David Stafford was appointed Director and Chief Executive Officer of ALD Re Limited in February 2012, a subsidiary of ALD Automotive, the provider of vehicle fleet leasing and fleet management solutions, ultimately owned by Societe Generale. He is responsible for implementing Board strategy and managing day-to-day operations. ALD Re provides reinsurance protection for third party motor liability across 23 countries and Stafford says one of the challenges is dealing with cultural differences with his remit spreading from Portugal in the west to Russia in the east.

Putting experience into practice: Colm McGuire is a founding partner of McGuireDesmond, the Cork based law firm. Having worked as an associate at the Dublin and London offices of Matheson Ormsby Prentice McGuire established McGuireDesmond with Ciaran Desmond in 2000 with the experience of working during the early days of Matheson Ormsby Prentice's London office giving him the confidence to start a new practice.