The Management Team at gem brings together a vast range of experience from previous roles within various industry sectors. This amalgamation of skills and expertise enables the Team to implement an integrated approach across all departments.

This results in the effective delivery of a first class service from a company which is truly unique, benefiting staff, clients and their customers.

Philip Cassidy, Chief Executive Officer

Philip Cassidy is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of gem. Prior to this his career spans the news media, telephony and communications sectors.

Philip is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Applications as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Queen's University Belfast. He is currently a non executive Director of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, an organisation set up to provide the opportunity for every school leaver to achieve basic economic literacy.

Philip was a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 and is a member of the Institute of Directors.

Jeremy Cheetham, Chief Financial Officer

Jeremy was previously a Senior Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manchester, responsible for managing the audit, financial reporting and specialist advisory requirements of a diverse portfolio of major public and private companies, drawn from industrial, commercial, media, retail and consumer product sectors in the UK.

Jeremy is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and trained as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Finance from Leeds Polytechnic.

Anita Acheson, Human Resources Director

Anita joined gem as Human Resources Director in June 2000. Prior to this, she worked in a variety of industries with responsibility for HR strategy, recruitment, training and development, industrial relations and total quality management.

Anita is a graduate of the Institute of Personnel Management and holds a Diploma in Personnel Management from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Communication from the University of Ulster.

Jonathan Wilson, Account Director

Jonathan joined gem in November 2004 after five years living and working in the USA. Holding a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Glasgow, Jonathan brings to gem 10 years experience in the service sector. Starting his career as a Technical Support Representative for a leading US data provider Jonathan developed into a senior project management role working with clients in the financial, retail and technology sectors.

On his return to Northern Ireland he delivered the roll-out of a customer experience programme for a major high street bank. Since joining gem Jonathan's work has included the implementation of a pan-European Customer Service solution for a global technology brand. Jonathan currently leads the Project Management Team and is responsible for building and maintaining strategic client relations within gem's key accounts.

Sarah McKay, Business Director

Sarah has worked in the call centre industry for 11 years having completed a law degree at Queens University, Belfast and joined gem as a business director in June 2006. Prior to this she began her career within an insourced sales operation, progressing to managing outsourced sales and service operations within the media, financial, telecoms, tech support and government sectors.

Julie Wilson, Business Director

Julie Wilson is Business Director at gem and has been with gem for 5 years. Prior to this her career spans the Financial Services, telecommunications and media sectors.

Julie set up and managed her first contact centre in 1991 in Glasgow and has been involved in insourcing and outsourcing contact centres ever since.

Lisa Kavanagh, Director of Business Transformation

Lisa Kavanagh joined gem just over 5 years ago as a Project Manager and is now responsible for gem IT strategy and for bringing the latest in leading-edge technology and innovation to address the business challenges faced by the company and its customers

Lisa has successfully delivered expansive Outsource Business Solutions for Blue Chip clients across the Travel, Media, Technology and Retail sectors.   Lisa is responsible for the identification and implementation of Business Solutions in gem including, most recently the leadership of the Social Media and Business Intelligence Strategies.

Lisa has conducted wide ranging industry trend and technology research that has provided the starting point for a Social Media journey for gem’s clients.  Her previous experience includes managing EMEA Supply Chain Functions and leading Global SAP projects for Nortel Networks.

Colm Teggart, Business Director

Colm is a Business Director and has been with gem for 3 years, and since then has been involved in managing accounts in the retail, media, technology and financial services sectors.  Colm is at the forefront of the creation and delivery of gem’s social media strategy and has been responsible for driving initiatives on behalf of clients which will distil user generated feedback and social chatter into actionable business insights.

Previous to gem Colm had 3 years with a global outsourcing company as operations manager for a major client in the telecoms sector. Earlier experience included 1 year in Asia managing a technical helpdesk for a major US broadband provider. In total Colm has 11 years outsource contact centre experience.