MEET THE TEAM
Tim Houstoun
Chief Executive Officer
Highly numerate with a reputation as a strategist and innovative thinker, Tim has extensive experience in strategic management and nurturing companies to success.
Tim joined Global Shares in 2008 and led the company through a strategic shift, a comprehensive software development phase, numerous rounds of fundraising, securing MiFID and FINRA regulation and scaling the business into a multi-million-dollar firm. A chartered accountant by profession, Tim previously spent 20 years in the services sector, having served as owner and founder of Business Direct Group Plc and Chairman of Fast Track 100 Specialist Mail Services Plc.
Tim is married to Máire, and they have 4 children. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, especially playing tennis. He is a strong advocate of building business in the beautiful West Cork region.
Entrepreneurial, Leadership, Financial Management, Strategic Thinking, Networking, Team Building, Business Development
Mark Purcell
Chief Product Officer
Responsible for the business logic behind Global Shares’ software platform, Mark is a key player in designing, implementing and planning IT solutions. Having joined Global Shares in 2007 following the completion of an honours MBS in Economics from UCC, Mark has a unique understanding of our company’s journey, and has been a key driver of our development and growth.
He has held a number of roles within the operations and IT teams and played an integral role in transitioning Global Shares from a service-based company to a Fintech company. In 2016 he was appointed Executive Director on the Board of Global Shares. He is currently responsible for leading up the Global Shares product team in his role as Chief Product Officer and ensuring that Global Shares products are of the highest quality.
Mark is based in Cork and in his spare time enjoys numerous sports, having played senior rugby with Sundays Well, Dolphin and currently Clonakilty, and spending time with his family.
Product Development, IT Solutions, Business Planning, Project Management, Leading Teams, Innovation and Marketing.
Thomas Wallace
Chief Financial Officer
Thomas Wallace is a highly skilled Finance Executive, with more than 25 years’ experience in financial, technology, commercial and SaaS CFO Operational leadership roles, across a range of industries, sectors, and regions. His focus on strategy, policy, and reliable metrics, supported by the systems and processes he implements, supports a structured approach to rapid growth while ensuring financial stability.
Thomas has significant experience in corporate finance, strategy, international tax, investor relations, treasury, equity capital markets, debt capital markets in a multinational listed environment having held senior finance and CFO roles in Asia Pacific for over twenty years. Thomas’ finance expertise is matched by strong analytical and communication skills and his intention is to make the finance function at Global Shares a real partner to the business in achieving its vision of growth. In his spare time Thomas enjoys sailing, surfing, and scuba diving.
Thomas Wallace, Institute of Chartered Company Directors, Dip IoD, Chartered Accountant, FCA, Business Degree, BBS. Former CFO of ASX listed Servcorp Limited and L.J. Hooker, Sydney.
Corporate Finance, Strategy, International Tax, Investor Relations, Treasury, Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, Multinationals, Publicly Listed Companies
Christophe Bouhon
Chief Information Officer
Christophe Bouhon joined Global Shares in 2019 as Chief Information Officer, bringing more than 20 years’ IT experience in different sectors including security, storage, banking, and payments. Previously he worked at Dell/EMC, BNP Paribas, FIS and Motive Partners in roles spanning global product delivery, architecture and R&D engineering.
Under his leadership the Global Shares IT department has grown significantly in size, and he has overseen significant business investment in a modern technology stack. Christophe has an MSc. in Computer Science from the University of Liège and is based in Belgium. In his free time he enjoys skiing, running and hiking
IT, Security, Storage, Banking, Payments, Strategy, Project Management, Leading Teams, Innovation
Stuart Sloan
Chief Operating Officer
Stuart joined as Chief Operating Officer in 2019, bringing 25 years’ experience in regulated financial services and market infrastructure roles. Stuart was previously COO of the London Metal Exchange where he helped drive the commercialisation of the business following the acquisition by HKEX, whilst also serving on the management committee of HKEX. Prior to this, Stuart was Chief of Staff & Head of Strategic Development at NYSE Euronext, having held a number of regulatory and strategy roles over almost two decades.
Stuart brings excellent board-level management, communication, presentation, analytical and organisational skills, honed over many years working with senior customers, regulators and other stakeholders. He is commercial, process driven, and customer focused.
Stuart is based in Clonakilty and enjoys cycling and the good food of West Cork.
Execution & Regulatory Operations, Exchange and Market Infrastructure, Derivatives, Commodities, Clearing Houses, Benchmark Administration
Hugh Curran, CEP
Managing Director North America
Hugh joined Global Shares at the company’s headquarters in his native West Cork, Ireland, in 2012 and progressed rapidly through client management, operations and product roles. He moved to the US in 2013 to set up Global Shares’ US office and moved into a business development role, and has lead the Global Shares North American Business Development and Strategic Partnership teams through a period of rapid expansion. His qualifications include a Master’s in Financial Economics, a Master’s in Mathematics, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and he is a Certified Equity Professional (CEP).
Hugh was made a Silicon Valley ‘Global Awards Honoree’ in 2019 and 2023, and in 2022 Hugh was appointed to the CEP Institute Board of Advisors at Santa Clara University, California, to play a key role in charting the Institute’s strategic direction and oversee the curriculum development.
Business Development, Client Management, Data Analysis, Futures and Commodity Markets, Equities Administration, Financial Services, Leading Teams
Derek Gallagher
Managing Director Emerging Companies
Derek manages Global Shares SaaS business for emerging companies, focused on cap table management and equity incentives for high growth companies, working in collaboration with the wider ecosystem of VCs and advisors.
Derek has spent over 15 years in the startup world. As a founder himself he has gone through accelerator programs, funding rounds and an exit. He also managed an accelerator program and worked as a startup consultant advising on funding and strategy.
Derek joined Global Shares in 2018 to build the emerging companies’ business from scratch, including product development, sales and customer success.
He started his career with Bank of Ireland where he worked on New Product Development, M&A and Corporate Banking. Derek has a BSC in Applied Science, and a Post Graduate Diploma in New Business Development. He lives in Clonakilty with his wife and family and in his spare time enjoys anything that gets him outdoors and taking advantage of the West Cork coastline.
Product Development, Business Development, Innovation, Strategy, eCommerce
Aine Bonner
Head of Marketing
Aine spent more than 10 years as a journalist covering social and humanitarian affairs topics. She was a member of Irish Aid’s Rapid Response Corps and has undergone UN training in crisis communications. Her work has been published in national and international publications including RTE. Aine swapped journalism for PR and marketing, but not forgetting her roots as a storyteller, she spent 10 years working with companies on refining their brands, pitching their stories, and getting the right messaging out to the world.
Aine joined Global Shares in 2019 and coordinated the company’s re-brand. Since then, the marketing team has also launched the Global Shares Academy, organised dozens of events, shared thousands of posts to social media and generated millions of opportunities to be seen in the global press. Marketing has also contributed significantly to the Global Shares revenue pipeline.
Aine grew up on the Donegal Gaeltacht island of Arranmore. She has a BA in Journalism and an MA in International Security and Conflict Studies. She loves travelling, is a forever news junkie and lives near Clonakilty in West Cork with her husband, three kids and two dogs.
PR, Marketing Consultancy, Content Strategy, Brand Building, Communication, Campaign Management, Lead Generation, Thought Leadership, Authentic Storytelling
Andy Wu
Managing Director, Asia
Andy has extensive knowledge and more than 10 years’ experience in the share plans and financial services industry and is responsible for Global Shares’ operations in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Japan. His expertise spans plan administration and regulatory matters, China SAFE, transactional tax, corporate events, and all aspects of a share plan management.
Andy joined Global Shares in 2018 to introduce its innovative technology to the Asian market. Previously he worked at Computershare and Morgan Stanley Capital International. Andy holds a first class Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. He lives in Beijing with his wife and family.
Financial Services, Equities Administration, Business Development, Tax, Corporate Events, Process Management, Partner Management
Martin Osborne-Shaw
Head of Business Development Europe
Martin joined Global Shares in 2020 with more than 20 years’ leadership in the employee share plan and securities industry. He was responsible for establishing, building and selling Killik Employee Services – the market-leading provider of employee and executive share plan administration, financial education and participant wealth management, over a 13-year period. He subsequently became a Director at Equiniti Premier and managed their discretionary share plan business. Prior to joining Global Shares, he spent four years at Shareworks by Morgan Stanley (previously Solium), where he led the EMEA Client Service Delivery Team to shape the overall client and participant experience. He leads the Global Shares EMEA Business Development team, the Global Sales Development and Client Management teams as well as the Global Insight team.
Martin is based in Greater London and is a proud father of three. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, walking, skiing, going to the races and is a regular at Silverstone when F1 is in town.
Business Development, Client Service Delivery, Financial Education, Wealth Management, Equities Administration, Investment Advisory, Securities, Asset Management, Innovation, Entrepreneurial, Service Focused
Stephen Tabb Assoc CIPD
HR Director
Stephen Tabb is a senior Human Resources leader with over a decade of experience in senior leadership roles. Prior to joining Global Shares, he was a HR Business Partner with the Defence Forces of Ireland, and former Operations Supervisor with the UN. Stephen joined Global Shares in 2019 as HR Director with a global remit, partnering with senior management to develop and implement strategic HR initiatives including change management, personnel management, employee engagement, talent development, Great Place to Work® Accreditation, employee wellbeing initiatives and more. He also partners with front line leaders to provide HR solutions and direction on employee relations, employment law, performance management, training, development and more.
Stephen has an MBA from MUT in HR and has degrees in Employment Law and Conflict Resolution and Mediation. He is an active sports person and lives in Cork with his wife and family.
Human Resources Management, Strategy, Leadership, Process Driven, Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Digitisation, Learning & Development
Shane O’ Donovan
Global Head of Risk & Compliance
Shane joined Global Shares in March 2020 as Global Head of Risk and Compliance with close to 20 years’ experience working in financial services with global organisations. Shane worked across numerous jurisdictions in the areas of legal, risk and compliance. Prior to joining Global Shares, he worked in investment management based in Hong Kong as Head of Legal, Risk & Compliance, and prior to this worked in London and Dublin in senior roles. This provided Shane with significant experience in managing risk, compliance, and legal functions in financial services, both in established and emerging markets.
His role requires engagement with stakeholders including the board of directors, regulators, investors and advisers. Shane builds great teams that protect businesses, ensuring the best outcomes for customers. He is a qualified solicitor in Ireland, England and Wales and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies, Economics and Finance.
Shane lives back in his native West Cork with his wife and family and in his free time he enjoys open water swimming, football and family time on beaches and walking trails of West Cork.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Risk management, Data Protection, Advisory Support, Process & Training Management, Communication, Hedge & Mutual Funds, Litigation
