By Business & Finance 
Pictured from left to right: Ciara Keenan, Solicitor; Caitriona Gahan, Senior Associate; Michael Lavelle, Managing Partner; Fiona Roche, Senior Associate. Lavelle Partners.
New appointments happened this week at Lavelle Partners, LifeSight Ireland Trustee DAC, Irish Venture Capital Association, Safefood, The Coca-Cola Company, and Dangan Group.
Fiona Roche, Caitriona Gahan, Senior Associate, Ciara Keenan, Solicitor,
Lavelle Partners
Lavelle Partners, the national law firm, is expanding to meet the growing demand by adding three new solicitors.
Fiona Roche joins the Property Team as a Senior Associate. Roche has extensive experience providing advice on commercial property, landlord & tenant matters, and residential property.
Senior Associate, Caitriona Gahan, has a wealth of experience advising high-net-worth individuals on probate, estate planning and inheritance tax.
Ciara Keenan is the newest solicitor to join the Commercial Litigation Team. She will be advising on a range of commercial disputes.
Managing Partner Michael Lavelle commented on the appointments: “We have seen a huge increase in demand across the firm. Fiona, Caitriona and Ciara are key hires in particularly high-growth areas – namely commercial property and commercial litigation. We also handle the private affairs of many of our business clients, including SME business owners and having an estate planning expert is a benefit for our client base.”
Ciarán Long, Independent Chair,
LifeSight Ireland Trustee DAC
LifeSight Ireland Trustee DAC (LITD), trustee of WTW Ireland’s defined contribution master trust pension solution for employees and employers, has announced the appointment of Ciarán Long as Independent Chair. Long is an experienced Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of Board Risk and Audit Committees in Life Assurance and General Insurance companies.
In his new role, Long will lead the growth of the LifeSight Ireland master trust, which enables employers to benefit from high-quality, lower risk, market-competitive pension provision without the governance burden for trustees.
Maria Quinlan, Head of LifeSight Ireland, commented on the appointment: “This is an important appointment for LifeSight Ireland, and I am delighted to welcome Ciarán as Independent Chair. Ciarán has a wealth of experience and a real focus on improving members’ engagement, understanding and retirement outcomes in Ireland. Independence is a strong part of our proposition which is reflected heavily in our investment approach, advice to members and is now further enhanced by the appointment of Ciaran to the Board.”
Leo Hamill, Chairperson,
Irish Venture Capital Association
Leo Hamill, a managing partner of Investec Ventures Ireland, has been elected chairperson of the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA). The Irish Venture Capital Association is the representative organisation for venture capital and private equity firms in Ireland.
Despite taking office following significant falls in the value of global tech stocks and mounting international uncertainties, Hamill says he remains optimistic about the prospects for Irish start-ups looking to raise funding over the next few years.
Commenting on his election as chairperson of the IVCA, Hamill said: “In view of global uncertainties and the transient nature of both Foreign Direct Investment and international venture capital, it is more vital than ever that we continue to put the blocks in place to build a vibrant domestic infrastructure of high potential knowledge-based companies.”
Dr Aileen McGloin, Director of Nutrition,
Safefood
Pictured: Dr Aileen McGloin, Director of Nutrition of Safefood.
Safefood, the body responsible for promoting healthy eating, nutrition, and food safety on the island of Ireland, has announced the appointment of Dr Aileen McGloin as its new Director of Nutrition. Dr McGloin will lead the nutrition team at Safefood, working in areas ranging from policy development to research management, communication and behaviour change, and community programmes. Her role will focus on addressing key public health nutrition challenges such as obesity and food poverty.
Combining her background in food, health and behaviour change with experience in public relations, marketing, and digital communications, Dr McGolin has worked in various scientific and communication roles within Safefood for the past 13 years. Most recently, she acted as Marketing and Communications Director for Safefood for the last four years.
Dr McGloin says about her appointment: “I am proud and delighted to be appointed to this role and am looking forward to addressing key public health issues that we face on the island. Food poverty has been exacerbated by our current levels of inflation, and obesity levels have been negatively impacted by two years of the pandemic.”
John Murphy, President and CFO,
The Coca-Cola Company
Pictured: John Murphy, President and CFO of The Coca-Cola Company.
The Coca-Cola Company announced that John Murphy will become President and Chief Financial Officer, effective October 1. Murphy, who currently serves as executive vice president and CFO, will add the president role following the retirement of Brian Smith, who served as president and chief operating officer since 2019. Smith will remain with the company as a senior executive through February 2023.
Murphy has served as CFO since 2019. As president and CFO, he will take on expanded duties, including oversight of Global Ventures, Platform Services, online-to-offline (O2O) digital transformation, and customer and commercial leadership.
James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said: “John has been a vital business partner and leader at the company. As president and CFO, John’s new role will be instrumental in driving critical, enterprise-wide imperatives across the Coca-Cola system.”
Brian Whelan, Managing Director,
Dangan Group
Dangan Group, a fully Irish-owned company, providing multi-service client solutions in recruitment, cleaning and merchandising throughout the country, announced the appointment of Brian Whelan as Managing Director. The new appointment comes as Dangan Group sees organic growth across business divisions in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The company has also announced plans to double its workforce over the next 36 months, which will create up to 40 new full-time roles and over 400 additional contract roles being added across the country.
Brian Whelan takes on the role of Managing Director, previously leading the company’s recruitment division. Prior to this, Whelan held management positions in REED Specialist Recruitment and the Irish Times.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said: “Congratulations to the team at Dangan Group on this really significant expansion and to Brian Whelan on his appointment. It’s great to see an Irish company go from strength to strength and have such ambitious growth plans. It’s a great boost.”
