By Business & Finance 
Pictured (L–R): Susan Kelly, Partner — Infrastructure and Industrial Practice and Áine Brolly, Partner — Life Sciences Practice, Odgers Berndtson
There were new and notable appointments this week at Odgers Berndtson, Grant Thornton Ireland, ID-Pal, Bank of Ireland and Accenture.
Susan Kelly, Partner — Infrastructure and Industrial Practice; Áine Brolly, Partner — Life Sciences Practice,
Odgers Berndtson
Odgers Berndtson, Ireland’s most experienced executive search and leadership services firm is delighted to announce the appointment of two new partners. Susan Kelly leads the firms Infrastructure and Industrial Practice whilst also leading the Public and Semi-State sectors.
Starting her career in Standard Life Investments (now Aberdeen), Kelly worked alongside Investment Managers managing the pension funds of some of Ireland’s top companies. Moving to recruitment just over 23 years ago, she has honed her skills in the UK, Ireland and Europe recruiting for financial and professional services, fintech, renewables, public sector, pharma and not for profit through Morgan McKinley and Signium Ireland.
Kelly has facilitated the setting up of a number of companies in Ireland and helped secure top talent at C suite and C-1 including talent for many Board roles. After the Brexit vote in 2016, she spent the next 3-4 years helping to source talent for entities building out their Irish entities on the back of their Plan B operations here.
Kelly is a qualified Psychometric tester (Willis Towers Watson) and has completed Deloitte training in leadership. In 2022, she became the Europe and Africa representative for her last company on the AESC Council for Diversity and Inclusion, which she is passionate about.
Áine Brolly leads the Life Sciences Practice whilst retaining a portfolio of clients in the financial services, professional services and technology sectors.
Brolly joined Odgers Ireland in November 2022 as a Partner with responsibility for leading their life sciences practice while retaining a broad portfolio of clients across the financial and professional services, and technology sectors. She has over 20 years’ experience in executive recruitment having recruited hundreds of C-level executives with a particular focus on CEO’s, CFO’s and CTO’s.
Outside of hercareer in executive recruitment, she spent three years in Silicon Valley as SVP Business Development West Coast for Invest Northern Ireland where she led a team responsible for driving Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade and export. She and her team successfully secured 12 US investments into NI during her three-year tenure.
Additionally, Brolly has held a number of board positions including with Skillnet Ireland, a business support agency of the Government of Ireland with a mandate to advance the competitiveness, productivity and innovation of Irish businesses through enterprise-led workforce development.
In 2019, she completed the Deloitte/30% club board training. Áine possesses a Law degree from Queens University Belfast and a Masters in Opera from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. She is also an accredited psychometric assessor and executive coach.
Multiple, Partner,
Grant Thornton Ireland
Pictured (L–R): Kevin Devenney, Ann Marie Costello, Sinead Donovan, Michael McAteer, Sarah Meredith, Shane O’Neill, Trevor McCarron & Padraig Ryan of Grant Thornton Ireland.
Grant Thornton Ireland announced six new partners across several business units on February 10th, 2023 as the firm continues to grow in line with client demands. The partner appointments are in the areas of tax, corporate finance, business consulting, finance operations and financial services advisory.
The firm said the appointments refelct “a culture of promotion and ambition across the firm.” Grant Thornton Ireland currently employs over 2,500 people across seven locations in Ireland, and has a presence in Bermuda, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man.
Speaking on the appointment of the six new partners, Michael McAteer, Managing Partner, Grant Thronton said, “These new partner appointments show our commitment to promoting talent and empowering our people to achieve their ambitions. They also reflect and build on our plans for the continued growth of our firm, in line with the needs of our clients.”
“Given the economic situation as we head into 2023, there are several challenges facing Irish businesses, including the increasing costs of doing business and inflation, an evolving global tax landscape, technological disruption, the impacts of climate change and Brexit. Grant Thornton is ready to support Irish businesses in overcoming these obstacles, to build resilience and effectively manage risks so they can continue to thrive.”
Ann Marie Costello, Partner — Corporate Finance Advisory
Ann Marie Costello becomes partner in corporate finance advisory. Costello joined Grant Thornton in 2012 and while she has significant experience across transaction advisory services and debt restructuring, she specialises in the area of M&A working on behalf of numerous Irish SME’s and international clients on both buy-side and sell-side deal mandates.
She has worked with many of the firm’s largest Irish clients and has also developed an extensive network of international clients with investment strategies focused on Ireland.
Kevin Devenney, Partner — Tax
Kevin Devenney was appointed tax partner, specialising in the provision of indirect tax services to domestic and multinational organisations. He has more than 15 years’ experience delivering advice to clients on complex indirect tax matters, particularly in the areas of property, financial services and assisting multinationals meet their multi-jurisdictional obligations. Devenney regularly represents businesses interacting with the Irish tax authorities and facilitates the resolution of tax audits and disputes.
Trevor McCarron, Partner — Finance Operations
Trevor McCarron, the firm’s Chief Financial Officer, becomes partner in finance operations. Since joining in 2017, he has transformed the finance department’s culture while improving the efficiency, delivery, and output of information. McCarron has extensive experience in delivering on strategic initiatives both in Grant Thornton, and in his previous roles, and he has a clear vision for the future of Finance within Grant Thornton.
Sarah Meredith, Parter — Tax
Sarah Meredith, who joined the firm in 2010, is appointed tax partner. She works in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) area of tax and her exceptional technical knowledge means she is considered a trusted advisor for a large portfolio of clients.
Shane O’Neill, Partner — Financial Services Advisory
Shane O’Neill becomes partner in financial services advisory, after joining Grant Thornton’s FSA team as Head of Technical Change in 2021. He has significant experience in Strategic Business Transformation, Digital, FinTech and RegTech innovation, and complex M&A programmes. O’Neill helps our clients to shape, grow and launch their businesses; and his vast network, both locally and internationally, ensures that he is considered a key external advisor in his area, within the marketplace.
Padraig Ryan, Partner — Business Consulting Advisory
Padraig Ryan, who joined the firm in 2016, becomes partner in business consulting advisory, having previously worked with Ornua Cooperative Limited (formerly the Irish Dairy Board) and Children’s University Hospital. He has over fifteen years of experience in enhancing business performance and adding value by providing strategic and operational support to our clients. Padraig has a proven track record of leading strategy development, complex transformation projects, process standardisation and end-to-end project and programme management.
Tim Murphy, Independent Chairperson of the Board of Directors,
ID-Pal
Leading global identity verification provider ID-Pal, has announced the appointment of Tim Murphy as the new independent Chairperson of its Board of Directors. An early investor in ID-Pal, Murphy has sat on the Board as a non-executive member since 2017 and his current position is Principal Director at mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory firm, Guacamole Partners Limited.
Murphy has accrued widespread experience investing in and advising start-ups along with serving as an Executive and Independent Director in several financial services firms. A qualified accountant, Murphy oversaw the expansion of BNY Mellon in Ireland before holding several executive roles, with a predominant focus on M&A in the fintech space.
At Waystone (formally DMS Offshore Investment Services Ltd) he was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer during the firm’s successful management buyout, before becoming an independent non-executive Director there. Murphy is also currently the independent chair of Geneva Ireland Financial Trading.
Murphy’s previous roles also include serving as Director on the board of NBCGF, the National Bank of Canada’s Irish subsidiary, for nine years; and being a member of the Social Care Workers Registration Board for the past seven years, including his current tenure as Chairperson.
As Chairperson of ID-Pal’s Board of Directors, he will oversee governance requirements at ID-Pal which is a fast-growth company that is pioneering new standards in KYC and AML screening for organisations globally. The appointment comes just six months after ID-Pal’s successful €7 million Series A funding round, led by Inspire Investments.
Murphy brings a wealth of industry expertise to his appointment, as ID-Pal meets global demand across over 30 sectors for its industry-leading identity verification solution.
On being appointed as the new Chairperson of the Board of Directors in ID-Pal, Tim Murphy said, “As an early investor in ID-Pal, I am a firm believer in the market-leading proposition it has to offer and look forward to supporting and advising the team in my new role, as it continues to deliver on its international expansion plans.”
“I am excited to be part of the journey ID-Pal is on as it continues to exceed the goals it set out to achieve and look forward to working more closely with the Executive team.”
On the appointment Colum Lyons, CEO and founder, ID-Pal commented, “ID-Pal has always focused on having the best technology and people in place to deliver and scale – and this has been a key factor in our record growth. Since 2017 Tim’s contributions have been invaluable, given his insights and expertise from across the fintech sector and financial services space.
“I am confident that his appointment will drive the expansion of our identity verification solution to more markets worldwide.”
Lucy Ryan, Head of Food & Beverage Sector,
Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland has appointed Lucy Ryan as Head of Food & Beverage Sector on its Business Banking Sectors team. Shewill focus on growing the Bank’s food and beverage lending and funding operations, guiding and working with businesses in the food and beverage industry across the country to tackle the challenges currently facing the sector.
Ryan brings a vast amount of experience to her new role, with over 25 years’ experience working with major food, beverage and alcohol companies including Diageo, C&C Group and Valeo Foods in Ireland, Italy and the UK. She joins Bank of Ireland from BFree Foods, a Dublin-based provider of gluten-free bread and bakery products.
In addition, she holds a degree in languages from University College Cork and a Post Graduate qualification from UCD Smurfit Business school.
Discussing Ryan’s appointment, Jilly Clarkin, Head of Customer Journeys & SME Markets, Bank of Ireland said, “We are delighted to appoint Lucy to this very important role leading the Food & Beverage Sector. Lucy possesses vast domestic and international knowledge and experience of working within the food and beverage industries, knowing what works to establish and grow successful brands and what it takes to sustain them in ultra-competitive markets.”
“It’s an exciting time for Lucy to be taking up this role, with a variety of changes and challenges impacting businesses across the food and beverage sectors. I’m sure that Lucy’s extensive industry knowhow will help both new and existing food and beverage businesses to achieve their short-term goals and support their long-term aims.”
Enda King, Managing Director for The Dock,
Accenture
Accenture has today announced the appointment of Enda King as the new Managing Director for The Dock, Accenture’s flagship R&D and global innovation centre.
In his new role, King is responsible for the growth and development of The Dock’s global innovation capabilities. He brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having worked with senior clients across a range of industries to help them grow through innovation and to solve business challenges.
King has spent most of his career in the United States and has recently returned to Ireland to take up his new position. He joined Accenture in 2019 as the North America leader of Accenture’s acquired ?What If! and also acted as the lead for Accenture Innovation in the North-East.
Commenting on the appointment, Hilary O’Meara, Country Managing Director, Accenture in Ireland said, “I am delighted to welcome Enda into his new role as Managing Director of The Dock. Enda’s new position will see him play a pivotal role as The Dock continues its innovation journey as a major hub supporting Accenture’s overall innovation globally. The experience that Enda brings will be instrumental in helping our clients to not just provoke and disrupt the future, but also to incubate break-through solutions that solve their toughest challenges. I wish Enda every success in his new role and look forward to working with him.”
“I am pleased to take up this new leadership role at a time when the team is using R&D and Innovation Experience to help our clients address the challenges facing their businesses,” said King.
“With our teams comprising experts across business, social sciences, design, engineering, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology, we pioneer growth futures and realise value. I am delighted to be part of the fantastic work at The Dock as Accenture’s flagship R&D and global innovation centre.”
King succeeds Ryan Shanks, who has recently taken on the role of Europe Innovation Lead.
He returned home to Ireland, having spent over 20 years living and working in New York. King holds a BA Hons in Political Science, German and Italian from UCC and a post-grad in Advertising from DIT.
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New and notable appointments at Quintas, Deloitte Ireland and Data Edge
