Grant Thornton is set to appoint Martin Shanahan as the company’s head of industry, a role he held for the Irish wing of the company.
Before joining Grant Thornton as a partner in 2023, Mr Shanahan was the chief executive of IDA Ireland. For an eight-year period, he was responsible for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ireland.
Before his time with IDA Ireland, Mr Shanahan worked as chief executive of Forfás, the policy advisory board to the government on enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation.
In his previous role as head of industry for Grant Thornton in Ireland, Mr Shanahan advised multinational companies on the locations for investment decisions in Ireland.
Now, as US tariffs loom over the Irish economy and with experience in the FDI sector, Mr Shanahan will take over responsibility for Grant Thornton Advisory LLC’s multinational practice as head of industry.
In the role, he will spread his time across Dublin and San Francisco, and will oversee all operations, strategy and growth initiatives for the industry advisory wing of the firm. Grant Thornton said his role would expand to work across different markets and give advice to clients on global location investment decisions.
Grant Thornton noted their new head of industry’s experience in strategic planning, policy development, marketing and investment decision-making gained during more than 25 years working in the public and private sectors.
“Businesses across industries are faced with many unique challenges and exciting opportunities,” said Mr Shanahan, who is also an adjunct professor at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business.
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“Grant Thornton’s unmatched talent and comprehensive, high-quality solutions will help meet our multinational clients’ unique and changing needs – and I look forward to working closely with our cross-market teams to continue growing our Industry practice,” he said.
Alasdair Trotter, chief revenue officer of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, echoed the sentiment, saying the impact of the current business climate “requires leaders to be forward-thinking and agile.”
Mr Trotter said: “Martin’s years of industry know-how and global perspective make him uniquely suited to help our Industry practice deliver high-quality solutions to our clients, while navigating the shifting landscape and historic new challenges that lie ahead.”
