EY Cork’s managing partner charts a course for firm’s next phase of growth
The local branch of the professional services network has grown in step with the rise of the city as a vital, vigorous business centre
EY Cork has grown significantly in recent years to a practice with a team of well over 400 professionals. Last month, Ronan Murray was appointed Cork Office managing partner. Murray, who first joined EY in 2007, is very proud of his new role.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to lead EY’s Cork office as well as build on what has been a lot of transformational success over recent years,” he said. “The real focus for me now is charting a course for the next phase of growth for the practice, our clients and the community.
“The business landscape continues to evolve. It’s growing in complexity and numerous organisations are turning to EY to help solve their most pressing challenges and equally to support them on opportunities in sustainable growth, digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), where I am a corporate finance partner within our Strategy and Transactions team”.
Originally from Tralee, Co Kerry, Murray has been in professional services for over 23 years. Based in Cork, he has extensive experience in providing corporate finance services to indigenous entrepreneurs, private businesses and multinational corporations. He is also the most recent past president of Cork Chamber of Commerce, an alumnus of University College Cork and a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
“EY Ireland has grown significantly back from when I first joined the firm,” he said. “The sheer depth and quality of services we now provide is just phenomenal. With the vast potential in areas such as artificial intelligence, decarbonisation ambitions and sustainability targets, and ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty, businesses require rapid access to the top-quality advice and support that we at EY can provide”.
Located on Lapps Quay in the city, EY Cork offers a full range of professional services in its core areas including assurance, tax and law, consulting, and strategy and transactions. It also hosts a National Pensions Centre of Excellence and has a rapidly growing footprint in the areas of AI, data analytics and life sciences.
Cork is very much a city on the rise . . .It has a deep talent pool as well as a dynamic city centre
“Our clients can range from multinational corporations to small, medium and large indigenous private enterprises. Our EY private service offering is an interconnected cross-service line approach that delivers exceptional client service for our indigenous clients across our four core service areas.
“Our flagship EY Entrepreneur of the Year programme celebrates the best of Irish indigenous business on the island and we are lucky enough to get the opportunity to acclaim these trailblazing entrepreneurs. Here in our Cork office, we are proud to have had a number of finalists over many years including some past winners, Peter Coppinger and Dan Mackey of Teamwork, and most recently Brian O’Sullivan of Zeus Packaging. This year Maxine and Rosaleen Hyde from Ballymaloe Foods are among those flying the local flag.”
Cork is very much a city on the rise. It is expected to have population growth of a further 35 per cent by 2040. It has a deep talent pool as well as a dynamic city centre. It has, according to Murray, “developed into a destination of choice for global companies while also providing a platform for indigenous companies to develop and scale”.
“The business landscape is one of constant change and evolution,” he said. “The green transition is impacting different industries in different ways. Companies have their investment committees decide where and how they deploy their capital, which is also very important in relation to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and green transition policies. From an M&A perspective, this means that capital is attaching a premium for an organisation that is already advanced on their ESG journey. As investment markets reopen as the interest rate cycle begins to turn, capital will likely flow faster here than some of the more traditional areas over the next 12 to 18 months.
“There’s also a real continuing shift towards digital transformation. We really saw this during the pandemic, and it continues to be for organisations. Other key areas that are very much topical are cybersecurity, AI and data analytics. These are some of the new and key priorities that are now front and centre for the C-suite in organisations.
“EY Cork has the expertise, capacity and industry knowledge to deliver solutions for our clients across every industry at speed and scale, while helping to build a better working world for all.”
To find out more or to speak with Ronan, visit ey.com/ie/RonanMurray
