Lucky Beard Group, a South African business advisory and design firm, has seen revenues grow tenfold since establishing its European headquarters in Ireland in 2017, with the Irish office contributing 42% of the group’s total turnover last year.
This year the company plans to expand its 100-strong workforce across its Dublin, London and Johannesburg offices, with new hires in the pipeline over the coming months.
It has also established a new technology division, Lucky Beard Tech, which will focus on technology and data strategy, application development, content management, enterprise integration and data engineering.
In 2021 Lucky Beard made a strategic investment of €1.1m in its Irish operations to capitalise on the rising demand for its services during the pandemic. A report by the World Bank found that the pandemic resulted in a 5-year leap forward in digital transformation globally, as businesses were forced to adopt to technologies to remain relevant and in operation.
Some of Lucky Beard’s most notable clients include the Office of Public Works (OPW), Irish Life, Investec, Standard Bank, Vodacom, Netcare, Rothschild & Co and Ineos, previous official sponsors of the rugby world cup with other major partnership links to football, F1, cycling, and rugby teams.
“We have achieved impressive growth across the group since establishing in Ireland with the Irish business contributing significantly to our success,” said Adam Oberem, co-founder and CEO of Lucky Beard.
“Ireland remains a strategic location for Lucky Beard, providing access to top talent, ample opportunities for growth, and a recognition by Irish businesses of the immense value our extensive global expertise can bring to them. With our advisory, design, and tech capabilities we can facilitate rapid change and drive growth.”
Commenting on the company’s success in Ireland to date Lucky Beard Managing Director, Elaine Devereux said: “Clients in Ireland really value the expertise and insights that our advisory team brings to the table. Whether it’s high-level business advisory, strategic planning with market insights, or brand and product design we work closely with our clients to deliver compelling brands and products that are fit to compete and win in today’s fiercely competitive global world.”
Marc Allwright and Jared Bouwer will head up Lucky Beard Tech as Managing Director and CTO, respectively. They join the company from Wunderman Thompson South Africa, a subsidiary of WPP where they led the tech division as part of a 600-strong team servicing large-scale global clients across FMCG, telco and fintech in large-scale digital transformation programmes.
“Lucky Beard Tech is an exciting addition and will play an important role in the company’s future growth, as more organisations seek agile, cost-efficient solutions and tap into the company’s diverse range of specialised skills and services,” said Oberem.
“We’re thrilled to have Marc and Jared join our team and lead our new technology division as we continue to build on our offering to provide a full suite of capabilities.”
Lucky Beard was founded in 2015 and established headquarters in Ireland after two of its founders, Adam Oberem and James Nelson, relocated to Ireland under the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP). The initiative supports entrepreneurs with a strong track record wishing to bring an established business in the innovation area to Ireland, while living here full-time.
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