Business movers: People starting new jobs in Ireland

New appointees with Gresham House Ireland, Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, Ornua, Vodafone Business, Clanwilliam and Irish Life Health

New roles: (top row) John O’Driscoll, Clair Carroll, Kevin Toland; (bottom row) Joanna Gilfoy, Dr Sean Higgins, Ann Marie Nestor.

Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Gresham House Ireland, Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, Ornua, Vodafone Business, Clanwilliam and Irish Life Health.

John O’Driscoll has been appointed as sales and business development manager with asset manager Gresham House Ireland. John will bring the Gresham House Ireland investment funds to a wider audience. John joins from BCP Asset Management, where he has held a number of senior roles over the past 20 years, notably in business development via brokers and retail intermediaries as well as product development and governance. He has also previously worked in JP Morgan. Gresham House employs 36 in Ireland and has €800m assets under management. It is part of UK-based Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset manager with more than €10bn assets under management.

Clair Carroll has been appointed as head of corporate distribution at Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland. Clair has over 20 years’ experience in the wealth and insurance industry. She previously held a number of senior roles with Aviva, including head of corporate distribution, national corporate business manager and account manager. She has also previously worked with AIB Commercial Mortgages. Clair has a particular focus on stakeholder management and relationships. She is experienced in coaching staff and mentoring new entrants. Clair holds a BComm from University College Galway, as well as a graduate diploma in Financial Planning from University College Dublin. She also holds the CFP designation.

Kevin Toland has been appointed as independent non-executive director and chair designate of the board of Ornua, Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products and owner of the Kerrygold brand. He succeeds outgoing chair Aidan O’Driscoll, whose current term ends in May. Kevin has held a range of senior executive director and non-executive director roles across beverage, food, nutrition, and aviation sectors. He was previously group CEO and board executive director of Aryzta AG and DAA Plc, and an executive director of Glanbia plc from 2003 to 2013. He is currently chair of Gas Networks Ireland and Vasorum, and is a non-executive director of Dole plc.

Joanna Gilfoy has been appointed as the new director of Vodafone Business. Having worked in Vodafone for over 16 years, she brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in commercial leadership, partnership development, and digital transformation. She previously worked for Vodafone Ireland from 2016-19. She was global head of commercial, planning and engagement for Vodafone Group and led the IoT sales team for Northern Europe. She drove major growth in the UK market and built long-term partnerships with large organisations, contributing to the expansion of Vodafone's business operations. She has extensive telecoms experience, having also worked for EE, Virgin and Nokia.

Dr Sean Higgins has been appointed as chief product officer with healthcare technology company Clanwilliam, leading the integration of its suite of healthcare technologies in organisations across the country. A GP with over 15 years’ experience in primary care, he is an experienced leader in developing primary and secondary healthcare technology solutions. He was previously head of technology innovation at Centric Health, which manages the delivery of healthcare to over 400,000 patients in Ireland each year. In 2021, he founded Billink Payments, an integrated system for clinical practises to simplify the management of payments, which has been adopted by over 700 clinical practices in Ireland. 

Ann Marie Nestor has been appointed as managing director of Irish Life Health, succeeding Ger Davis. Ann Marie has been with Irish Life Health since 2023, as director of finance, planning and risk. She has over two decades of experience in financial services and insurance, the majority spent with Canada Life Assurance Europe as head of product development and chief risk officer. Ann Marie will be a key member of the leadership team of the insurance and financial services division within the Irish Life Group, which will be led by Ger Davis in his new capacity as managing director, Insurance and Financial Solutions.