Having been voted in The Top 10 Best Companies to Work for in Ireland in 2005, 2006, 2007 and again in 2008, Brightwater takes pride
in also having the best staff. Constantly on the frontline of our business, our staff are Brightwater's most valuable asset. We have
recruited staff on many levels from pure graduates right up to experienced directors.
In this section, there are brief biographies of some of our staff members.
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David Bloch
CEO
David holds a degree in Economics & Sociology from a UK university and has over 20 years’ experience in recruitment in both the UK and Ireland. Born in the US and educated in the UK, he spent a number of years working and travelling around the world before returning to the UK in 1989. Attracted by the fast-paced environment of recruitment, he worked for several years in three of the UK’s leading recruitment consultancies before leaving and setting up on his own in Manchester.
David set up Brightwater in Manchester in 1995 and Dublin in 1998. By 2001 he had opened a second office in Belfast and had added in several other divisions. Since then he has been at the helm of the company, guiding it to the success it has enjoyed over recent years. Under his leadership, Brightwater has grown to over 100 employees, 3 offices and over 14 professional divisions winning a Best Place in Europe to Work in for four consecutive years. |
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Mairead Fleming
Managing Director
Mairead is a Drama graduate from Trinity College and has over 15 years’ experience working in recruitment both in the UK and Ireland covering both permanent and contract recruitment. Mairead has recruited staff at junior and senior levels for various disciplines across a wide range of sectors.
Mairead joined Brightwater in 2003 to manage the busy temporary and contracts division and within a year was overseeing all five accountancy divisions. She was promoted to Operations Director in 2006 and in 2008 was appointed to the Board. In 2010, Mairead was appointed Deputy Managing Director and in 2012 was appointed Managing Director of The Brightwater Group. Mairead is also the public face of Brightwater, having appeared on TV3 in Ireland AM’s Jobs Club and "The Apprentice" as a member of the interviewing panel. |
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Barbara McGrath
Director
Barbara is a B.Comm graduate, MREC qualified and is a former Chairperson of the Sales Institute of Ireland. She has over ten years' sales experience and over seven years' management recruitment experience, both on a permanent and temporary & contract basis.
A fellow of the Sales Institute of Ireland, she was elected chairperson in June 2007. Barbara joined Brightwater Support in April 2005 as Head of Recruitment and was an integral part of setting the company up as a sister company to the already successful Brightwater Group. In January 2007, Barbara was appointed Regional Operations Manager for the company and was then promoted to Operations Director in January 2008. In January 2011 she was appointed to the Board where she now has full responsibility for Brightwater Support as well as the Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales & Marketing and the Science & Pharmaceutical diivsions. Barbara also oversees the Brightwater offices in Northern Ireland. |
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John O'Donnell
Finance Director
John is a qualified FCCA with over 13 years’ PQE in both practice and industry. After graduating from Athlone Institute of Technology with a Diploma in Accounting & Finance in 1994, John then continued to study for his ACCA qualification while working in the insolvency department of a Top 10 accountancy practice. Following his qualification, he then moved to a role as Financial Accountant in industry where he stayed for three years before returning to a well known accountancy practice as a Consultancy Manager.
In 2002, John joined Brightwater as Financial Controller and assisted with the rapid growth of the Brightwater Group. In January 2008, he was appointed Finance Director and was appointed to the Board in 2011. He is now responsible for the Finance, IT, Marketing and Administration functions for the companies within the group including offices in Dublin, Cork and Belfast. |
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Mark Byrne
Associate Director-
Accountancy (Industry) and I.T
A graduate of DIT Mountjoy Square, Mark has over 10 years’ recruitment experience. Mark joined Brightwater in 2003 as a consultant in the Accountancy division working with a range of clients from small indigenous companies to large multinationals. By 2005, Mark was promoted to Team Leader and quickly gained further promotion to Manager of that area. In 2008, he also took over responsibility for the IT division, managing a team of consultants recruiting for high volume projects.
In 2010, Mark assumed responsibility again for the busy Accountancy (Industry) desk and in 2011, he was promoted to Associate Director. He now personally specialises in recruiting qualified accountants for the industry & commerce sector on a permanent basis. He also oversees a team of consultants placing accountants into the Industry & Commerce arena and the IT division which places IT candidates across a range of sectors on a permanent, temporary & contract basis. |
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Jean O'Donovan
Manager -
Temporary & Contract and Banking & Financial Services
Jean holds a BA in Sociology & Psychology from UCC and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies from Michael Smurfit School of Business. Attracted by the autonomous nature of recruitment, she then joined the temporary & contracts division of a high street recruitment agency.
In 2003, Jean joined Brightwater as a consultant in their busy temporary & contracts division specialising in accountancy and finance roles across the commercial sector. By 2005, she was promoted to Team Leader of that division. In January 2007, Jean was promoted to Manager and her remit extended to temporary & contract roles across banking, funds and financial services. In mid 2011, Jean also took over responsibility for the busy Banking, Financial Services and Fund Services permanent desk where she now oversees a team of six consultants recruiting for permanent, temporary and contract roles.
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Estelle Davis
Managing Partner - Executive Division
With a degree in International Business and Japanese from DCU, Estelle moved to Japan in 2000 to work for the Japanese government co-ordinating international conferences. On her return to Ireland, she spent a further year working in the same field before joining Brightwater as a recruitment consultant in the newly set up Insurance division where she worked with a range of clients from small brokers to large multinationals.
In 2005, Estelle moved across to the financial services division and shortly afterwards was promoted to Team Leader. In January 2008, she gained a further promotion to Manager of the Banking and Financial Services Divisions where she personally recruited at the senior level for the banking and financial services arenas. In mid 2011, Estelle was instrumental in setting up Brightwater's Executive division where, as Managing Partner, she oversees a team of consultants recruiting for executive level roles across a wide variety of sectors.
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Hugh McCarthy
Manager - Information Technology (ROI)
Hugh holds a BA (Hons) in History & Politics from UCD in 1995. After graduating, he then went on to complete a Higher Diploma in Computer Science in 1997 before embarking on a career in recruitment. He spent over 6 years recruiting for a global recruitment consultancy in the US, UK and Ireland in their technology division before deciding to return to Ireland full-time.
Hugh joined Brightwater in early 2003 and helped establish the IT division from the outset focusing on the temporary & contract arena. In 2006, he was promoted to Team Leader of the division and in 2010 was appointed Manager. He has over 8 years’ direct IT experience recruiting for high-end consultants in high volume complex projects from the USA to Asia and across all sectors in Ireland. He now heads up a team of recruitment consultants specialising in the recruitment of IT professionals on a permanent, temporary and contract basis.
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Eileen Moloney
Head of Marketing
Eileen holds a BA in Applied Languages from DCU. She spent five years working in marketing roles in various sectors including hospitality, electronics, manufacturing and recruitment before joining Brightwater as a recruitment consultant in their international division.Within 3 years, she had returned to her marketing roots and moved within the Brightwater Group to their in-house marketing function.
In 2005, Eileen was promoted to Team Leader of the division and in 2008 was further promoted to Head of Marketing. She now manages the marketing function for the entire Group in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. She oversees a busy internal marketing team and is responsible for the Group's sponsorship activities including TV3's "The Apprentice" and various events affiliated with many of Ireland's leading professional institutes.
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Natacha Pomorski
Manager - Sales & Marketing
Natacha holds a Masters in Economics and Business Studies from IECS, Strasbourg. Originally from France, she spent an Erasmus year in UCG and in 1994 made the decision to relocate permanently to Ireland. Her background includes business development for a tour operator and heading up the incentive division of an event management company. .
Natacha joined the Brightwater Group in 2004. In July 2005, she played a key role in setting up Brightwater Support and worked with a range of clients on assignments for office administration staff. She was promoted to Senior Consultant in 2006 and to Assistant Manager in 2008. In January 2011, she was promoted to Manager andwas responsible for the Supply Chain & Logistics division. In January 2012, Natacha moved to the Sales & Marketing division where she manages a team of consultants recruiting for Sales & Marketing professionals across a wide range of sectors including FMCG, IT, B2B and Services.
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Aoife Clarke
Head of Administration
On leaving school, Aoife gained a Secretarial & Computer Studies Certificate. After 2 years working within the purchasing sector, she was attracted to the busy sales environment of recruitment and joined the Brightwater administration in 2000.
Aoife assisted with the set up of the Belfast office in 2001, Brightwater Support in 2005 and then the Cork office in 2006. She was promoted to Team Leader of the administration function in 2005 and a further promotion to Manager in 2008. Aoife now manages a busy administration division supporting a large team of recruitment consultants for the Brightwater Group across the Republic and Northern Ireland. |
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Mared Roberts
Manager - Insurance and Human Resources
After graduating with a BA in French & German from the University of Cardiff, Mared then joined the European Commission, working in France, Germany and Ireland before joining an IT company in Dublin as a project manager. In 2003, she moved into recruitment joining Brightwater as a consultant in their HR division. Mared moved back to Wales in 2006 continuing to work in recruitment in both Cardiff and the South West of England.
On her return to Ireland in 2009, Mared rejoined Brightwater as Team Leader of the HR and Insurance divisions and in January 2012, she was promoted to Manager. With a particular focus on senior and executive appointments, her clients range from SMEs to large multinational and global organisations and she has gained a highly credible reputation for working on senior niche positions. |
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Suzanne Caffrey
Team Leader - Public Practice & Taxation
Suzanne graduated with an honours degree in Marketing from DIT in 2004. On graduating, she then embarked on her career in recruitment. In July 2004, Suzanne joined a well known recruitment consultancy as a consultant in the contract and permanent finance division. Suzanne was promoted to Team Leader in 2206 and in January 2008 she launched their IT division. Suzanne was promoted to manager in 2009 where this role saw her set up and manage the Belfast office on the company's departure from Ireland.
Suzanne's experience covers both permanent and contract recruitment within various disciplines. She joined the Brightwater Group in November 2010 as Team Leader of the Public Practice, Taxation and Legal divisions. Suzanne recruits for senior level practice and taxation roles on behalf of clients both in Ireland and overseas.
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Deborah Crilly
Partner - Executive
After graduating with a BA in Consumer Studies and a post graduate Diploma in Administration & Legal Studies from the University of Ulster, Deborah began a career in retail management. In 1997, she then began her career within recruitment and spent 2 years in London working in a busy recruitment environment before returning to Ireland.
Deborah joined the Brightwater Group in 2006 in the Munster office specialising in Sales & Marketing for Brightwater and Brightwater Support. She relocated to the Dublin office in 2008 and in January 2009, she was promoted to Team Leader of the Sales & Marketing team where she was responsible for senior level sales & marketing professionals. In January 2012, Deborah moved to Brightwater Executive where she is now responsible for recruiting senior executives including CEOs, CTOs and Commercial Directors across a wide range of industries including Pharmaceutical, IT, FMCG, Engineering and B2B. |
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Cathal O'Donnell
Team Leader- International Engineering
Cathal has a degree in Accountancy and Human Resource Management from the National College of Ireland. He also holds a Diploma in Employment Law. Cathal has over 10 years' experience working in engineering recruitment and has worked in locations as diverse as New Zealand and Australia. He has recruited for international clients across the Middle East, North Africa and Australasia.
Cathal joined Brightwater's International Engineering division at the start of 2010. He currently works on both large scale recruitment projects and individual assignments for clients across a range of diverse industries such as Consulting & Contracting, M&E, Civil, Structural, Water, Environmental, Roads, Traffic & Transport, Project Management, Quantity Surveying, Oil & Gas and Petrochemical amongst others.
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Emma Anglim
Assistant Manager - Office Support
Emma holds a BA in European Studies and a post graduate Diploma in Software Localisation. She also holds a Diploma in Business and HR. After graduating, she worked as a Senior Project Manager in a localisation company before joining a national broadcasting company as a senior PA and a broadcast executive.
Emma joined Brightwater in September 2007 as a consultant on the Temporary & Contracts desk for office support staff. She was promoted to Senior Consultant in January 2010 and gained a further promotion to Assistant Manager later that year. In 2011, Emma took over responsibility for the entire Office Support division where she oversees a team of consultants recruiting office support staff across a broad spectrum of industries on a permanent, temporary & contract basis. |
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Caroline O'Reilly
Team Leader - Engineering
Having graduated from Trinity College in 1998, Caroline spent 8 years working in transportation engineering in Berlin before returning to Ireland in 2006. Shortly after her return, Caroline joined Brightwater where she initially spent a few months working as a consultant in the Accountancy division. However, her engineering experience made her the ideal choice to move across to Brightwater's Engineering division where she specialises in a broad range of disciplines including Service, Manufacturing, Operations, Quality and senior management positions.
At the start of 2010, Caroline was promoted to Team Leader of the National Engineering division. With a client profile ranging from Kellogg's to Irish Rail, Caroline works closely with her clients to add real value to their businesses. |
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Eimear Walsh
Senior Consultant - Banking & Fund Services
After graduating with a BA in Economics from UCD, Eimear went on to complete a post grad Diploma in Business in the Smurfit Business School in 2004. She also holds an MA in Management. In 2004, she joined a healthcare company in their Sales & Marketing division before travelling for a year.
Eimear joined the Brightwater Group as a consultant in their Retail division in April 2006 and managed the desk successfully for four years. She was promoted to Senior Consultant in 2007 and developed strong client relationships sourcing staff for a variety of retailers ranging from well known high street stores to large luxury concessions. In April 2010, Eimear moved to take up a consultant role with the Banking & Fund Services division and is now currently responsible for sourcing candidates for a broad spectrum of roles across the Banking & Fund Services arena.
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Catriona O'Dwyer
Consultant - Legal
After graduating from UCC with both a BA in History & Economics and a Diploma in Business & Financial Information Systems, Catriona then attended the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business where she gained an MBS in 2003. She spent a year working in academia before deciding to maker her career in law. While studying for her FE1 exams, Catriona spent time working both as a legal intern and a legal secretary in two of Dublin's top law firms before gaining an apprenticeship with one of Limerick's top law firms.
After qualifying as a solicitor in December 2009, Catriona then worked for a further six months post qualification with the same Limerick firm before joining Brightwater's Legal recruitment division in August 2010. Catriona is now responsible for recruiting legal staff at all levels into both practice and in-house roles across Ireland and overseas.
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Eileen Wall
Consultant - Science & Pharmaceutical
Upon leaving school, Eileen entered the pharmaceutical industry on a junior sales representative level specialising in primary and secondary care. She spent a total of 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry where she gradually gained promotion to area manager sales representative. In 2006, she then transferred her industry knowlege over to a career in recruitment. As a successful member of the pharmaceutical division of a well known company, she was quickly promoted to manager. Eileen worked with major pharmaceutical companies in Ireland recruiting across a range of roles from sales representatives right up to senior management.
In January 2011, Eileen joined Brightwater's pharmaceutical team where she is now responsible for recruiting pharmaceutical staff at all levels into a variety of science & pharmaceutical companies in Ireland ranging from manufacturing organisations to large R&D operations.
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Karen Blake
Team Leader - Administration
Upon leaving school, Karen completed a one year secretarial course. With a very strong interest in developing her culinary skills, she entered the catering industry. Karen spent over 4 years working in the hospitality sector while attending DIT College, ultimately achieving a Higher Certificate in Culinary Skills.
In May 2004, Karen decided upon a career change and joined Brightwater's administration team. In 2007 she was promoted to Senior Administrator and then gained a further promotion in January 2011 to Team Leader. Karen is now the Team Leader of a very busy administration division and supports Brightwater's large team of recruitment consultants. |
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