Business Movers
Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Elkstone, Irish Wind Energy Association, the Workplace Relations Commission, the Irish Association of Pension Funds, the United Nations and Shannon Group.
Joe Bergin will lead the new Galway office of Dublin-based investment services provider Elkstone. He brings experience in various financial services roles, recently with Ulster Bank assisting clients with financial investment and funding advice across commercial real estate, SME, and corporate markets. Joe is well known for his Gaelic football achievements with his native Galway. He is a qualified financial advisor and holds a diploma in SME Credit. He has a degree in Business Studies from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. He said: “Elkstone provides unique access to compelling Irish and international investment opportunities in venture, real estate, and selected alternatives.”
Peter Lynch has been named as chairperson of the Irish Wind Energy Association. He will bring his experience as managing director for renewable energy at forestry body Coillte, which is a member of the association. He is also joined by two other new board members this year: Eoin Cassidy, partner and energy sector lead at Mason Hayes & Curran and Kevin Moloney, head of sales – Ireland, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. Mr Lynch succeeds former chair Peter Harte from Statkraft, who stepped down after a successful six-year term. Mr Lynch said: “It is a very exciting time for the industry, but also a very challenging time globally.”
Gwendolen Morgan has been appointed as registrar to the Workplace Relations Commission. She is a UK and Irish-qualified solicitor with over 15 years in public law, human rights, and employment equality law. She has strong expertise in strategic litigation and training for a wide range of public bodies and NGOs and is an MII accredited mediator. Before joining the WRC, she practised as a senior lawyer with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission representing the IHREC in briefs before the superior courts, advising on international reporting and EU free movement issues, and representing individuals before the WRC, domestic and European courts.
Ann Prendergast, of State Street Global Advisors Ireland, has been appointed as vice-chairperson of the Irish Association of Pension Funds. She had previously served on the IAPF investment committee and joined council at the 2017 AGM. Holding a Business degree from UL, Ann’s career began in Bank of Ireland. She moved to the relationship management area of State Street Global Advisors Ireland in 2000, and became head of that department in 2010. She is a senior MD and head of State Street Global Advisors Ireland. She will work alongside IAPF chairperson, Eunice Dreelan, of Irish Life Financial Services. The IAPF remains committed to the goals of The 30% Club.
Mary Lawlor, adjunct professor at the Centre for Social Innovation at Trinity Business School, has been appointed UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. She was appointed during the session of the UN Human Rights Council held recently. She has decades of experience in human rights. Having founded Front Line Defenders in 2001, the NGO went on to become a leading global protector of human rights defenders at risk. As UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, she will report to the UN in New York and Geneva, conduct country visits, and make recommendations to governments.
Mike Quinn has joined the board of Shannon Group for a three-year term. He is CEO of UK-based alloy components manufacturer Doncasters Group, notably serving the aerospace and automotive markets worldwide, with plants in the UK, US and Germany. He is former CEO of Ervia and Bord Na Mona and was chief operations officer of renewables company WElink Energy. He has been group vice president of Precision Castparts airframe segment, a US Aerospace manufacturing company, and has held senior roles in Tellabs, Stryker and Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon. A Limerick native, he has degrees from DCU and UL, and diplomas from the USA.
Euronext unveils senior changes
Georges Lauchard has been appointed as the chief operating officer of Euronext, the pan-European exchange covering Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the UK.
He will oversee operational strategy, policies, and execution in support of Euronext’s ambition to become the leading
market infrastructure in Europe. The exchange has close to 1,500 listed issuers worth €4.5 trillion in market capitalisation.
Mr Lauchard has worked in capital markets throughout his international career. His new role is based in Paris.
Mr Lauchard said: “Euronext has delivered significant growth over the past four years whilst diversifying from a pure exchange to a key infrastructure-as-a-service player for the financial industry and the real economy.
“I am looking forward to Euronext accelerating its growth, and scaling its technology platform whilst driving innovation with our clients.”
Georges Lauchard has been the COO/CFO of JP Morgan’s corporate and investment bank technology team since February 2018. He has worked at JP Morgan in London and Hong Kong for more than 20 years in roles such as head of global front office markets supervision, COO of global currencies and emerging markets trading, as well as COO of the Asia markets and investor services sales, merger integration project manager, and operations and client service manager.
He previously worked for Paribas in New York. He holds an MSc in Management from NEOMA Business School in France as well as a degree in Economics from Nice University.
