Ireland, June 2026 – H&MV Engineering has announced the appointment of Cynthia O’Keeffe as Group Head of People Services.
O’Keeffe brings more than two decades of experience across human resources operations, shared services, employee experience, talent acquisition, HR transformation, people operations, and organizational leadership. Her appointment comes as H&MV Engineering continues its international expansion across high-voltage engineering, data center infrastructure, renewable energy, and mission-critical projects worldwide.
Prior to joining H&MV Engineering, O’Keeffe served with Proofpoint, where she held dual leadership responsibilities as Site Leader Ireland and Senior Director, Global People Services.
In these roles, she led global people services initiatives, employee experience programs, operational excellence efforts, and workforce support functions while also serving as the senior site leader for the company’s Irish operations.
Before joining Proofpoint, O’Keeffe spent more than fourteen years with VMware, where she built an extensive leadership career across HR services, HR operations, talent acquisition, employee experience, and regional people leadership.
Most recently, she served as Senior Director, Global HR Services & EMEA HR Leader and Senior Director, Global HR Services/Operations, leading a global team of more than 125 HR professionals supporting approximately 38,000 employees across 65 countries. During this period, she played a key role in scaling global HR shared services, implementing employee lifecycle support models, enhancing HR delivery frameworks, driving process improvement initiatives, establishing new legal entities across multiple regions, and supporting one of the technology industry’s largest acquisitions through the Broadcom acquisition of VMware.
Earlier at VMware, she held a succession of leadership positions including Director HR Services EMEA, Director Regional HR Services EMEA, and Senior Manager Regional HR Services EMEA, where she led regional HR service delivery, mergers and acquisitions support, GDPR compliance initiatives, organizational growth programs, and workforce operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
She also held leadership positions within VMware’s talent acquisition organization, including Manager Talent Acquisition Global Interview Coordination, Regional Staffing Operations Manager, and EMEA Staffing Operations & Staffing Coordinator, supporting employer branding, recruitment operations, candidate experience, and staffing transformation initiatives.
Prior to VMware, O’Keeffe spent a decade with CM&P Project Managers as Personal Assistant, Senior Administrator, and HR Generalist, gaining broad experience in business operations, administration, and human resources support.
Earlier in her career, she served as Personal Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Governors at Mercy University Hospital, supporting executive leadership, stakeholder engagement, event management, governance activities, and senior-level communications.
Throughout her career, O’Keeffe has developed deep expertise across HR shared services, people operations, employee experience, talent management, workforce transformation, operational excellence, mergers and acquisitions integration, and organizational scaling.
About H&MV Engineering
H&MV Engineering is a leading global provider of specialist high-voltage design, engineering, and construction services operating across Ireland, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, and South Africa.
The company delivers engineering, procurement, and construction solutions across a range of sectors including hyperscale data centers, renewable energy, wind farms, solar energy, battery storage, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and electrical infrastructure projects.
Recognized for its expertise in GIS and AIS substations, grid route construction, and mission-critical power infrastructure, H&MV Engineering has established itself as a trusted partner for major infrastructure developments worldwide.
The company maintains a strong commitment to safety, quality, and sustainability, supported by internationally recognized certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001. Through its dedicated Training Academy and City & Guilds-certified programs, H&MV continues to invest in workforce capability development and engineering excellence.
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