10 November 2020
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Aspira, the Irish-owned consulting and technology specialists, today announced the opening of its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Malaysia and the expansion of its mainland European operations with the opening of its second office in The Netherlands. The company also announced the creation of 30 new high-level jobs. The new offices are being opened in response to increased growth in Asia-Pacific and the Benelux region, with Aspira prioritising having an on-the-ground presence to further build local relationships.
Pictured pre-pandemic at Aspira’s mainland Europe headquarters in Amsterdam are (l-r) Aspira Group CEO Pat Lucey, Aspira Managing Director Europe Peter Ryan and Aspira CTO Colum Horgan.
Pictured pre-pandemic at Aspira’s mainland Europe headquarters in Amsterdam are (l-r) Aspira Group CEO Pat Lucey and Aspira Managing Director Europe Peter Ryan.
Commenting on the planned expansion, Aspira Group CEO, Pat Lucey said: “As businesses transform to cope with the pandemic, we are helping our clients to not just survive but to thrive through technology. We have seen a three-fold increase in demand for digital transformation services as companies enhance their e-commerce capabilities and supply chain networks as a direct result of the impact of Covid-19.
“We can no longer jump on a long-haul flight to work alongside our global clients, so we are augmenting our ability to support clients remotely by having a physical presence in diverse parts of the world. To build these relationships and maximise our support to clients, we need to be on the ground in addition to meeting them virtually.”
The award-winning company has experienced accelerated growth, on average doubling in size every three years, driven by a number of new project wins. Aspira CEO and co-founder, Pat Lucey has been selected as a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year International category for 2020. The 30 new jobs will be based primarily at the new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 12 positions in Aspira’s Dutch offices in Amsterdam and The Hague. The roles will be rolled out over the next 15 months and will include project management, software development and e-commerce systems positions.
Mr Lucey added: “We forecast overall sales to double again over the next three years, with international sales growing at an even faster pace. The new roles we are announcing today will strengthen our delivery capability and our management team at a time when we are expanding rapidly to international markets.”
The company opened its mainland Europe headquarters in Amsterdam in February 2019. The new Dutch office will be situated in the heart of The Hague business district at The World Trade Centre.
Speaking about the announcement, Aspira Managing Director Europe Peter Ryan said, “Aspira has always been on the leading edge of technology, enabling digital transformation and helping large scale businesses to unleash the power of ecommerce technology solutions. There has been a really positive response by companies in The Netherlands to our unique blend of technology and consulting services. To meet this increased demand, we are excited to grow our Dutch team, who will be based primarily here in our new office in The Hague.”
Aileen Cussen, Senior Development Advisor, Enterprise Ireland commented: “Enterprise Ireland has been working with Aspira since it was a start-up over ten years ago, supporting the company’s ambitious growth plans. Today’s announcement is a major milestone for Aspira’s international expansion, and we have supported this ambition though market development plans for these territories. By identifying key markets with a growing demand for Aspira’s combined service offering, the company is well positioned to accelerate its position in global markets over the next phase of its growth and Enterprise Ireland in Ireland, Malaysia and the Netherlands will be supporting Aspira along this journey.”
