunch partnerships around the world that will accelerate the global commercialization of sustainable, low-cost space solutions.
Lisa Phelan, South East Asia Manager
Bord Bia
Bord Bia has appointed Lisa Phelan to the role of South East Asia Manager.
Phelan joins Bord Bia’s Global Business Development team based in Bord Bia’s Singapore office, where she will be responsible for leading global business initiatives in the priority markets of South East Asia and Oceania.
In her new role as South East Asia Manager, Phelan will lead on regional customer engagement and working cross-functionally with colleagues to design and execute Bord Bia’s strategy across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Last year Irish food and drink exports to South East Asia increased by 25% from €315 million to €394 million.
On the appointment, Shane Hamill, Global Business Development Director for Bord Bia said, “Phelan brings to the role a wealth of food industry knowledge and regional experience, at a time when there is growing focus on safe and sustainably produced food and drink amongst our international customers and consumers. She will also leverage Origin Green in customer interactions, to safeguard Ireland’s global reputation and competitive advantage as a producer of quality sustainable food.”
He added: “Bord Bia’s market prioritisation report has identified South East Asia as growth markets for Irish food and drink, and in particular dairy and meat ingredients. Bord Bia expects this strong growth trajectory to continue for the coming years.”
Phelan has worked for Kerry Group for a number of years, and most recently in the role of Strategic Planning and Commercial Excellence Lead South Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Phelan hails from Dublin and has a MSc in International Business from UCD Smurfit.
Her predecessor, Ciarán Gallagher, has been promoted to Regional Manager Asia, Africa, Middle East with Bord Bia, based in Dublin with responsibility for leading Bord Bia’s market diversification programme.
Laura Goonan and Hannah Fenlon, Partners to Asset Management & Investment Funds,
Dillon Eustace
Pictured from left to right are: Partner Laura Goonan (Asset Management & Investment Funds), Donnacha O’Connor (Managing Partner) and Partner Hannah Fenlon (Asset Management & Investment Funds).
Dillon Eustace LLP is delighted to announce the appointments of both Laura Goonan and Hannah Fenlon as Partners to its Asset Management & Investment Funds practice. They have both joined the firm’s office in Dublin.
Goonan advises a wide variety of investment funds, investment managers, fund management companies and other service providers in the asset management sector on carrying on business in Ireland, including in respect of formation as well as ongoing regulatory advice. She has significant experience in both the UCITS (including ETFs) and AIF fund markets.
Fenlon advises investment managers on a broad range of Irish investment fund regulatory matters, including structuring and establishment as well as ongoing operation and compliance. She is an expert in a wide variety of investment strategies such as equities, hedge, fixed income, private debt and credit and ESG-focussed strategies. Hannah also advises on the establishment, authorisation and ongoing operation of Irish fund management companies.
Commenting on the appointment, Managing Partner Donnacha O’Connor, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Laura and Hannah as Partners. They have both demonstrated outstanding talent and commitment since they joined us as trainee solicitors and their appointments further enhance our market leading asset management and investment funds service.”
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