Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Arthur Cox, TEKenable, Universal Investment Group, UPS, Huawei and SpinLaunch.
Lynsey Mallon has been appointed as the next managing partner of law firm Arthur Cox’s Northern Ireland practice, effective from April 2024, while also continuing as its head of corporate and commercial. She succeeds the eight-year tenure of Catriona Gibson, who will become chair and continue as head of litigation. Having joined the firm in 2007, Lynsey brings significant experience as a corporate lawyer, a specialist in M&A, investments, and corporate reorganisation and restructuring. “This is a tremendous honour. Under Catriona’s leadership, Arthur Cox has maintained its reputation for providing pragmatic, nuanced and commercially minded advice. I will seek to cement that reputation,” said Lynsey.
Ken Byrne has been appointed as client director with digital services company TEKenable, leading client engagement and driving new business growth across all sectors in Ireland and the Middle East. He joins from Microsoft and its partner eco-system where he has been Azure sales specialist for four years, covering Ireland and EMEA. Prior to that, he worked with Enghouse Networks in various roles for ten years. Ken was based in UAE for 10 years, primarily working in the telco industry covering the Middle East and Africa region. He holds a BSc Computer Science & Software Engineering degree from Maynooth University and a certificate in Software Development from Dundalk IT.
Francesca McDonagh has been appointed as group CEO of Universal Investment Group, the European fund services platform and Super ManCo, replacing the bank’s interim CEO David Blumer, who will continue as chair. Francesca brings 25 years of financial services experience, notably as group COO of Credit Suisse Group, where she oversaw its integration into UBS Group earlier this year. Prior to that, she was group CEO of Bank of Ireland for five years, leading two major acquisitions, improving customer service and developing a more scalable digital platform. She has also held senior management roles at HSBC, amongst others leading the European retail and wealth management business.
Ufku Akaltan has been appointed as president for logistics group UPS UK, Ireland, Nordics, and India, an expanded role. Ufku joined UPS in 2002 as an intern. He worked his way up, becoming country manager for UPS Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, president for UPS East Europe, and most recently president of growth and emerging markets, Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa. Ufku holds an MBA from Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management and University of Texas at Austin, and a degree in Management Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. He has also studied at Harvard Business School and Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Calvin Lan has been appointed as CEO of ICT firm Huawei Technologies Ireland. Calvin joined Huawei in 2001 and has held senior roles within the company, including roles in China, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and more recently as director for the award-winning KPN department in the Netherlands. Calvin Lan holds a bachelor’s degree in IT from Northwest University, Xi’an, China. “Our products and solutions help empower Ireland’s mobile and broadband networks while we focus on creating value for our customers and partners, and on our decarbonisation efforts,” said Calvin. Huawei serves three million people and supports more than 900 direct and indirect jobs in Ireland.
Dómhnal Slattery, the co-founder and former CEO of Dublin-based aircraft leasing giant Avolon, has been elected as chair of California-based space technology firm SpinLaunch. An aerospace pioneer and investor, across his career Dómhnal has raised and deployed more than $75bn of debt and equity capital to finance aircraft for airlines and investors around the world. He founded and scaled two of the world’s three largest aircraft leasing firms including Avolon. He has held executive roles with GPA, GECAS, IAMG, RBS Aviation Capital, Claret Capital, Newgrange Pictures, Clare People and Innovate for Ireland. He has held board roles including with Vertical Aerospace, Pure Harvest Smart Farms and Clahane Capital.
