2 May 2023
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Business News
Gillian Wheelan has been promoted to Managing Director and Ireland Country manager at Aspira – whose Ireland HQ is at it Penrose Dock in the City centre.
The appointment comes at a time of sustained growth, with Aspira parent emagine reporting a staggering year-on-year increase of 93% in group revenue to over €605 million in 2022.
Since joining Aspira in 2017 as a Senior Executive, Gillian has made a significant impact on the business, progressing to head up the very successful Project Management Training Practice within the company. She was subsequently promoted to Chief Commercial Officer in late 2021 and is the natural choice for the leading role, as the consultancy evolves and grows through its strategic partnership with emagine.
Gillian is taking over from former Ireland MD Peter Ryan. Peter has moved to a Professional Services focussed role to help lead deployment of this area across emagine’s markets, whilst also becoming Managing Director for emagine’s operations in the Netherlands and Portugal.
Globally, the high-end business and IT consulting company emagine has built an impressive reputation as a leading provider of technology project solutions, services and resources. It supports clients across all industries and sectors, operating out of 24 locations in Europe and India. Through technology and expertise, the Group’s consultants enable their clients to operate in a more agile, efficient and innovative way.
Gillian will oversee ongoing delivery and expansion of these technology solutions to clients primarily within finance, insurance, utilities, pharma and the public sector and be responsible for unifying Aspira and emagine as they continue to merge operations, since joining forces in August 2022. The move, as one of six acquisitions in the last three years and two in 2022, has significantly strengthened emagine’s development and driven scalable opportunities in the market.
Gillian said:
“I am looking forward to my next venture as Managing Director in Ireland and it’s an exciting time for emagine as the Group continues to grow rapidly with no signs of slowing down. Being part of the emagine Group family, we have the opportunity to really innovate and streamline the technology-based services and solutions we offer, which is a win-win for us and most importantly our clients.
“We see the rise of automation as a great opportunity for many businesses to develop, whilst freeing up employees’ time for more impactful and rewarding work. In addition, there is scope for clients to be more resilient and adaptive with digital transformation and application modernisation solutions such as re-platforming. We are enhancing our offering in both areas to support clients in Ireland and across Europe.”
Aspira is part of the emagine Group. Reflecting on the appointment, Anders Gratte, CEO of emagine said:
“We are excited to have Gillian leading operations in Ireland and we look forward to supporting her as she starts working on her ambitious plans in this market and builds on the company’s range of services. Gillian has outstanding experience and expertise and we are very pleased that this appointment comes from within Aspira, supporting the ongoing alignment of our operations and shared values.”
Gillian-Whelan
