The Irish economy has enjoyed a very positive 2019. Here is a selection of people who start 2020 in challenging new roles.

Miles Karemacher has been appointed as general manager of Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, leading the workforce of 760 people.

Mile Karemacher

He replaces Matthieu Seguin, now the firms GM for Nigeria. Miles joins the Irish business from Coca-Cola HBC Italy where he was commercial excellence director, leading the acquisition of Lurisia, a premium natural mineral water and adult sparkling beverages business. Miles previously held senior roles at SAB Miller and Coca-Cola Amatil. He holds a commerce degree, an MBA, while he is also a certified practising accountant.

Pat Rigney, managing director and founder of The Shed Distillery in Co Leitrim, maker of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, has been appointed chair of representative body Drinks Ireland|Spirits.

Pat Rigney

Pat, who was previously vice-chair, will take over as chair from Aoife Clarke, senior director of international public affairs at Beam Suntory. Bryan Fallon, director of TJ Carolans has been appointed as vice-chair. The group was established in 1997 and acts as a voice among national and EU policy makers for issues such as taxation, trade and ongoing protection of Irelands Geographic Indicators.

Ita Hodder has been appointed as HR executive search manager with recruitment and HR services company Collins McNicholas.

Ita Hodder

She joined the firm as a recruitment consultant in 2006. She will specialise in seeking out and recruiting highly-qualified HR candidates for senior and executive roles in Dublin region. Ita, who has a degree in social science, a post-grad diploma in business studies and a law degree, has vast experience working with indigenous and multinational companies across the HR sectors. Founded in 1990, Collins McNicholas has a offices in Dublin, Cork, Athlone, Galway, Limerick, and Sligo.

Lorraine McCarthy has been promoted to chief people and culture officer (CPCO) at Spearline, a technology company headquartered in Skibbereen, Co Cork, and with offices in Waterford, Romania, and India.

Lorraine McCarthy

In 2018, Lorraine joined the Spearline team as HR and operations manager and within 12 months was promoted to CPCO. She was previously a financial services professional, working 20 years in banking. As CPCO, Lorraine is responsible for all human resource functions at Spearline as well as developing and maintaining the Spearline culture across its global offices.

Tudor Pitulac has been named as manager of research projects with OpenSky, the Irish GovTech transformation provider of automated solutions to public sector bodies.

Tudor Pitulac

He brings 15 years PM experience. Previously a university professor at the Petre Andrei University and a consultant for the Community Learning and Development Department of North Ayrshire Council. As well as a background in Sociology and Political Sciences, he holds an MA in Project Management and a PhD in Philosophy. He is

PMP certified since 2012.

Fintan McGovern has been announced as chairman of Co Louth-based health, wellbeing and sports tech company Metrifit.

Fintan McGovern

He was enlisted to help drive global expansion and assist with the companys Series A funding round. He is ex-CEO and co-founder of IoT company Firmwave. A former officer with the Irish Defence Forces of 15 years and former GAA intercountry player for Cavan, he exited Firmwave earlier this year following its acquisition by Taoglas. Metrifit, a sports tech company that boosts athlete performance by data analytics, was launched by CEO Peter Larkin and chief technology officer Ann Bruen in 2016.

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Business movers: The biggest appointments in Irish business to kick off 2020 - BreakingNews.ie