Business movers: People starting new jobs in Ireland

New appointees with Green Rebel, UBX, EY, AXA Insurance, Principal Connections and Ashford Castle

Thu, 15 Sep, 2022 - 16:05

Joe Dermody

Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Green Rebel, UBX, EY, AXA Insurance, Principal Connections and Ashford Castle.

Denis Crotty has been appointed senior projects advisor with Green Rebel in Cork city and Crosshaven Boatyard, a specialist in site investigations for offshore wind energy projects. He brings 30 years of executive engineering and construction contracting experience in Europe, the Middle East and Australia, including 20 years within energy: oil and gas, power and petrochemicals. He has worked with Kentz Group, SNC Lavalin and Actavo. Denis will bring his international expertise to support the transition to offshore wind energy and the historic Crosshaven Boatyard. Founded in 1961, the boatyard has built fishing boats and yachts including Gypsy Moth V, Saint Brendan and the Moonduster series.

Sinead Beasley has been appointed as director of UBX programming for UK and Ireland, a 12-round mix of boxing and strength training across a 45-minute circuit. Sinead Beasley is a former world and European kick boxing champion. Sinead and her partner, Brian Lee, founder and CEO of Freshly Chopped and NEAT Pizza, are partnering with Empowered Brands to bring UBX to Ireland. Sinead will lead the rollout of the UBX brand in Ireland. She brings 17 years in the fitness industry and 25 years in kick boxing. She was previously manager and personal trainer at Fit Studios training centre, and ran her own online training business.

Shane MacSweeney has been appointed to the new role of EY EMEIA infrastructure leader with professional services firm EY. He also retains his role as a partner and head of government and infrastructure at EY Ireland. He brings 20 years’ experience working on large infrastructure projects globally, advising Governments and private sector clients in Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In his new role, Shane will assist clients across the EMEIA region to deliver on a range of projects, including the strategic, financial, procurement and operational issues associated with large-scale infrastructure projects, and by helping governments strategically manage capital and transactions, asset sales, and divestments.

Marguerite Brosnan has been appointed as CEO of AXA Insurance. Currently retail director with the company, she will succeed Philip Bradley, who will retire as CEO in December after 44 years with AXA; he has been the firm’s CEO in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 2015. Ms Brosnan joined AXA in 2020 after over 20 years in senior sales with Bank of Ireland, most recently as MD of BoI Insurance and transformation director for BoI Wealth and New Ireland Assurance. Since joining AXA, Marguerite has overseen an ambitious transformation strategy that has significantly contributed to AXA’s continued growth and consolidation of its market leading position.

Darren McCabe has been appointed as partner with executive search firm Principal Connections, part of global executive search group Agilium Worldwide. He joined Principal Connections in early 2017 as a practice leader, and has a strong reputation for assisting clients with executive search services at C-Suite and board level across a range of industries domestically and internationally. He previously held senior management and director positions over a 10-year period with a number of Irish and global recruitment firms. “This is an exciting time for the firm and I'm thrilled to contribute to next phase of its ongoing success,” Darren said.

Liam Finnegan has been appointed as the new executive head chef at Ashford Castle hotel in Cong, Co Mayo. He takes over from Philippe Farineau, who is moving on from Ashford Castle after seven years of managing the hotel’s kitchen team. During his 23-year career, Liam has worked in prestigious restaurants in Ireland and UK, including Michael Caine’s two Michelin Star restaurant Gidleigh Park in Devon and The Castle Hotel, Taunton (3AA Rosettes). Until earlier this year, Liam was group executive head chef for all outlets in the Michael Caines collection, with three restaurants, a hotel, a central production unit and a patisserie.