New and notable appointments at Verde Energy Group, Impax Asset Management, Willis Towers Watson, and Aptos

Pictured: Daniel Parker, Head of Business Development for Broker Services, Willis Towers Watson, Ireland

This week sees new and notable appointments at Verde Energy Group, Impax Asset Management, Willis Towers Watson, and Aptos.

Kevin Cronin, Chief Financial Officer,
Verde Energy Group

Pictured: Kevin Cronin, CFO, Verde Energy Group

Verde Energy Group has announced the appointment of Kevin Cronin as Chief Financial Officer, who will be based in the company’s Cork headquarters.

Kevin is a Chartered Certified accountant with 16 years’ experience, and in his new role he is responsible for the day to day operations of the Finance and Administration function of the business.

A graduate of Limerick Institute of Technology, Kevin qualified with Grant Thornton, where he worked predominantly in the SME sector.  He also previously worked as Group Finance Manager with PFH Technology Group, and as Financial Controller in Green Circle Marketing Limited.

Kevin’s hire is the first of an additional 30 jobs which will be created over the next two years by Verde Energy Group, the largest recruitment drive by the company since its inception in 2010.

Verde Energy Group recently announced details of a €20 million ‘Green Fund’ it has put in place to support the installation of ‘green’ solutions, including EV Chargers, Solar PV, and energy efficient LED lighting, as well as its innovative ENWARE Sustainability SaaS platform, nationwide.

In response to his appointment, Kevin commented: “I am excited to join Verde Energy Group as they have committed to offering €20 million towards cost-saving, energy efficient solutions for clients nationwide. This is the way towards a more accessible and greener Ireland, and I am proud to be associated with that.”

Formerly known as Verde LED, Verde Energy Group is steering clients towards a carbon neutral facility while generating cash savings, and commenting on Kevin’s appointment, Paul Martin, COO and Co-founder of Verde Energy Group said: “We are delighted to have Kevin join us at this pivotal point in the growth of Verde, kick starting our largest recruitment drive to date. Kevin brings a wealth of experience to the role, and we welcome him to the firm as we diversify our service and product offering in line with Government commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.”

Adrian Missen, Emily Cassidy, Country Head, Head of Compliance,
Impax Asset Management 

Impax Asset Management (“Impax”), the specialist asset manager investing in the transition to a more sustainable global economy, announced the appointment of Adrian Missen as Country Head, Ireland and Emily Cassidy as Head of Compliance, Ireland.

The appointments of Adrian and Emily follow a number of recent hires in Impax’s Dublin office, which Impax has established as a strategic centre for European Union activity post-Brexit.

Adrian’s role is split between executive duties as Country Head and in Client Service, where he will lead client relations with Irish domiciled clients and consultants. He has more than 18 years’ experience in the industry across senior management, investments, and client service and business development, and previously served on the Investment Committee in his role as Head of Client Development at BCP Asset Management and was Senior Vice President at Kleinwort Benson Investors (now KBIGI). His appointment was effective as of 1 June 2021.

Emily Cassidy joins from Eaton Vance, where she was Head of Compliance at its Irish entity. Emily has over 15 years’ experience in legal and compliance roles in financial services, having worked as a lawyer at the Central Bank of Ireland, and held senior compliance roles in LGIM and Blackrock. Her appointment was effective as of 14 June 2021.

Commenting on the appointments, Ian Simm, Chief Executive, Impax Asset Management said: “The hire of Adrian and Emily and the build-out of the team represents a big leap forward for Impax in Ireland, our chosen base for European Union activity. Ireland has been the home of Impax’s UCITS funds range since 2004.  With a much larger team in Dublin, I expect that there’ll be many more opportunities for us to strengthen further relations with current clients and to extend our client base.”

Adrian Missen, Country Head, Ireland, Impax, added: “I am delighted to join Impax, which is recognised globally as a pioneer in investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. We have already built a fantastic team in Dublin and I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues to help support Impax’s growth journey and to capitalise on the significant opportunities in the Irish market.”

Daniel Parker, Head of Business Development for Broker Services in Ireland,
Willis Towers Watson

Pictured: Daniel Parker, Head of Business Development for Broker Services, Willis Towers Watson, Ireland

Willis Towers Watson in Ireland has announced the appointment of Daniel Parker as Head of Business Development for Broker Services in Ireland.

In his new role, Daniel will lead the growth of Willis Towers Watson Broker Services division, providing exceptionally easy to use off the shelf products to commercial brokers across Ireland. The Broker Services team offers products and services in areas such as private motor, fleet, motor trade, golf and property markets.

Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, Daniel worked for RSA insurance in a variety of roles spanning underwriting, strategy and business development. He is a marketing graduate from Technological University Dublin, a certified insurance practitioner and a keen swimmer.

Commenting on the appointment, Peter Hayden, Head of Broker Services at Willis Towers Watson Ireland stated: “This is an important appointment for Willis Towers Watson in Ireland and I am delighted to welcome Daniel to the team. The last twelve months have been unprecedented, and the importance of the insurance industry and role of Brokers has never been more apparent. We have a strong and established reputation as one of the leading wholesale providers of insurance solutions to the broker market in Ireland. This reputation is underpinned by a suite of products specifically designed to meet broker needs and combined with our global scale, our work is defined by best-in-class service, which will be further enhanced by the appointment of Daniel”.

Willis Towers Watson Ireland provides support to independent commercial brokers in Ireland via its offices in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Limerick and Galway. The Irish team is backed by the Willis Towers Watson global organisation which employs 45,000 people across more than 140 countries and markets around the world.

Thilo Freund, General Manager EMEA,
Aptos

Pictured: Thilo Freund, General Manager EMEA, Aptos

Aptos, a company centered on retail technology solutions, announced today that Thilo Freund has been appointed General Manager EMEA. In this role, Freund will oversee Aptos’ sales, solution consulting, professional services and software delivery teams in the region. 

Reporting to Aptos President and COO Steve Towe, Freund will be an integral member of the executive leadership team. He represents the most recent top-tier software executive hired by Aptos, following the previous appointments of new chiefs across finance (David Bertolino), human resources (Terry Geraghty) and product (Karthik Mani) as well as General Manager Americas Jeremy Grunzweig, earlier in 2021. 

Freund brings to Aptos more than 20 years of experience at leading multinational software companies, with a majority of that time focused on supporting retailers’ technology needs. Prior to Aptos, Freund served as Senior Vice President of Sales at GK Software SE, a provider of software for the retail sector. He also held multiple leadership roles at MICROS Systems (now Oracle), including serving as Managing Director for its retail business in Central Europe. 

Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Freund has a track record of customer-focused, results-driven leadership and a deep background in retail technologies, which Towe felt would be the ideal fit for Aptos’ newly created general manager position in EMEA. 

“Thilo is a strategic and entrepreneurial leader who has a clear customer focus and a history of driving profitable growth for software firms,” said Towe. “With a passion for sales and customer service, Thilo has what it takes to manage the entire Aptos customer journey — from go-to-market strategy and professional services to customer delivery and ongoing customer success. We are delighted to have him join the team and help take Aptos to new heights in Europe.”   

With over 1,000 retail brands leveraging Aptos solutions — and about half of those brands located in Europe — Freund arrives at a company that has a strong foundation in the region he will oversee. Still, Freund explains, his interest in Aptos was also fueled by its rising potential.

“The opportunity to work for a company that is investing heavily in its product roadmap — and accelerating those investments to reflect the shifts in post-pandemic retailing — is very exciting,” Freund said. “Aptos is well on its way to becoming the leading global provider of advanced unified commerce solutions and services. I welcome the opportunity to lead that charge in Europe, ensuring at all times that customer success remains our number one priority.”

Reflective of its growth trajectory, Aptos recently shifted to a territory-based organizational structure to bring greater speed and agility to its localized operations in the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

With Grunzweig and Freund serving as Aptos’ general managers of the Americas and EMEA, respectively, Zaki Hassan, who joined the business in 2015, serves as general manager for the Asia-Pacific region.