Here is a selection of people starting new roles with Teagasc, FWI-Poppulo, MediaCom Ireland, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Drinks Ireland / Spirits, Wellington IT.
Professor Pat Dillon has been appointed as director of research with Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, leading its key research programmes across six research centres at Ashtown, Athenry, Grange, Johnstown Castle, Moorepark and Oak Park. He will work with Teagasc’s partners in farming, food and related industries. Prof Dillon holds a BAgrSc from UCD, and a PhD in Grassland Science from UCC. He joined the research staff in Teagasc in 1990. He has led the Animal Production Research Centre in Moorepark, and the Teagasc Animal & Grassland, Research and Innovation programme. He is internationally recognised as a leading scientist in sustainable, pasture-based livestock production.
Mairéad Maher has been appointed chief marketing officer with FWI-Poppulo, an employee communications software company. She will manage FWI-Poppulo’s international brand strategy, leading teams in Denver, Boston, Cork, and Luton. Following the merger of Cork-based Poppulo and Denver’s FWI earlier this year, Ms Maher also takes up responsibility for the management of the Cork site, where 241 people are employed. FWI-Poppulo’s clients include Uniliver, Gilead, Rolls-Royce, and Boston Scientific. Mairéad brings extensive strategic experience to the role, having worked in senior executive positions for 30 years in diverse sectors, including national media, FMCG, and SAAS. She is a former CEO and head of marketing of the Irish Examiner.
Dominick Holmes has been appointed as head of performance with media planning and buying agency MediaCom Ireland. He is the first person in this new role, having served as the firm’s business director at MediaCom since 2016. He will manage the plan and revenue targets for their ‘Systems Intelligence’ offering, optimising performance capabilities across GroupM. He will also oversee growth of its newly launched Springboard division, which serves emerging companies and SMEs. Dominick first joined MediaCom in 2008 as a media manager. He was promoted to group head in October 2009. He holds a Business and Marketing degree from the University of Westminster.
Orlaith Gavan has been promoted to country medical director of Pfizer Healthcare Ireland. She has held various roles since joining the firm in 2006, including lead for the Oncology medical sub-cluster in Ireland and Portugal. She was previously head of regulatory affairs at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) in Brussels, Belgium. She also worked at the European Medicines Agency during this time as the EORTC representative. She also previously worked as a healthcare professional working clinically in the UK and Ireland. She holds a BSc in Radiography, a diploma in Regulatory Affairs and an MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Bryan Fallon, managing director of Heaven Hill Ireland, the brand owner of Carolan’s Irish Cream liqueur and Irish Mist Honey liqueur, has been re-elected as chair of Drinks Ireland / Spirits, the representative body for the Irish spirits industry. The group acts as a voice to national and EU policymakers across a range of issues. Mr Fallon initially took over from Pat Rigney of The Shed Distillery in March, following his elevation to the chair of Drinks Ireland. David Boyd-Armstrong, head distiller and operations director at the Rademon Estate Distillery, which creates Shortcross Gin, has also been re-elected as vice-chair of Drinks Ireland / Spirits.
Clare McCavanagh has been appointed as product manager with Wellington IT, the tech partner to the credit union sector. The firm’s product development business analyst since 2018, she brings 13 years of experience in financial services, including ten years with the investment bank Citi, working in planning and analysis roles, most recently as conferencing technologies product manager. She holds a BSc in Computing Science from Ulster University. She also has an IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) professional certification in Change Management & Service Transition; an Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) certificate in Financial Service Authority (FSA) Regulatory Environment and other industry and professional qualifications.
- PHOTO: New roles: (top row, left to right) Prof Pat Dillon, Mairéad Maher, Dominick Holmes; (bottom row) Orlaith Gavan, Bryan Fallon, Clare McCavanagh.
