Ireland has benefitted to some extent from a desire by financial and professional services firms to retain an EU footprint after Brexit.

Crestbridge, the global administration, management and corporate governance solutions business, is expanding its Irish business at a time when the country has been drawing in inflows from the UK, post-Brexit.

The firm has appointed Conor O’Brien as head of accounting and transfer agency. He is responsible for establishing, leading and promoting the accounting, valuations and transfer agency functions of the fund administration business of Crestbridge Ireland. 

O’Brien brings more than 25 years of experience to the job, having worked in the funds industry, with particular expertise in developing services to private equity, real estate funds and other alternative structures.

Prior to this role, O’Brien worked in fund accounting, system and strategic operating model enhancement, integration and testing, financial reporting, fund launches and onboarding project work. 

Crestbridge employs more than 400 people and has eight international offices: Bahrain, Cayman, Ireland, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, New Jersey and New York. It opened its Irish office in March this year. 

The firm has, along with its peers, been pushing into Ireland because of its standing as a European Union state. About half of financial services firms have moved some operations to the EU as a result of Brexit. States such as Luxembourg have also benefitted.