Aphix welcomes Alex Keane as Chief Operating Officer
From airplanes to eCommerce our new COO, Alex Keane joins Aphix at a crucial time, as company growth takes flight and we strive to improve while continuing to deliver.
Alex Keane, Former EVP of Operations at Armac, has come onboard as COO at Aphix, as the company’s already rapid growth sky-rockets. Aphix has been experiencing a dramatic increase in demand for its eCommerce, Mobile App & eProcurement solutions in response to the changing marketplace, accelerated by the global Covid19 pandemic.
Aphix knew they had to take advantage of the market opportunity when it presented itself, but recognised that with rapid growth, growing pains were inevitable. Processes that worked well for a smaller organisation were now being stretched. While ultimately a positive problem to have, the company needed experienced help to steer the ship in the right direction.
“It’s clear there are a lot of very smart people in Aphix working hard to deliver. With everyone so busy working in the business however, there is very little time available to work on the business. Changes that would have happened naturally over time now need to happen faster. The objective is for me to develop an improvement program and then to help drive that plan in the organisation over the next 12 to 18 months.” Alex explained when asked about his new role as COO with Aphix.
Alex has deep roots in product development, operations and process management. He began his working life in the civil service as a clerical officer in the Department of Agriculture. He subsequently trained in the Revenue Commissioners IT department where he became a mainframe systems developer, later going on to study for a Diploma in Structured Systems Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM).
Alex returned to the Department of Agriculture after training, and was assigned to develop the new systems and processes needed to administer the many grant schemes available for farmers, following Ireland’s accession to the EU.
From there Alex went on to work for ACC Bank where he made the initial transition from working in a purely IT environment to a more general management role, after studying at UCD for his MBA in International Business. This culminated in Alex being made the General Manager of IT Operations & Strategy at the bank.
After moving on from ACC in 2000, Alex continued to work in senior management and operation roles with various banking and finance system providers up until 2012 when he became Executive Vice President of Operations at Aviation Systems Provider, Armac. It was his now fine tuned business management and operational skills that made it possible to take the unlikely leap from banking to aerospace, where Alex has excelled for the past 8 years.
Armac and Aphix are two growing software companies in Drogheda, Ireland. Naturally their paths frequently crossed and ideas were often exchanged between Alex and our founding directors Graham O’Rourke and Mark Reilly in terms of approaches to development and operations. When Aphix needed someone to come in to drive organisational change Alex was a natural fit.
When Alex is not excelling at all things operational, he enjoys travelling and singing. With five children and six grandchildren, some living in the States and Australia, Alex and his wife love to travel as often as they can to visit them. Alex is also a member of an all male voice choir. He sings as a Tenor and the 30 strong choir regularly perform at charity fundraising events.
We are delighted to have Alex on board the team at Aphix and look forward to the positive impacts he will bring to the business.