Pictured: Ian Brady, Chief Executive Officer, Unio Group

This week sees new and notable appointments at Unio Group, Ergo and ElectroRoute.

Ian Brady, Chief Executive Officer,
Unio Group

 Unio Financial Services Ltd, incorporating Unio Wealth Management and Unio Employee Benefits has announced the appointment of Ian Brady as CEO of the Unio Group of companies as of 1^st March 2024.  He succeeds Des McGarry who has retired from the business.

Appointed in August 2023 as Managing Director of Unio Wealth Management (Ireland’s newest wealth management advisory firm of scale, introduced last April), this appointment will see Ian Brady expand his role to the leadership of both Unio Employee Benefits (specialising in pension and investment for employee groups) and Unio Wealth Management.

Ian takes the helm at the financial services group after 21 years’ experience in the wealth management industry, formerly holding roles as Managing Director of Davy’s Wealth Management business as well as working as a corporate executive and non-profit board member. With a deep understanding of global wealth management, Ian is an industry-leading appointment, bringing with him a strong strategic vision, which will bring Unio into its next phase of growth.

Ian Brady, commenting on his appointment of Unio Group; “The formation of Unio Financial Services and the scale of our ambition has come at a pivotal point for people in Ireland, who have been vastly under-advised in terms of how to plan and grow their finances. Unio is uniquely positioned to serve and advise both corporate and individual clients across Ireland on their financial futures. As I take on the role of CEO of the Unio Group, I am encouraged by the opportunities ahead for Irish investors as we seek to demystify wealth and financial markets, by fostering an innovative, open and inclusive approach. It is an exciting time for the organisation as Unio brings forth its financial expertise, backed by our parent company Great-West Lifeco to empower our clients to grow their wealth responsibly and in a manner that will enhance their lives.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Des McGarry, former CEO of Unio Group, the very best in his next chapter and I look forward to working hard to build on the strong foundations he has delivered through his dedication and formidable talent.”

Pictured: John Molloy, General Manager, Ergo, Northern Ireland

Ergo, the IT solutions provider, has announced the appointment of industry leader, John Molloy as General Manager for Northern Ireland. John will take the helm of Ergo’s Northern Ireland operations, supporting the company’s growing team in the region.

With over 25 years’ experience in the IT industry, John has joined Ergo to spearhead the company’s growth in Northern Ireland and to expand the range of services on offer to its clients across both the public and private sector. Ergo works with notable clients in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing industries, partnering with them on their digital transformation journeys.

In his new role, John will be responsible for the strategic development and leadership of Ergo’s Northern Irish division as well as overseeing and implementing the company’s operational and commercial plans. The overarching goal is for the Northern Irish facility to ultimately act as a centre for research and development, fostering a culture of innovation and technological advancement.

John also has experience with other leading IT companies, including Microsoft and British Telecom, and most recently Codec.

John’s appointment highlights Ergo’s belief in Northern Ireland as a hub for technology and innovation. As this facility grows, Ergo aims to leverage local talent, resources, and expertise to enhance its digital practice exponentially, whilst also focusing on cloud solutions, productivity, managed services, security, and continuing its unyielding support for IT leaders and CIOs.

Commenting on his new role, John said: “I am delighted to be joining Ergo as General Manager of Northern Ireland. I am committed to driving real value for Ergo and our customers from the get-go. Since first engaging with Ergo, I have been continuously impressed by its depth and breadth of solutions, the company culture and the incredibly talented team members.”

Paul McCann, CEO at Ergo said: “We are very pleased to have John on board, as we know his knowledge, skills and business acumen will be important to ensuring our sustained growth and expansion in Northern Ireland. We see huge potential to expand our operations in Northern Ireland and believe John is perfectly placed to help us achieve this. This is an exciting time for Ergo. Not only is John’s appointment in line with our ambitious growth strategy, but also demonstrates our commitment to fostering innovation, inclusive growth, and sustainable practices in Northern Ireland.”

Caoimhe Giblin and Donal Flynn, Co-CEOs,
ElectroRoute

Pictured (from l-r): Ronan Doherty, Caoimhe Giblin and Donal Flynn

ElectroRoute, the global renewable energy trading and services firm which is now owned by Mitsubishi Corporation today announced that co-founder and CEO Ronan Doherty is stepping down from his role after 13 years. He will be replaced by current Chief Commercial Officer Caoimhe Giblin and Chief Financial Officer Donal Flynn who will become Co-CEOs.

ElectroRoute was established by Ronan Doherty and his co-founders in 2010 and has grown to trade and optimise over 1.8GW of renewable assets, trade in more than 15 separate energy markets around the world and employ more than 120 energy professionals across Ireland, the UK and Japan.  It became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation in 2022. Ronan Doherty will leave his position in May 2024 and be available to the new CEO team for a transition period thereafter.

The new CEO team brings a wealth of combined experience in the renewable energy and energy trading markets.  Caoimhe was a strategic early hire for ElectroRoute, joining in 2014 to build and drive the expansion of its client facing activities.   She previously served with some of the ElectroRoute founders in SSE / Airtricity where she was Director of Finance of SSE Renewables. Donal joined ElectroRoute in 2021 to help effect its acquisition by Mitsubishi.  He was formerly Group CFO at Glen Dimplex and Executive Director – Group Finance and Commercial at ESB, having also served as CFO with Caoimhe and the future ElectroRoute team at Airtricity.

ElectroRoute has continued its buildout of its Japan subsidiary with continued growth in physical and financial trading activity, executing the first trade on the Japan based TOCOM exchange, executing its first balancing PPA and Corporate PPA in 2023 and its first PPA under the new Japan renewables support scheme in 2024. In Europe, ElectroRoute has continued growing its client portfolio, signing trading and optimisation contracts with over 800MW of new build renewable power projects as well as an expansion into the renewable gas sector with a landmark biomethane importation transaction with a large transport company.

Commenting on his decision to step away from ElectroRoute, Ronan Doherty said, “It has been an honour to lead this amazing team for the past 13 years and in handing over to Donal and Caoimhe for the next phase of its growth I know it is in very safe hands.   I will be spending more time with my family in the immediate period ahead and in due course will consider where I can next contribute to the Green Transition which has been my life’s work.  I wish the very best of luck to the team and to our fantastic shareholder Mitsubishi Corporation in the years ahead”.

Co-CEOs, Donal Flynn and Caoimhe Giblin said: “Ronan leaves behind an extraordinary legacy having built ElectroRoute with his co-founders over the years. The business now operates in 15 markets, handles 1,000s trades a day and has facilitated the removal of 5M tonnes of CO2 from the energy system.  We would like to thank him personally for all his support, drive and vision while working with him in ElectroRoute.  We are very optimistic about the future of the business as it continues to expand and build on the exceptional platform that Ronan has built”.

ElectroRoute Chairman and General Manager of Mitsubishi Corporation Power Solutions Group Tsuyoshi Kaji said: “We are sorry to see Ronan leave ElectroRoute but the strength and depth of the senior management team he built means the company is strongly positioned to grow further under Caoimhe Giblin and Donal Flynn.  ElectroRoute provides vital services to help the world decarbonise and we look forward to the opportunities in the years ahead in Japan, UK and Europe in particular.