Business movers: People starting new jobs in Ireland

Edel Mitchell has been appointed as senior programme manager with AgTechUCD and will manage the commercial and operational aspects of the new Food and Agriculture Sustainable Technology Innovation Programme; FAST-IP is a UCD and Teagasc graduate entrepreneurship training programme focused on innovation in the food and agricultural sector. Edel has over 20 years of national and international cross sectoral experience spanning public, private and global consultancy sectors in Ireland, Europe, USA and Australia. She has a strong focus on regional development, building commercial and ecosystem partnerships, and developing tailored solutions. She is an alumna of the BioInnovate Ireland programme at University of Galway.

James Finglas as has been appointed as general manager of the digital services division with Viatel Technology Group, the digital services and communications provider. He joins Viatel from his role as managing director of MJ Flood Technology, which was acquired by Viatel in April. James brings over 26 years of experience of shaping MJ Flood into a multimillion-euro business, with significant expertise in cybersecurity, cloud migration, Microsoft telephony, and modern work solutions. This is the ninth such acquisition by Viatel since 2020. It follows strategic investment by Macquarie Capital in December 2023, funding Viatel’s continued expansion in Ireland and overseas.

Rachel McCann, a director at Grant Thornton, has been appointed as chair of the Cork Society of Chartered Accountants Ireland, which has 2,700 members working in Cork city and county. Rachel succeeds James Fox of EY in the role. She is an associate of Chartered Accountants Ireland with over 16 years of experience in practice. Rachel qualified as a chartered accountant after training with Deloitte. She spent three years in industry roles in Sydney, Australia, before relocating to Cork in 2016. She has been with Grant Thornton since then and is currently a director in the advisory team. She graduated in Accounting from UCC.

Craig Sowman has been appointed as joint head of restructuring with law firm Addleshaw Goddard Ireland. The firm continued to expand its Dublin office since its merger with Eugene F Collins in 2022, increasing its headcount by 15% to 135 staff. Craig will work Doug Smith, fellow joint head of restructuring, to continue to grow the team and portfolio of clients. Craig spent ten years at William Fry and brings significant experience in commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, and in advising a variety of stakeholders and debtors in complex international restructurings where substantial amounts of debt is restructured with cross-border elements.

Niall Hurson has been appointed as lending director with Irish bridging finance lender Onate. Niall joins Onate from Novellus. Niall has over 20 years’ experience in the real estate finance sector. He has held senior roles in a number of domestic and global financial institutions, including Ulster Bank, RBS and Barclays Bank Ireland, and more recently in the Irish alternative lending sector. Niall has significant experience within the Irish market from deal origination, structuring, and execution, having led large syndicated debt facilities to Irish listed PLCs as well as bi-lateral property investment and development transactions for all property asset classes.