Pat Hayes, who heads up State Street’s hedge fund business in Ireland, meets with members of its 1,000 strong workforce through an employee townhall meeting that brings together local employees and the teams in Jersey, Poland and the US. The townhall meeting gives him a chance to meet with employees and brief them on the company’s performance. State Street’s hedge fund business services a significant proportion of the 40 per cent of the world’s alternative investment funds that are adminstered in Ireland and Hayes says ‘we will continue to grow the business and provide opportunities for the many talented and highly qualified people in Ireland.’

Wealth managers are likely to be in ever greater demand as the Irish economy continues to thrive, but Kevin Quinn, an associate director with Bank of Ireland Private Banking, writes that experience of other financial sectors, from accounting to life and pensions, is as important as the right qualifications.