New and notable appointments at The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, Bord na Móna, Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, Washrooms and Hygiene, Kneip, SSE Renewables, and The Pudding 

Pictured: Jennifer Reid, Senior Strategist, The Pudding

This week see new and notable appointments at The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, Bord na Móna, Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, Washrooms and Hygiene, Kneip, SSE Renewables, and The Pudding.

Conn Cleary, Regional Development Manager,
The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

Pictured: Conn Cleary, Regional Development Manager, The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland

The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland has appointed Conn Cleary to the role of Regional Development Manager, Ireland. He succeeds John Burns who recently retired after several years in the position.

Salvador Nash, President of The Chartered Governance UK & Ireland – Irish region said, “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Conn Cleary to the role of Regional Development Manager, Ireland. Conn is a vastly experienced business development professional with almost 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry. In particular, he has held senior strategic, leadership sales roles in Ireland for the last 13 years.

“Conn joins us following a short period with Innovu Insurance where he was Head of Commercial. Previously he worked for IPB Mutual Insurance Company from 2011 to 2019 where he held several senior positions, including Head of Sales and Chief Business Development Officer. He was instrumental in developing a sales strategy targeting both new business and cross sell/up-sell opportunities. He oversaw the significant growth of IPB from a Gross Written Premium of €100M to €160M by the end of 2019. Prior to IPB, Conn held the roles of Head of Sales & Marketing at Ecclesiastical Ireland and Business Development Executive at Allianz.

“Conn’s appointment reinforces the longstanding commitment of the Institute to good governance in Ireland. The Institute is the only chartered professional body dedicated to supporting governance professionals in Ireland and across the globe and has a 130-year-old history of assuring world class standards of governance by setting the international qualifying standard.

“Governance professionals play a critical role in helping boards to make the right decisions and pivot their organisations across the many social, political and economic challenges with which they are faced, including most recently the COVID-19 crisis. Conn joins a team which believes firmly in the value that good governance brings to society and I am delighted that he will be part of the Institute’s efforts to help organisations to deliver on wider goals of diversity, climate and ethical business practice as Ireland goes beyond the pandemic.”

Sonya Mallon, Brendan Kelly, Company Secretary & General Counsel, Commercial Manager, respectively,
Bord na Móna

Pictured: Sonya Mallon, Company Secretary and General Counsel, Bord na Móna

Bord na Móna is pleased to announce the strengthening of its executive team with two new senior appointments.

Sonya Mallon has been appointed Company Secretary and General Counsel at Bord na Móna.  Ms Mallon has over 10 years’ experience working in various roles within Bord na Móna. In her new role she is Company Secretary for the Bord na Móna group of companies and is also responsible for all legal advice for the entire Bord na Móna group of companies in Ireland as the company implements ambitious growth plans.

Pictured: Brendan Kelly, Commercial Manager, Bord na Móna

Brendan Kelly has been appointed Commercial Manager at Bord na Móna. This is a newly established role as part of the firm’s growth and development strategy. Brendan will lead the commercialisation of Bord na Móna’s Renewable Portfolio and Renewable Busine

ss Diversification strategy.  He joins Bord na Móna from US Energy Technology Company, Smart Wires, where he held multiple senior management roles in the North American and EMEA regions, most recently as Vice President of European Business development.

Established to support the State’s economic progress and security of energy supply, Bord na Móna is an Irish, semi-state climate solutions company helping lead Ireland towards a climate neutral future. Eighty percent of all Bord na Móna’s operations is focused on renewable energy production, recycling, peatland rehabilitation, and sustainable product development.

In 2020 Bord na Móna launched a €126m Peatland Climate Action Scheme, which will harness the natural power of peatlands to secure a store of over 100m tonnes of carbon in perpetuity, cut emissions, and capture millions of tonnes more in the coming years. The company is also raising €1.6billion to fund a series of major climate focused projects across its 200,000 acre landholding. By 2030, Bord na Móna will be able to supply a third of Irish homes with renewable energy.

Dr Thorsten Giesecke, General Manager,
Janssen Sciences Ireland UC

Pictured: Dr Thorsten Giesecke, General Manager, Janssen Sciences Ireland UC

Janssen, the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, has appointed Dr Thorsten Giesecke as General Manager, Commercial Business, Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, which is responsible for commercialising six areas of medicines where the need is high including: oncology, immunology,  neuroscience, infectious diseases and vaccines, pulmonary hypertension and cardiovascular and metabolism.

Thorsten joins Janssen from the Company’s headquarters in New Jersey where he worked as Director of Global Commercial Strategy for early assets in oncology and prior to that as lead of the EMEA regional haematology strategy for multiple myeloma.

Thorsten, who has relocated to Ireland from the US, is a performance and purpose-driven leader with an impressive track record of building and leading high performing teams, together with solid experience in Global/Regional Strategic leadership roles.

In these roles, Thorsten has spearheaded several strategic projects including ensuring a transformational pipeline in prostate cancer through earlier and better commercial input, improving the global patient advocacy interaction, assessing the dynamic impact of new market entrants on cancer epidemiology, and developing biomarker strategies. He has also driven the digital agenda in EMEA, introducing and implementing a digital customer experience at scientific conferences across the region.

Thorsten first joined Janssen Germany in 2006 as Medical Development Manager and assumed roles of increasing responsibility before being appointed as Business Unit Director for therapy areas including neuroscience and metabolics.

Originally from Germany, Thorsten began his career as an anaesthesiologist and scientist at University Hospitals in Germany and the US. He is a board-certified anaesthesiologist and pain therapist and holds an MD and a PhD from the University of Cologne.

Commenting on his appointment, Thorsten said, “I am delighted to be joining the Irish team and to be taking on the role of General Manager with responsibility for the Janssen commercial business at such an important time, and I believe we have a huge opportunity ahead of us. As we emerge from this pandemic, a new era of partnership between the government, the health service and industry will be vital to achieving the best for Irish patients. I am fully committed to building on the remarkable work that has already been done here to improve care and ensure timely access to innovative treatments as we continue to make a real difference to the lives of people, health systems and society as a whole.”

Thorsten brings his vast international experience to support the teams at Janssen, working to address some of Ireland’s most pressing health challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and tackling cancer with precision medicines and cutting-edge technologies in cell and gene therapy.

Janssen is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies in Ireland which employs over 5,000 people at 10 sites in Ireland across manufacturing, R&D and business operations, representing all three sectors of the company – Pharmaceutical, Medical Devices and Consumer Health. Many of Janssen’s innovative medicines are manufactured for global export from Irish sites.

Eoin Foley, Managing Director,
Washrooms and Hygiene

Pictured: Eoin Foley, Managing Director, Washrooms and Hygiene

Washrooms and Hygiene specialist phs appoints Eoin Foley as managing director to head up its Irish operations

The company, which has a local presence in every county in the Republic of Ireland has hired Eoin Foley to lead the fast-growing business.

phs, the washroom and hygiene company responsible for Washroom, floor care and air care services in the Republic of Ireland has hired a new senior leader. Eoin Foley has been brought on as managing director to lead the fast-growing business in Ireland.

Foley, 39 from Patrickswell in county Limerick, joins from a vacant property, security and management company – where he was managing director for four years.

During this time, Foley was responsible for leading the Irish team and exceeded the group’s growth plans during each year of his leadership. He also made operational improvements to increase the efficiency of the business and developed new customer service strategies that led to business growth; while honing managerial skills developed over 16 years in senior positions.

phs group’s CEO, Matthew Brabin will work with Eoin Foley to drive forward the group’s priorities in the region and said, “Eoin brings with him exceptional management and growth experience which we feel will hugely benefit our existing Irish business. He’s a heavyweight addition to our senior management team.

“It’s an interesting time for the business, as we strive to not just serve our customers, but also better serve the communities we work in. I’m looking forward to working with Eoin to further the work we’ve been doing in the Republic of Ireland around air quality, sustainability, washroom services and period equality.”

 The team Foley will lead is composed of local specialists across divisions including washrooms, floorcare and air care services with service vehicles in every county in Ireland.

Eoin Foley, new managing director at phs Ireland said, “This has been a challenging time for all businesses in Ireland. I’ve been impressed with the way phs has served communities and businesses during the pandemic; as well as its dedication in supporting those clients as we graduate towards being a fully operational country again.

“The key to any business’ success is its people, and I’m a firm believer in ensuring that every member of our team understands the potential our business has in Ireland, and I want to bring them on that journey, to encourage them to feel empowered, entrepreneurial and most certainly part of a team.

“Beyond onboarding more clients, by working with our partners we can play a bigger part in society and be known as a business leading the way in corporate social responsibility. Not just because it’s commercially viable, but because it’s the right thing to do.”

Cyril Molitor, Chief Operating Officer,
Kneip

Pictured: Cyril Molitor, Chief Operating Officer, Kneip

Kneip, announced the appointment of Cyril Molitor as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Molitor brings 20 years’ industry experience, having occupied several senior positions at financial services institutions, including HSBC, Credit Suisse and AXA. He was most recently the CEO of Woven, an outsourcing provider, where he drove technological innovation and delivered service excellence to its clients. Prior to this, he was the Chief Transformation Officer and Director at Innovation Group Business Services, a leading InsureTech company which he set up in South Africa. Molitor is an experienced and accomplished leader with an impressive background in driving innovation and running operations in financial services and private equity backed businesses. He graduated from Reims Management School with an MSc in Management.

Based in Kneip’s Luxembourg office, Molitor will be responsible for Operations and Technology. In his capacity he will be driving the company’s operational strategy. He joins Kneip as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, reporting to the CEO, Enrique Sacau.

Commenting on his appointment, Cyril Molitor, Chief Operating Officer of Kneip said, “This is a truly exciting time for me to be joining Kneip. Over nearly three decades, Kneip has built a world class reputation for delivering innovative products and solutions for some of the biggest names in the fund industry. I am thrilled to be joining an ambitious executive team, and I look forward to delivering outstanding client experience and building the structures that will support the next stage of Kneip’s expansion.”

Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau commented, “Cyril’s appointment reflects our commitment to innovate and deliver exceptional service for our clients. We are thrilled that he is joining our team at an important time in our company’s development as we embark on the next stage of Kneip’s growth. His impressive track record in operations and technology gives Cyril the perfect experience to drive innovation and deliver high value to our business and to our clients.”

With Molitor’s arrival, Kneip’s current COO, Mario Mantrisi, who had stepped in the role a year ago, becomes responsible for market development with an emphasis to grow Kneip in new markets. As the newly appointed Strategy Director, Mantrisi retains his role as a member of Kneip’s Executive Leadership Team.

Kneip’s CEO, Enrique Sacau, said, “Mario took over Client Services last year and leaves Cyril a transformed operation. Thanks to his exceptional knowledge of our product, our clients, and our regulatory environment he will now have the opportunity again to grow Kneip.”

Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director,
SSE Renewables

Pictured: Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director, SSE Renewables

SSE has announced that Stephen Wheeler is to be appointed as Managing Director, SSE Renewables, following Jim Smith’s decision to step down from his role and retire in April 2022.

Stephen Wheeler is currently Managing Director of SSE Thermal, where he is focused on decarbonising the company’s flexible generation, energy-from-waste and energy storage portfolio, and driving the transition to a net zero future. Stephen was previously Managing Director of SSE Ireland, and prior to this, General Manager (Ireland) of SSE Renewables. He was part of the successful management team that grew the Airtricity renewable energy platform before SSE acquired it in 2008. Before joining Airtricity, he spent over 10 years working with ABB and Siemens internationally, specialising in the development and construction of generation assets. Stephen is a graduate of Electrical Engineering at University College Dublin, with an MBA from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, and a past Chairman of Wind Energy Ireland (WEI).

Stephen will become part of the SSE Group Executive Committee and will report to Board Director Martin Pibworth, Group Energy and Commercial Director. He will take up his role in January 2022.

SSE Renewables has the largest offshore wind pipeline across UK and Ireland at 7GW and in the last 12 months SSE has begun to export SSE Renewables’ capabilities in offshore wind development, construction and operation to international markets where it sees growth opportunities. With clear aspirations to reach a run rate of at least 1GW of new assets a year during the second half of this decade, SSE Renewables has a renewable output target of 30TWh a year by 2030, which it expects to exceed.

Stephen Wheeler said, “I am immensely proud that I will be leading SSE Renewables. We have a fantastic platform to build from with the business currently leading the construction of more offshore wind energy than anybody else in the world, including developing and building the largest offshore wind farm in the world at Dogger Bank. I’m excited to be building on the excellent job that Jim has done in establishing SSE Renewables as a leading player in the sector and I look forward to a smooth transition with the highly talented Renewables team in order to deliver our domestic and international ambitions, and in doing so accelerating into growth and helping reach net zero.”

Martin Pibworth said, “These are exciting times for the SSE group and Stephen will bring both international and domestic experience of developing and operating low carbon electricity to help propel the renewables business further still. Jim Smith’s contribution to SSE and the wider energy sector has been immense over a number of years. However, in Stephen we have a fully able successor and I look forward to working with him to build on our already enviable pipeline and enter a new era of renewables growth as we seek to build on our position as the UK and Ireland’s national energy champion and expand internationally.”

Emma Ross, Jennifer Reid, Operations Director, Senior Strategist, respectively,
The Pudding 

Emma Ross, Operations Director 

Pictured: Emma Ross, Operations Director, The Pudding

Pictured: Jennifer Reid, Senior Strategist, The Pudding