Whatswhat.ie, Ireland’s leading online business directory, has announced the appointment of Cork based investor and management consultant Paraic Hegarty, as the online venture’s new Director of Strategy and Innovation. The appointment of Mr Hegarty, who was recruited via the social networking site Twitter, will assist Whatswhat.ie’s ambitious plans for future growth, in turn, helping Irish Businesses capitalise on the economic recovery.

Speaking on his appointment, Paraic Hegarty, a former partner with Deloitte & Touche said “Whatswhat.ie is innovative, dynamic and completely driven by customer needs. I’m looking forward to working on building partnerships, channel relationships and new technology innovations that will continue to deliver exceptional value to our customers.”

Congratulating Paraic Hegarty on his appointment Barbara Gordon, Managing Director of Whatswhat.ie said “We’re delighted to welcome Paraic to the Whatswhat.ie team. His appointment will assist us in our next phase of expansion by enhancing our online customer offerings, developing and deepening relationships with other businesses and bringing more advertisers and searchers together on Whatswhat.ie.”

“In 2008, we invested in a new dynamic directory, extensive SEO, more regional sales staff and local advertising” she added. “The directory is currently receiving over 6,500 visitors a day and more than 68,000 companies are listed. These figures are growing daily and we look forward to Pairic’s input.”

The appointment came as a result of chatting on social networking site Twitter as Whatswhat.ie’s Financial Director, Sian Phillips explains; “I’d chatted to Paraic on Twitter a couple of times and discovered he was an Angel Investor. I asked about it and after a few direct messages, we all met up! He’s now a very welcome member of our team and will help take Whatswhat.ie to new heights.”

Alf Smiddy

Granite Consulting are delighted to announce here that The Quintas Group, one of Ireland’s leading independent Accountancy, Taxation and Financial Services Groups, has today 29^th April, announced the appointment of their own chairman Alf Smiddy as Chairman of the Group.
The appointment of one of Ireland’s most high profile business leaders is a further step in the continual development of Quintas, which is headquartered in Cork.

The Quintas Group consists of four specialised divisions, and caters for a wide range of clients in the private and public sectors, and includes SMEs and major International organisations.  The four divisions include Registered Auditors, Customer Financial Services providing personal and corporate Taxation, Financial Management, Audit and Accountancy Services, Wealth Management and Renewable Energy.

At today’s board meeting, Quintas Group Managing Director, Tim McCarthy stated “Alf brings to Quintas a wealth of senior management experience at the highest level in Industry, gained both in Ireland and internationally. Through this appointment we are making a conscious decision to invest in strengthening the commercial and industry experience within Quintas at the highest possible level”.

Tim added “At Quintas, we see ourselves as not only providing our clients with expert Accountancy, Taxation, Financial and Wealth Management Consultancy; but also as proactive business partners working alongside them as they develop and expand.  High service levels, innovation and industry knowledge is critical in the new economic reality, and by bringing an industry leader and expert of the calibre of Alf Smiddy onto the Quintas Board, we are showing a commitment to our clients, and an investment that can offer our clients more than the traditional accountancy firm.”

Alf Smiddy is a Chartered Accountant by profession having worked with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and also at the most senior levels in the Irish and International beverage industry, including 12 years as CEO and Chairman of Beamish & Crawford plc and across a broad range of other private and public sector enterprises.

On his appointment, Alf stated “I look forward to working with my new colleagues on the Quintas Board, and engaging with the Quintas leadership team in steering the organisation into a new growth phase for the Group. I hope to bring my extensive industry knowledge to the table, and look forward to working with such a progressive and innovative team, and delivering unparalleled services for clients.”

Alf added “Over recent years the Quintas Group has gone from strength to strength, and their highly experienced and motivated team have the drive and dedication for success, both for themselves and their clients — I see the Group playing a key role in achieving this success for their clients and for the Irish business community in general.”

The Quintas Group is one of Ireland’s leading successes in the Financial Services Sector over the last few years, with turnover growing from €1.5 million in 2005 to a record level of over €6 million in 2009. Quintas has managed to achieve this while maintaining its key focus of individual personalised service, and always striving to offer added value to its expanding client base. Quintas has a team of 60 dedicated professionals, with offices in Limerick and Cork.  Quintas Energy is a division of the Quintas Group and is based in Seville in Spain, and also recently opened an office in Rome, Italy with expansion plans for the UK and US later this year.

Well done and best of luck to Alf from all the guys at Granite.

Alf  is currently Chairman of Granite Consulting Limited and Eolas International while also sitting on the boards of the Cork Airport Authority, Kedco PLC, and the Cork Chamber.

The Chartered Accountant by profession has spent twenty years in senior management positions in the international drinks and hospitality industry, having joined Beamish and Crawford PLC as Financial Controller in 1988. He is currently at the final stages of completing a Masters in Executive Leadership (Msc) through Boston College and the University of Ulster.

On his new appointment, Mr Smiddy said these are challenging but exciting times for Ireland’s largest hotel group, who own the four Moran Hotels and six Bewleys Hotels in Dublin, Cork, London, Leeds and Manchester.

“I very much look forward to working with my board colleagues as we unlock the opportunities that lie ahead and deal with the challenges faced by the industry”, Mr Smiddy said.

The Web developers will be required to build, maintain and support websites and web applications.

You will be asked to liaise with clients, work out requirements, design, build, test and publish new websites, rebuild others and do it all with a smile. This is a role for someone that can manage a web project from an idea in a clients head to a beautiful, functional website.  more on the web developer positions

This is a novel excercise in transparency and the public nature of the program is likely to go a long way to ruling out waste and inefficiency. In a video statement available to view on the site President obama states that “The important decisions about where taxpayer dollars will be invested will be yours to scrutinize.”

There is a full FAQ on the site: http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/frequently-asked-questions