ARO, the leading IT managed services and cyber security provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ciaran Rafferty as its new chief executive officer.
Ciaran brings over 25 years of leadership experience in cloud, security, and digital transformation, having most recently served as senior vice president at Fortra. He has a strong track record of building high-performance teams and scaling technology businesses internationally. His deep technical knowledge, commercial acumen, and customer-first approach position him well to lead ARO through its next phase of growth and innovation.
Ciaran succeeds Richard Burke, who is stepping down after eight years at ARO, the most recent five as chief executive officer. Richard led a bold strategic transformation, repositioning ARO from a Telecoms ISP to a majority IT managed services business. This evolution was validated in 2024 when ARO won both Cloud Services Partner of the Year and IT Reseller of the Year at the prestigious CRN Channel Awards.
The ARO Board thanks Richard for his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to the business, its customers, and its people. His contributions have laid a strong foundation for continued success.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ciaran to ARO,” said Chris Russell, chairman of ARO. “His leadership style, depth of experience, and vision for the future make him the ideal person to lead the company through its next chapter.”
Commenting on his appointment, Ciaran Rafferty said: “I’m honoured to be joining ARO at such an exciting time. The business has made tremendous strides in recent years and has built a reputation for excellence across IT managed services, cyber security, and collaboration solution.
I look forward to working with the talented team at ARO to accelerate growth and continue delivering outstanding outcomes for our customers.”