Padraic McElwee is Head of Enterprise with Clare Co Co with responsibility for assisting early-stage enterprises and the economic development of Clare. He is a qualified Management Accountant and holds a Masters in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Financial Services, Diploma on Service Delivery and is a Qualified Financial Advisor. Padraic has over 34 years’ experience in financial services, 22 of which were in Senior Manager roles working closely with businesses of different sizes across multiple sectors. Appointed to his current role in 2015, Padraic leads the Local Enterprise Office team which acts as a “first-stop shop” to provide support and services to start, grow and develop micro and small businesses. The Local Enterprise Offices are strategically charged with stimulating economic activity through the development of indigenous enterprise by harnessing the collective effort of a wide range of local stakeholders, focused on building local economies of real strength and permanence which enables the creation of sustainable employment.