Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Ardanis, LifeSight, International Council for Exploration of the Sea, AIB, AstraZeneca and Grow Remote.
Gearóid Healy has been appointed principal consultant at Ardanis. He previously held lead roles in Patreon, Workday, Wonga and most recently health-tech start-up Cushla Health. Gearóid will join the management team helping global clients achieve their business outcomes through adoption of software engineering best practices. He brings global experience in all aspects of software engineering and product development, notably in payments, ecommerce, fintech and content moderation. Gearóid holds a BSc in Computer Applications from CIT and a MEng in Computer and Communications Systems from UL. He is a Certified Scrum Master, Certified Microsoft Applications Developer and is Certified in Mental Health First Aid.
Julie Davenport has been appointed as an independent director with LifeSight Ireland Trustee DAC (LITD), trustee to WTW Ireland’s defined contribution master trust pension solution for employees and employers. In her new role, Julie will join as the LifeSight Ireland master trust continues to grow, with €2 billion committed to be invested before the end of 2023. With over 40 years of experience in financial services in Ireland and the US, Julie has held senior roles in large multinationals with roles in technology delivery, middle and back office operations, risk and compliance. She brings experience in large scale tech programme management, service delivery and strategic planning.
Dr Colm Lordan, a marine scientist and a senior staff member of the Marine Institute, has been announced as the incoming chair for a three-year term of the advisory committee (ACOM) at the 111th ICES Council meeting. The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advises on the sustainable management of marine resources and ecosystems in the North Atlantic Ocean to EU, UK, Iceland, Norway and others. Dr Lordan has engaged with ICES since 1993, working with 70 ICES expert groups and chairing 20 groups. He was vice-chair of ACOM from 2018–20. He is a staff member at the Marine Institute for over 25 years.
Geraldine Casey has been appointed as managing director for retail banking with AIB, also joining the group’s executive committee. She will oversee strategy across retail banking, covering homes, personal and business lending as well as Ireland’s largest branch network. She has been AIB’s chief people officer for the last three years, pioneering progressive policy changes including the right to disconnect, placing an emphasis on Inclusion & Diversity, the future of work, and creating supports for staff at various life stages. She has over 20 years’ experience in retail, having held senior roles at Tesco Ireland across operations, IT, communications and people management functions.
Alex Wilkes has been appointed as country president for the AstraZeneca Ireland Marketing Company, part of biopharma firm AstraZeneca. With the firm since 2019, Alex was most recently regional commercial director for respiratory and immunology in the EUCAN team. He previously spent 18 years in senior pharma commercial and sales roles in UK and Switzerland, notably with Hoffmann-La Roche, Eli Lilly and Merck; as global commercial head of immunology and rare diseases based in Basel and franchise head for Immunology in the UK. Alex holds a BSc in Anatomy and Physiology from University of Leeds and an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Siobhán Curtin, site lead with eBay Ireland, has joined the board of Grow Remote, a social enterprise promoting remote work in Ireland. A pioneer in remote working, Siobhán will play a key role in guiding Grow Remote in its next phase of growth. In 2017, Siobhán led on the eBay@Home programme, which enabled eBay to hire staff from across Ireland. eBay has been a partner and supporter of Grow Remote since 2019, playing a key role in developing and strengthening Ireland’s remote work ecosystem. Siobhán will help Grow Remote’s board as it aims to build strong ties with industry leaders to promote remote working across Ireland.
