Meet the Team

Our Senior Leadership Team

Paul Doherty

Paul Doherty

Founder & Executive Director

Paul is the founder of GDG and currently sits as an executive director on the board of GDG, where he provides technical and commercial oversight and support to the leadership team.

Paul Doherty

Founder & Executive Director

BEng, PhD, CEng MIEI, FConsEI

Paul is the founder of Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions (2011) and currently sits as an executive director on the board of GDG, where he provides technical and commercial oversight and support to the leadership team. Paul is also the EVP for Engineering for the Venterra Group where he manages the synergies across all the Venterra group companies contributing to the development phase of offshore wind projects.

Paul is a geotechnical engineer and offshore foundation designer by background, he grew the team in GDG from 2 people initially to a team of 130 experts in 2022, before handing over the reigns to the senior leadership team as he moved into his current group role. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a Ph.D. qualified Geotechnical Engineer, and a fellow of the Association of Consulting Engineers in Ireland as well as an active member of the Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) technical committees for “Marine Foundations” and “Driven Piling”.  With an extensive career background in offshore wind projects and renewable energy developments, where he has worked on over 35GW of offshore wind projects in countries around the world. His focus has primarily been related to mitigating ground risk and the design/optimisation of offshore foundations and cable installations.

Jonathan Bull

Managing Director

Jonathan is a seasoned Chartered Engineer with a 27-year track record in the renewable energy sector.

Jonathan Bull

Managing Director

CEng BEng (Hons) MIStructE

Jonathan is a seasoned Chartered Engineer with a 27-year track record in the renewable energy sector. His approach to leadership is based on a team-first attitude, where he brings together diverse skill sets to achieve collective goals.

As a strategic thinker, he possesses a keen commercial awareness, allowing him to navigate market dynamics effectively. Jonathan’s commitment to a collaborative work environment, strategic outlook, and commercial insight make him an invaluable asset. His leadership drives successful outcomes and fosters a culture of inclusivity and shared success, positioning him as a leader who is as invested in people as he is in results.

Prior to GDG, Jonathan held senior roles at Atkins and Royal HaskoningDHV.

Dr Indrasenan Thusyanthan

Indrasenan Thusyanthan

Global Offshore Director

Dr Thusyanthan (Thushy) is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Marine Engineer (CMarEng) with over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector.

Indrasenan Thusyanthan

Global Offshore Director

Dr Thusyanthan (Thushy) is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Marine Engineer (CMarEng) with over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector. Thushy has extensive offshore project experience around the world (UK, Southeast Asia and Middle East), working with clients, contractors and designers in conceptual to detailed design stages. With excellent interpersonal and team building skills, he has successfully delivered complex multi-disciplinary projects around the world. He also has expert witness experience in international arbitrations. He has authored over 75 technical publications in journals and conferences and is recipient of “John Henry King Medal” and “Bill Curtin Medal” from the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK).

Thushy’s technical expertise covers geotechnical site investigations, soil characterisation, ground model, windfarm foundations & pile designs, pipeline and cable installations, offshore trenching, geohazard identification and risk assessment, seismic designs, liquefaction assessments, pipelines, offshore platforms, tank farms, soil improvement and finite element assessment.

Jeannine Dunne

Jeannine Dunne

Marine Advisory Director

Jeannine is as an experienced professional with over 20 years’ experience in areas including policy analysis and the provision of policy and legislative advice across both terrestrial and marine areas.

Jeannine Dunne

Marine Advisory Director

Jeannine is as an experienced professional with over 20 years’ experience in areas including policy analysis and the provision of policy and legislative advice across both terrestrial and marine areas. Jeannine has a proven track record in leading multi-disciplinary teams and delivering robust consents and infrastructure in the Foreshore area. She also has extensive experience in relation to reducing the risk of judicial review and other legal challenges in a constantly evolving legal environment.

Jeannine has experience of working within the complex legislative system, ensuring compliance with both EU and National legislation in the environmental area. She has previously led on drafting legislation (Waste Management Collection Permit Regulations, transposition of the 2014 EIA Directive) and provided strategic advice on reforming primary legislation (Maritime Area Planning Act 2021). She has undertaken assessments of EUSF funded infrastructure projects ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation.

As Head of Marine Advisory, Jeannine leads the planning and advisory team working with clients across a broad range of projects ranging from provision of strategic development advice, various marine consenting applications including documentation under EIA and other environmental legislation, planning and environmental due diligence, assessment of judicial review risk on consents, to providing advice on environmental constraints for strategic infrastructure projects.

Paul Quigley

Paul Quigley

Director

Paul is a Chartered Engineer with over 25 years’ of experience in geotechnical engineering and a UK Registered Ground Engineering (RoGEP) Adviser.

Paul Quigley

Director

Paul is a Chartered Engineer with over 25 years’ of experience in geotechnical engineering and a UK Registered Ground Engineering (RoGEP) Adviser.

He has worked on a wide variety of projects for employers, contractors and third parties gaining a range of experience including earthworks for major infrastructure schemes in Ireland and overseas, roads, tunnelling projects, flood protection schemes, retaining wall and basement projects, ground investigations and forensic reviews of failures.

Paul is adept at designing creative solutions for difficult problems and has published numerous peer reviewed technical papers. He has also acted as an independent expert for a number of legal disputes centred on ground related issues.

He is a reviewer for the ICE Geotechnical Engineering Journal, a member of Eurocode 7 review panel at NSAI and a former Chairman of the Geotechnical Society of Ireland.

Brian McMeekin

Brian McMeekin

Director

Brian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (FCIWM), a Chartered Resource and Waste Manager (CRWM) and a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental management and Assessment (PIEMA).

Brian McMeekin

Director

Brian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management (FCIWM), a Chartered Resource and Waste Manager (CRWM) and a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental management and Assessment (PIEMA). He has a proven track record in the environmental and sustainability sectors and more than 25 years’ environmental compliance experience.

He has worked on a variety of renewable energy, infrastructure and waste management projects across the UK, Ireland and Sweden. Project responsibilities have included both lead consultant and technical authority for screening, scoping and environmental assessments across a variety of sectors managing multidisciplinary teams.

Brian has taken projects from feasibility through the planning process and into construction. His clients include private companies, local authorities, regulators and government departments. He has also provided expert witness services in both prosecutions and tribunals.

Richard Pike

Business Development Director

Richard is a geotechnical engineer with extensive experience of major marine, offshore and onshore geotechnical projects in the UK and overseas.

Richard Pike

Business Development Director

Richard is a geotechnical engineer with extensive experience of major marine, offshore and onshore geotechnical projects in the UK and overseas. A chartered Civil Engineer with over 25 years of varied experience, which spans site investigation and characterisation, engineering design, site supervision, construction, project management and technical team leadership.

He has a proven track record of delivering large and complex geotechnical marine projects for major offshore wind developers, oil and gas operators, utilities companies, port operators, government bodies and contractors. His broad range of worldwide geotechnical experience includes projects in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America, Caribbean, Caspian, and Black Sea.

John Begley

John Begley

Finance Director

John is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) and a Business Studies graduate (BBS) from Dublin City University.

John Begley

Finance Director

John is a Chartered Accountant (FCA) and a Business Studies graduate (BBS) from Dublin City University. John trained & qualified at KPMG in Dublin and most notably spent 8 years working with Kingspan Group Plc, initially in Internal Audit and subsequently in several FC roles in the UK, Central Europe & North America.

John also worked as Financial Controller with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) which has responsibility for the management of Irish controlled airspace and the safety regulation of Irish aviation. John joined the GDG business with +15 years PQE working in both public & private sector environments and has broad experience in multiple industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, tourism & renewables.

Diarmuid O'Loan

Diarmuid O'Loan

Technical Director – Marine

Diarmuid is a specialist in marine civil engineering design with over 30 years’ experience.

Diarmuid O'Loan

Technical Director – Marine

Diarmuid is a specialist in marine civil engineering design with over 30 years’ experience. He has a wide range of involvement in concept and detailed designs, project management and contract administration as well as geotechnical assessment, inspection of maritime projects and temporary works. He also has extensive experience in port planning, environmental management of port upgrade works and in heavy marine civil design.

His experience encompasses designs for harbour layouts, new quay walls (incl. the first use of Ruukki piles in the UK at Peterhead), refurbished suspended decks, marine renewable energy projects (incl. LIMPET on the coast of Islay), breakwaters and coastal defence structures, fender design and berthing assessments, capital and maintenance dredging projects, pontoons as a cruise berth (Greenock Ocean Terminal), general marine infrastructure and marina developments. His projects have been generally located throughout the UK and Ireland but he has experience further afield.

During his career, he has acquired extensive technical design experience and team management skills and is responsible for project management and day-to-day management and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams and site supervisory staff in the marine civil engineering sector.

John O’Donovan

John O’Donovan

Associate Director

John O’Donovan is a chartered engineer with 10 years’ experience. He is the head of the Structures sector and leads the soil-structure interaction team.

John O’Donovan

Associate Director

John O’Donovan is a chartered engineer with 10 years’ experience. He is the head of the Onshore Renewables sector and leads the soil-structure interaction team. John specialises in the design of complex foundation systems, temporary works and retaining systems.

In recent years, John has been responsible for the design of over a hundred foundation projects. John has completed forensic engineering projects investigating failures and issues related to retaining wall systems. This work has included an ultimate limit state failure of a Diaphragm wall and a serviceability failure of a Diaphragm wall in Abu Dhabi. John also acted as lead author on CIRIA C794 “Grouted anchors and soil nails: inspection, condition assessment and remediation”.

John is familiar with a wide range of retaining wall designs from contiguous, secant piled walls, king-posts, reinforced earth, soil nailed solutions, and diaphragm walls. From a design perspective, John is intimately familiar with analytical, empirical, and numerical design approaches. John is currently acting as Temporary Works Engineer on a number of large-scale civil engineering projects utilising his expertise in piling platform design, trench box design and cofferdam design.

William Brown

William Brown

Associate Director / Head of Ports and Harbours

William is a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland and has over 15 years’ experience in the design and delivery of a wide range of marine civil engineering projects.

William Brown

Associate Director / Head of Ports and Harbours

William is a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland and has over 15 years’ experience in the design and delivery of a wide range of marine civil engineering projects, including expertise in the areas of port master planning, planning applications, preliminary and detailed design, temporary works design, project management, cost management, contract administration and site supervision.

He is the Head of the Ports and Harbours sector, based in Belfast. Throughout his career, William has both led and provided technical input for publications within the maritime and renewables sectors. During his career, William has gained experience in working with almost all of the major commercial ports in Ireland.

Some notable projects which William has helped deliver have included Greenock Ocean Terminal, Dublin Port RoRo Jetty and Crossberth Quay projects, SR2000 Foundation Installation, Foynes East Jetty Reclamation Planning, Ringaskiddy Container Terminal Planning, Rosslare Europort Maintenance Dredging, Loch Ryan Port Detailed Design, Masterplanning of Jaigarh Port (India), to name a few.

Tim O’Shea

Tim O’Shea

Associate Director / Head of Infrastructure (ROI)

Tim is a civil and structural engineer with over 18 years’ experience. He is a Chartered member of Engineers Ireland and is the Head of Infrastructure at GDG.

Tim O’Shea

Associate Director / Head of Infrastructure (ROI)

Tim is a civil and structural engineer with over 18 years’ experience. He is a Chartered member of Engineers Ireland and is the Head of Infrastructure at GDG. Tim is experienced in the design and delivery of infrastructure projects with an emphasis on the renewable and transport sectors.

Tim has led the tender and detailed design (civil and structural) for a number of windfarm developments both in Ireland and the UK, specialising in HV substation and wind turbine foundation design.  He has also led the design of numerous road and bridge schemes.  In addition to his design experience, Tim has regularly acted as PSDP.  Tim has substantial expertise in design team management, tender preparation and evaluation, Value Engineering, road and bridge works supervision and contract administration (FIDIC and Public Works Contract).

Tim leads the Infrastructure Team in delivering the geotechnical and civil design of a range of projects, such as flood defence schemes, residential developments and road schemes.

Head of Departments

Liliana Trindade

Liliana Trindade

Head of Ground Modelling

Liliana is the Head of Ground Modelling and a Geophysicist with 15 years’ experience in land and marine geophysical surveys.

Liliana Trindade

Head of Ground Modelling

Liliana is the Head of Ground Modelling and a Geophysicist with 15 years’ experience in land and marine geophysical surveys. She has been involved with projects during tendering and planning stages as well as supervision of sub-contractors, data acquisition, processing, and reporting.

For the past decade, Liliana has worked primarily as Technical Project Lead, planning processing strategies, scheduling, and managing office and site teams throughout all stages of data processing and reporting, providing technical support and QC for UXO, geophysical and hydrographic surveys for various offshore wind farms in European waters. In conjunction with live projects, she worked closely with commercial and technical teams in the development of leaner processing flows and data quality review.

Toby Harrison

Toby Harrison

Head of Offshore Survey Management

Toby has over 14 years’ experience in offshore site investigation and asset inspection and has been involved with numerous projects in different work environments.

Toby Harrison

Head of Offshore Survey Management

Toby has over 14 years’ experience in offshore site investigation and asset inspection and has been involved with numerous projects in different work environments, from nearshore and intertidal areas to full ocean depth in different areas of the world. He has been employed as Geophysicist, Party Chief, Project Manager and Client Representative. Working within these roles has enabled him to develop an excellent and in-depth understanding of multi-role survey vessel operations, from vessel mobilisation and survey data acquisition to survey completion and collation of client deliverables as well as an understanding of the contractual and commercial detail of projects.

Whilst working onboard different vessels, he has completed onboard data acquisition, processing, interpretation, and field reporting. When not working offshore, he has gained experience of compiling the final charting and reporting deliverables. He has also been involved with the contractual and commercial aspects of projects whilst keeping an active input to technical considerations.

Toby is experienced with project management and team leadership, having been responsible for teams up to 40 personnel of different technical disciplines, planning operations and logistics to ensure timely and cost-effective services to the client whilst ensuring safe operations and not compromising product quality.

Highlights and accomplishments of his recent career have been to take a new build vessel and develop the team and systems onboard to a level that it was recognised as the company flagship within Europe.

Soroosh Jalilvand

Soroosh Jalilvand

Head of Offshore Design

Soroosh is the Head of Offshore Design with 10 years of varied experience in areas of offshore geotechnical and structural design, geotechnical site characterisation, metocean and seabed mobility assessment, port suitability assessment, and preliminary T&I feasibility studies.

Soroosh Jalilvand

Head of Offshore Design

Soroosh is the Head of Offshore Design with 10 years of varied experience in areas of offshore geotechnical and structural design, geotechnical site characterisation, metocean and seabed mobility assessment, port suitability assessment, and preliminary T&I feasibility studies. His PhD thesis was focused on the design of novel anchor solutions for floating offshore wind.

He is a problem solver and a compassionate team leader with a drive to help team members achieve their best potentials.

He has a demonstrated track record of delivering offshore wind projects for major developers, contractors, and turbine manufacturers across several jurisdictions. His past project experience spans areas in the Irish Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea, English Channel, and regions off the coast of Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam.

Alastair Lewis

Head of Infrastructure (UK)

Alastair is a chartered engineer and member of the Institution of Civil Engineers with 25 years’ experience in the design and delivery of infrastructure projects in both the energy and property development sectors.

Alastair Lewis

Head of Infrastructure (UK)

Alastair is a chartered engineer and member of the Institution of Civil Engineers with 25 years’ of experience in the design and delivery of infrastructure projects in both the energy and property development sectors.

Alan Shepherd

Head of Geo-environmental

Alan is a Chartered Scientist (CSci) and Fellow of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (FIEnvSc) with over 25 years’ experience in geo-environmental science.

Alan Shepherd

Head of Geo-environmental

Alan is a Chartered Scientist (CSci) and Fellow of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (FIEnvSc) with over 25 years’ experience in geo-environmental science. He has recently worked on high profile urban regeneration projects, sustainable energy developments and residential and commercial developments.

He has a broad range of project management, technical and practical experience, including innovative approaches to pollution and contaminated land management, environmental compliance and licensing, and the management of hazardous wastes.

Alan’s strengths and areas of expertise comprise: problem-solving & technical advice, environmental investigation and assessment, land remediation design, implementation and verification, environmental compliance and regulation, waste assessment and management, Health & Safety including CDM, costing and contractor procurement and contract management.

Eoin Carey

Eoin Carey

Head of Structures

Eoin is a Chartered Engineer with the ICE and is qualified with NEC4 ECC Project Manager Accreditation.

Eoin Carey

Head of Structures

Eoin is a Chartered Engineer with the ICE and is qualified with NEC4 ECC Project Manager Accreditation. He has over 12 years’ design experience in the engineering industry from both a consultancy and contractor perspective. As a Lead Designer and Project Manager, he has acquired extensive technical design experience and multi-disciplinary team management skills. He has developed a broad technical skills base in Geotechnical, Civils, Structural and Infrastructure design and coordination. With particular experience as a Temporary Works Design Lead on a number of large scale civil engineering projects, both onshore and nearshore, he has valuable knowledge on buildability and practical solutions.

Eric Brennan

Eric Brennan

CAD & Survey Manager

Eric is the Head of our CAD Department and a CAD Manager with fifteen years’ experience.

Eric Brennan

CAD & Survey Manager

Eric is the Head of our CAD Department and a CAD Manager with fifteen years’ experience. He has worked on an extensive range of Civil, Structural and Geotechnical Engineering projects in addition to product design and 3D Visualisations.

He is an EASA & IAA licensed UAS operator and experienced in the collection of Geospatial data as well as the utilisation of other survey technologies. His specialisation is in the field of civil engineering draftsmanship and building information modelling. Eric leads a multidisciplinary and innovative CAD Department and is himself proficient in the use of Autodesk’s’ AEC Suite of products, in particular Civil 3D where he models advanced geotechnical models.

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