Grant Thornton appoints seven new partners

Business advisory firm Grant Thornton has today announced the appointment of seven new Partners marking a significant increase in demand for senior level expertise across the business.

The appointments, which comprise two lateral hires and five internal promotions, span the Advisory, Corporate Audit, Business Consulting, Financial Accounting & Advisory Services (FAAS) and Tax practice areas demonstrating the firm’s continued strategic focus on being market leader in niche sector areas.

Our new Partners

Elaine Daly, Jarlath O’Keefe and Kevin Foley were promoted to Partner from within Grant Thornton in Dublin. Elaine Daly, Partner and Head of Business Consulting, joined the firm in 2006 and has over 16 years’ experience in strategic planning, operational excellence and financial modelling for both the private and public sector.

Jarlath O’Keefe, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, joined the firm in 2014 from a Big Four firm where he spent 16 years (7 at partner level) in their VAT department. He has particular expertise in the areas of financial services, telecommunications, VAT and property and the VAT treatment for international services.

Kevin Foley, Partner in the Corporate Audit practice, joined Grant Thornton in 2002 and has led the start-up practice at the firm since 2009. Kevin’s clients include ICT, pharmaceuticals, retail, manufacturing, construction, motor and service based companies.

Our growth in NI

Richard Gillan joins Grant Thornton from the private sector to lead the firm’s Advisory function in Belfast. Richard, who specialises in Advisory, has experience working with companies across multiple geographies including London, Belfast, Luxembourg and Johannesburg.

Louise Kelly and Peter Legge were promoted to Partner from within Grant Thornton NI. Louise Kelly, Partner in the Belfast Audit practice, joined the firm as a trainee in Dublin in 2000. Louise has led the Risk, Compliance and Professional Standards Department where she gained extensive technical expertise in Irish and UK Generally Accepted Accountancy Practices (GAAP) as well as Company Law.

Peter Legge, Partner in Tax, joined the firm in 2005 following 10 years with a Big Four firm in Belfast. Peter has extensive experience providing tax advice and planning opportunities to individuals and businesses. He specialises in advising owner-managed businesses in sectors including food and beverage, property and construction, technology, media and retail.

Paul McCann comments

Commenting on the announcement, Paul McCann, Managing Partner, Grant Thornton, said, “I am delighted to announce these appointments which reflect the significant growth experienced by the firm over the past 18 months. Being one of the fastest growing professional services firms in the country means that there is great opportunity for our people to excel in what they do but also, this growth and opportunity means that we can attract great talent into the firm.  We are confident we have appointed the best people, both from outside firms, as well from our talented internal staff and we will continue to identify those professionals whose expertise matches our growing business needs. Continued investment in the best people is at the heart of what we do and reinforces our commitment to the delivery of excellent results for our clients.