Business Movers

New roles: (top row, left to right) Chris Ellison; Aoibhinn Twomey; Brian D'Arcy; (bottom row) Louise Carley; Niall Matthews; Deirdre Courtney.

Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Circle Voluntary Housing Association, Fuzion Communications, John Deere Ltd, ByrneWallace LLP, Lakeland Dairies and Augustus Cullen Law.

Chris Ellison has been appointed as chair of the board of Circle Voluntary Housing Association, which now operates in 16 Irish local authority areas, including Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Meath, Wicklow and Kildare. He succeeds Aoife Watters, who stood down as chair at the end of 2020, following a successful four years leading the board, and seven years as a board member of Circle VHA. Mr Ellison, the executive director of operations at B3 Living Ltd in the UK, brings 25 years’ experience in the housing sector. He is a long-serving member of the board of Circle VHA, serving since 2010, and has chaired its strategic purpose group. He was previously a consultant to housing associations in the UK and served on a number of boards and sub-committees as a non-executive director. He has extensive experience of managing and developing both general needs and supported housing schemes.

Aoibhinn Twomey has rejoined Fuzion Communications in Cork as an account director. She had previously spent three years working in PR roles with Fuzion. She now returns to agency work from the in-house corporate roles she held as head of communications with Dairygold and internal communications with laya healthcare. She brings agency experience working with Government agencies, charities, large corporates and SMEs, and with sectors including food and retail, consumer and hospitality. She also previously worked in journalism, notably with Women’s Health & Fitness, Sunday World, Sunday Independent, Irish Independent and Dublin People Newspaper Group. She holds a degree in Journalism and Media Communications.

Brian D’Arcy has been promoted to agricultural division sales manager with agri machinery manufacturer John Deere Ltd, responsible for Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern England; he was European turf division sales manager. He replaces Chris Meacock, who takes over as turf division sales manager. These moves follow the group's recent business reorganisation in Europe. Brian joined John Deere at Langar, Nottingham, in 2007, and was quickly promoted to territory manager for Wales and West Midlands. In 2014, he became UK and Ireland strategic account manager. In 2018, he became product manager for compact and utility tractors, based in Deere’s European HQ in Mannheim, Germany. He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering Management from Tralee IT.

Louise Carley has been appointed as partner in the health and social care team of law firm ByrneWallace LLP. She has been advising on child care and healthcare law for 11 years. A skilled litigator, she has extensive experience in the areas of complex child care and healthcare litigation, child mental health law, judicial review, adoption law, European law, public law, constitutional Law, court advocacy and alternative dispute resolution. She has particular expertise advising on cross-border child protection, and complex cases involving adoption, surrogacy, step-parent or same sex adoption. She has brought a number of applications under Article 15 of the Brussels II Regulation to transfer proceedings to different jurisdictions within Europe. She has also acted for child and family agency Tusla in complex wardship cases.

Niall Matthews has been appointed as chairman of Lakeland Dairies Co-op Society Ltd. From Carrickmacross, Co Louth, he was elected to the Lakeland board in 2017. He succeeds Aloysius Duffy, who has served as chairman since 2014, a board member since 2010. Andrew McHugh, Newtownforbes, Co Longford, on the board since 2016, has been appointed as vice-chairman, succeeding Colin Kelso, who has held the role since 2016. Lakeland Dairies operates across 16 counties on a crossborder basis, collecting over 1.85bn million litres of milk, produced by 3,200 farm families, and processing this into a wide range of value-added dairy food ingredients, consumer and foodservice products which it exports to over 80 countries worldwide.

Deirdre Courtney has been appointed as a partner in the commercial litigation department of law firm Augustus Cullen Law LLP, which employs nearly 50 people in its Dublin and Wicklow offices. She has acted for national and international clients across all levels of the Irish courts, in adjudications, arbitrations and mediations, and before tribunals and inquiries. Her areas of expertise include commercial litigation, planning and environmental law, property disputes, compulsory purchase, banking litigation, media law and construction disputes. A graduate of NUIG, she qualified as a solicitor in 1991. She is a member of Lawyers against Homelessness, the Dublin Bar Association, the Commercial Law Association and a board member of the NUIG Foundation.