Amanda Ward and Brian O'Sullivan partner at Grant Thornton
Professional services firm Grant Thornton has named two new Partners in Ireland. The internal promotion and external hire reflect the continued growth the firm has experienced as Irish businesses look to prepare for turbulence from the Covid-19 pandemic and the end of the Brexit process.
Global audit and advisory company Grant Thornton Ireland currently employs over 1,450 people, including 50 Partners across seven offices. According to the firm’s website, it commands annual revenues of around $150 million, and has been one of the fastest-growing accounting-heritage advisory firms in Ireland over the past number of years.
Commenting on the news, Managing Partner Michael McAteer said, “Whilst we all work through Covid-19 together, we need to prepare for what life post Covid-19 and post Brexit will bring, both the challenges and the opportunities. It is important for Grant Thornton that we have the talent to partner with our clients to focus on overcoming those challenges and making the most of the opportunities. With the expansion of the team and our focus on all aspects of a business we know we will be prepared to get our clients’ ‘Back to Better.'”
Amanda Ward has joined the Grant Thornton team as a Partner, bringing 16 years of experience to the firm’s Dublin office. Earlier in her career, she spent seven years with Big Four firm PwC, where she was latterly a Manager in its finance effectiveness team. Ward joined Danske Bank Ireland in 2012, where she became Chief Operating Officer, Non-Core, before exiting at the end of 2019.
Ward remarked, “[Grant Thornton] is an innovative and ambitious organisation and I was attracted to the opportunity to be part of its growth and to help it diversify into new sectors, bringing strong business values and service delivery to match the demands and rightly high expectations of clients. Grant Thornton’s brand and values are facets I have respected as a client over the past few years, and I am excited to be on board and part of a great team that will take these to the next level.”
Grant Thornton has also appointed another Partner internally, with Brian O’Sullivan, previously a Director in the firm’s financial services department, being promoted as part of a new joint initiative between the Grant Thornton’s US and Irish firms. Having originally started with Grant Thornton as part of its graduate programme, the collaboration means when current Covid-19 travel restrictions permit, O’Sullivan will be based in New York and will operate across the Grant Thornton US audit and advisory teams, further strengthening and developing international relationships and reach for the Irish firm.
O’Sullivan stated, “I am extremely proud to have joined the partner group and in a year where everyone has suffered their own individual challenges I feel honoured personally to be able to contribute to the continued growth of the firm... The embedding of my role within the US partnership group will further strengthen our service offering by bolstering our local presence in the US, enhancing insight capacity into emerging markets, expanding our resource offering and bringing the power of our global experience, breadth of services and personnel to support all of our clients, both existing and new.”
