Business movers: People starting new jobs in Ireland
New roles: (top row, left to right) Jane Kavanagh, Adam Cronin, Avril McArdle; (bottom row) Himanshu Patel, Jill Callanan, John Conaghan.
Jane Kavanagh has been appointed as head of research development and Walsh Scholarships in Teagasc, Ireland's agency for research, advisory and education in agriculture, horticulture, food and rural development. She will lead the research programme and ensure Teagasc has effective research systems and processes. She will also manage the Teagasc Walsh Scholarship Programme, which plays a key role in developing talent for the agri-food industry with an annual expenditure of around €6m. She brings more than 20 years’ experience in managerial roles in Teagasc, including publications manager and head of Business Planning and Performance Evaluation Unit. She holds a degree in Agricultural Science from UCD, a Masters in Strategic Management and Planning from UCD Smurfit Business School, and a postgraduate diploma in leadership from IMI/UCC.
Adam Cronin has been appointed as technical and engineering manager of the Irish Offshore team with DP Energy, the global renewable energy projects developer. Based in Buttevant, Co Cork, he will lead the technical and engineering teams in global projects. He brings decades of experience in the design, consenting and development of marine and offshore projects. He was previously director of the Marine Engineering practice at ByrneLooby. He has also held roles in the Department of Communications and Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment. He holds a BEng in Civil and Coastal Engineering from University of Sunderland, and a MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering from TCD. Currently, DP Energy has a 1,500-megawatt portfolio of wind and solar energy projects across Ireland, Australia, the UK and Canada.
Avril McArdle has been promoted to marketing director in Ireland with Sage, the technology and business software solutions company. Previously senior marketing manager at Sage for Ireland and the UK, Avril worked with Glanbia from 2016-20 as head of marketing for direct consumer channels. She will now support Sage's ambitious growth objectives for Ireland. She will lead growth in software solutions for the cloud space, and supporting small businesses, accountants, and Sage partners through the company’s advocacy and partner programmes. She holds a BA in Marketing from TU Dublin and an MA from TCD. Barry Murphy, MD at Sage Ireland, said: “I am delighted that Avril has rejoined Sage Ireland. She will be a key player in implementing Sage’s ambitious growth plans for the years ahead.” Himanshu Patel has been promoted to sales engineer with network and application performance management company Data Edge. He joined as an intern in 2019, and became a pre-sales engineer in 2020. He has also worked in customer service with the International Travel Network, and in sales with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. He holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering Science in computer system from Riga Technical University, and a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technical Education & Research Centre. Data Edge provides test equipment and bespoke solutions and services to help optimise customers’ applications and infrastructure investment. It has partnerships with Spirent, Microchip, Ciena Blue Planet, Anritsu and CA Broadcom, providing solutions to carrier, enterprise and government customers.
Jill Callanan has been appointed as head of litigation and dispute resolution with LK Shields Solicitors. She replaces outgoing head of department, Michael Kavanagh, to lead a team of specialists in litigation and dispute resolution across a wide variety of practice areas and sectors including commercial disputes, banking, employment, pensions, insurance, intellectual property and technology, property, regulatory investigations, corporate restructuring and insolvency and construction. She has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial litigation and dispute resolution, particularly in breach of contract, shareholder and property disputes. Jill has also led the firm’s insolvency and restructuring practice in recent years. Established in 1988 and with offices in Dublin, Galway and London, LK Shields has more than 100 legal professional staff and a total of 150 employees.
John Conaghan has been appointed as project manager with electricity group EDF Renewables Ireland. He joins from VSB Group where he was area project manager. He also previously held a senior engineering and project management role with lidar wind measurement technology specialist Gaelectric. He will focus on the development and delivery of renewable energy projects across Ireland, leading a team on complex development projects, including onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and battery storage technology, with a development pipeline of 800MW across Ireland. He John will lead on-site identification, greenfield development, due diligence and project design and optimisation for a diverse range of wind and solar projects. John is a chartered engineer, holding a BEng degree from the University of Ulster and a current PMP certification.
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