Day 117 - Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Now it's time to reveal details of the one matter that I have with-held from my blog - with-held until now, that is. A few weeks ago, a friend and ex-work colleague of mine Mark Weir contacted me by Facebook to ask if I would be interested in a Head of Shareholder Services job that was going at his company, Maples Fund Services. I thought "Why not?" and forwarded him my CV. On Monday April 11th I had lunch in the Shelbourne Hotel's Saddle Room restaurant with Toni Pinkerton, head of fund administration at Maples. I liked the sound of the company's ethos and growth prospects, and of the scope of the job, and Toni must have liked what she heard from me, as a conference call was arranged for Friday the 15th, with two more senior executives of the company, one based in Toronto and one in Cayman.

Upon Toni's return from holidays the following Thursday (21st), she offered me the job - head of their (small but growing) Shareholder Services group, with the first 18 months (minimum) of the job based in the Cayman Islands. I thought about it over the weekend - the Pros were an exciting role with great prospects, a tax-free salary and Caribbean climate and living, whilst the Cons were moving away from family and friends in Ireland, a higher cost of living and a salary based in US Dollars which has the capacity to weaken against the Euro. The decision was easier than I thought - I just didn't want to leave Ireland on a full-time basis so I e-mailed Toni on Sunday evening with my decision, outlining the thought process and thanking her for offering the opportunity.

So that was it, or so I thought, until last night during the Sports Awards, when I received a mail from Toni saying that they still wanted me, and would be willing to base the job in Dublin, with a few 3-4 week stays in the Caymans. I couldn't believe it - the best of both worlds! We spoke today by phone in the afternoon and was pretty poor at containing my absolute joy at the offer, accepting it with all available limbs.

I immediately informed Trevor, my great friend who also happened to be my boss for the last year, and he was delighted for me. After work it was time to speak with all the family to tell them the great news. It has all happened so quickly and so unexpectedly - it is a wonderful thing! I cannot wait to dive headlong into the position when it commences on Tuesday June 7th, and whilst continuing to avoid all mentions of professional matters here, it should provide some interesting blog material outside of work hours in the summer months!


Grand Cayman Island and Stingray City, here I come!

Contentment :  20 / 25
Excitement :     6 / 10
Memorability : 4 / 15

Overall Score : 60% (3rd out of 117)