Business movers

People starting new roles with Maples and Calder, Hiscox Ireland, The Tenth Man, Funding Xchange, Lincoln Recruitment Specialists and the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce.

New roles: (top row) Stephen McLoughlin, David Gallagher, Audrey Farrelly. (Bottom row) Ben Shar, Donal Whelan, PJ Byrne.

Here is a selection of people starting new roles with companies and organisations with operations in Ireland, including Maples and Calder, Hiscox Ireland, The Tenth Man, Funding Xchange, Lincoln Recruitment Specialists and the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen McLoughlin has been appointed as head of law firm Maples and Calder's finance practice in Ireland. He succeeds Nicholas Butcher, managing partner of the law firm in Ireland who has been acting as head of the practice for the last 18 months. Nicholas continues in his role as managing partner. He has been with the firm for nearly nine years, initially joining as an associate before being promoted to partner in 2015. A highly regarded finance lawyer, he works primarily with international clients and advises on a wide range of capital markets and structured finance products, including CLOs, RMBS and other securitisation structures, fund-linked structured products, ETC platforms, repackagings and debt issuance programmes.

David Gallagher has joined Insurance group Hiscox Ireland as lead underwriter, re-joining the Irish team of development underwriters, headquartered at sir John Rodgerson’s Quay, Dublin. He joined Hiscox Ireland in January 2013 as development underwriter and was responsible for developing key commercial insurance broker relationships and writing new and existing business. In 2018, he relocated to join Hiscox London as a senior development underwriter, where he was responsible for leading two of the region’s largest insurance broker accounts; and was promoted to Lead Underwriter in 2019. He aims to continue his strong broker relationships back in Ireland and drive significant growth for Hiscox. Prior to joining Hiscox, he worked as a professional indemnity underwriter at AIG Ireland and Dual Ireland.

Audrey Farrelly has been appointed as director of operations of The Tenth Man, the creative agency set up by former Paddy Power advertising director Ken Robertson in 2018. Audrey has over 25 years’ experience in the Irish advertising industry, having worked as account director in Target McConnells, Chemistry and most recently Javelin. She has worked across most categories, with clients like Lidl, Tesco, ESB, Irish Rail, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, An Post and Dunnes Store. The Tenth Man has developed an impressive client roster including eir, IDL, National Lottery, Primark, Camile among others. They also created the Kaleidoscope Family Music Festival and have produced music videos for Irish bands Wild Youth and Chasing Abbey along with their own content including the acclaimed Lockdown film ‘The Phoenix’. Audrey Farrelly said “I am truly delighted to be part of The Tenth Man family, the most exciting independent, forward thinking young agency in Ireland"

Ben Sher has been appointed as chief commercial officer with Funding Xchange, a platform which links businesses to funders. He brings a wealth of experience in growing technology businesses in the UK and internationally, notably in senior roles with Cloud Lending Solutions, FIS and SunGard Financial Systems. Funding Xchange works with over 50 lenders; its platform uses live data integrations to deliver tailored offers and receipt of funds within minutes. Ben Sher said: “The lending and asset finance markets are at an inflection point of change, driven by a need for accessible liquidity and the desire of SMEs to engage providers of finance in a frictionless, digital environment.” Donal Whelan has been appointed as head of the Compliance and Risk Division with Lincoln Recruitment Specialists. He brings significant experience in national and international recruitment roles to the Lincoln team. In 2011, Donal began his career in recruitment when he moved to New Zealand and spent two years working in specialist recruitment roles focusing on the finance sector before moving back to Ireland. He has since specialised in the recruitment of professionals in the compliance, risk and finance markets. He has previously held recruitment roles with Broadgate Search Ltd and Robert Walters, and has worked in retail with McNally Foods and Cuisine de France. He holds a degree in Business Studies from IT Tallaght.

PJ Byrne has been named as president designate of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce. He will replace the chamber's current president, Vincent Crowley, when his term at the head of the Irish-Australian kindred network concludes this year. PJ Byrne is currently CEO of flexifi Europe, a subsidiary of flexigroup, a top 200 ASX-listed company. PJ has been with the group for seven years and he leads the Irish operations from their base at the IFSC in Dublin. He has previously worked as a civil engineer and holds qualifications from WIT, UCD, and the Law Society of Ireland. He is also a chartered director having qualified from the Institute of Directors earlier this year. PJ will officially take over the role later this month from Vincent Crowley, who remains on the Chamber’s board.