Gary Cronin’s career has always sat close to finance, just not always from the recruitment side of the table.

Before building an eight-year career in accounting and finance recruitment across Ireland, Canada and Australia, Gary worked in accounting himself.

That early experience continues to shape how he approaches talent advisory today.

“I was actually initially an accountant once upon a time,” Gary explains. “A lot of the jobs that I’m doing now, I would have been around those people: financial accountants, finance managers. When I’m looking at roles and responsibilities, I actually understand what they are, not just words on a job brief.”

Now joining Allura Partners as a Principal Consultant in the Accounting & Finance team, Gary brings a global perspective, deep technical understanding, and a clear view of how the finance function is evolving within modern businesses.

A Career Built Across Three Continents

Gary’s recruitment career began in Dublin before taking him to Vancouver, Melbourne, and, most recently, Sydney. Each market taught him something different about relationship-building and recruitment strategy, but Australia stood out for its openness to long-term advisory partnerships.

“People here are very open to meeting you,” Gary says. “They see the commercial value, not just for themselves, but for their team and the wider business.”

Those experiences have shaped a recruitment approach grounded in consultative partnerships rather than transactional hiring.

Having worked in the profession, Gary understands both the technical requirements and the career motivations that underpin successful hires, and he’s not easily fooled.

“Candidates will often say something, and I’ll dig into it,” he explains. “Did you do it at a very high level, or did you just glance over it? You can really get into the technicalities.” It’s a credibility that resonates with both candidates and hiring leaders.

Finance Is Becoming More Strategic

One of the biggest shifts Gary sees is the changing role of finance within organisations. Where finance teams once operated in relative isolation, today’s leaders are expected to be commercial, strategic and collaborative.

“Once upon a time, finance would have sat separately from the rest of the business,” Gary says. “Now, finance is probably one of the most important functions within a business.”

Technical capability remains essential, but it’s the softer, commercial skills that increasingly differentiate top performers.

“The biggest thing we’re hearing from clients is they want somebody who can be a finance manager, but also be very commercial and look at the strategy side of things. You’ve got to be really dynamic.”

Market Trends: Healthcare, FMCG and the Headhunt Reality

At Allura Partners, Gary will focus on mid-market accounting and finance recruitment across permanent and contract hiring, with particular exposure to FMCG, retail, healthcare and consumer sectors.

Healthcare stands out as a major growth area. “There are a lot of private equity groups buying out healthcare businesses,” Gary explains. “That’s probably going to be one of the largest portfolios we’ll be looking at over the next couple of years.”

On the candidate side, the market is more balanced than it was, but exceptional talent remains hard to find.

“If you’re looking for a-grade talent, a lot of the time it’s still a headhunt effort. Those people aren’t necessarily on the market.”

Why Allura Partners?

For Gary, Allura Partners offered a clear strategic fit. The firm’s executive search capability, established CFO relationships, and private equity specialisation gave him a strong platform from day one.

“We’ve got open lines of communication to CFOs and long-standing relationships, and that helps you hit the ground running,” he says. “We are very much private equity-focused. When you're speaking to clients and saying 'this is what we do', it gives an angle they rarely hear. What that unlocks is access to our network of operationally proven leaders — people with hands-on experience inside private equity-backed businesses. That's a very different profile to what most of the market can offer, and clients feel that difference immediately.”

If you’re hiring across Accounting and Finance or looking to explore your next opportunity, connect with Gary Cronin and the Allura Partners team.