Shireburn CEO on leading with trust: ‘I believe people come to work to do a good job’

As she steps into the role of CEO at Shireburn Software, Adrienne McCarthy brings a unique trajectory blending the hard skills of computer programming with a nuanced understanding of organisational psychology. As the company prepares to launch its comprehensive Indigo Business suite, she is poised to lead a strategy that leverages AI to augment human potential, rather than replace it. With a focus on innovation and empathy, Adrienne aims to position Shireburn as the holistic partner for Malta’s evolving business landscape in 2026.

It is rare to find a technology leader whose career path sits so perfectly at the intersection of binary code and human behaviour. Yet for Adrienne McCarthy, the incoming CEO of Shireburn Software, this duality is the lens through which she views the entire business landscape.

“If I were to take a step back and talk about my passions, it has very much been a combination of technology and the people aspect,” Adrienne explains, reflecting on a career that spans over two decades, most recently within the global network of KPMG. “They are interconnected. Technology is only as good as people at the end of the day, and technologies essentially enable people to do better things. But each is indispensable to the other.”

This philosophy is what drew her to Shireburn, a company with a 40-year legacy in the Maltese market, and which is now standing at a pivotal moment within its evolution. For Adrienne, the move represents the “perfect intersection” of her professional life – combining technology, people development and work psychology.

“I’m drawn to businesses that are innovative,” she says. “What we see with Shireburn is a business where innovation is core to what it does and fundamental to its success. But it is also this blend of innovation and a human-centred philosophy that defines how they do business. It is rare to find a company in Malta that can emulate both of those.”

Adrienne joins Shireburn at a key moment, ahead of the launch of the cloud-based finance and operations platform, Indigo Business. Her perspective on this rollout is unique: she is not just an incoming executive; she has been a client. Working internationally across jurisdictions, she understands the friction of fragmented systems.

“I feel the pain of systems not talking to each other,” she admits candidly. “Typically, it is very rare to find a payroll system that will talk to an HR system, which in turn talks to a finance system, without incurring significant cost.”

She highlights the struggle of trying to adapt global giants like SAP to local requirements, contrasting it with Shireburn’s capability. “Suddenly, I come across Shireburn that can not only do the payroll, but can also do the HRIS system, the finance systems, point of sales and inventory. Having everything on one system makes it incredibly efficient.”

This ‘client-first’ empathy is central to her strategy for the coming months. “I can really appreciate – from a client’s point of view – the advantage that this can bring,” she notes. Her goal is to take the existing expertise within the Shireburn team – people she credits with building a system that works “really well already” – and bring it to market in a way that fundamentally changes how clients operate. “It takes away a lot of the noise or the admin of what we do, and makes work much more efficient.”

Today, no conversation about technology is complete without addressing artificial intelligence (AI), yet, Adrienne is quick to dismantle the narrative of fear often associated with automation. She champions a human-centred strategy where technology amplifies rather than replaces.

“There’s a big debate around AI and the fear factor around it that it’s there to replace people,” she acknowledges. “I think it’s a short-sighted approach to AI. I prefer to think of it in terms of the long game: using it as a tool to augment what we’re doing.”

She points to the intergenerational shifts in the workplace as a signal that leaders must adapt. “One of the HR issues coming up is people saying: ‘Listen, it takes me three hours to do my work. What do I do with the additional five hours? Do I tell my boss that I have an additional five hours on my hands, or say nothing and go watch Netflix?’”

For Adrienne, this dilemma presents a massive strategic opportunity. She cites IKEA as a ‘gold standard’ example, where thousands of call centre workers were retrained as interior design advisors through the support of AI tools. “It’s a brilliant example of a complete win-win scenario,” she enthuses. “They haven’t replaced their people; instead they have strategically reshaped their jobs by using AI. Instead of concentrating on cost-cutting, they decided to use AI to offer an augmented service to their customers.”

This philosophy extends to how Shireburn addresses the increasingly complex regulatory landscape, such as the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Adrienne views the company’s role as one that removes the mechanical burden of compliance, freeing clients to focus on the broader cultural impact of regulatory changes.

“We’re at the heart of it,” she asserts regarding governance. “It’s reassuring to have a system you can rely on, knowing it will meet the local Maltese regulatory requirements. There’s peace of mind in that.”

By using AI to automate the reporting required by new directives, Shireburn allows business leaders to shift their gaze. “Instead of concentrating on the mechanics of how to implement new legislation, as a client, you’re able to focus on the actual broader cultural changes it will bring to your business.”

Internally, Adrienne’s leadership style is rooted in psychological safety and empowerment. She rejects micromanagement in favour of a culture where people are trusted to perform. “I start from a point of trust. I believe that people come to work to do a good job,” she says. “I believe that everybody has strengths and potential that they bring, and it’s really about creating the environment that allows them to do that.” Indeed, this environment is crucial for encouraging the fresh thinking required to keep a tech company at the cutting edge. “It goes back to the leadership style – giving people that trust; listening to them. We want to create an environment that allows people to be extraordinary.”

Looking towards the future, Adrienne sees Shireburn continuing its strong growth trajectory, moving along a continuum of innovation. Her vision is for the company to provide a “complete enterprise-wide solution” that offers clients a competitive edge in a changing world. “The business environment is changing rapidly,” she warns. “A lot of that is going to be driven by AI. Whether we like it or not, it’s here. It’s changing people’s jobs and the way we work.”

Her priority for the coming year is to see clients embrace the full suite of Shireburn’s portfolio, moving beyond using isolated modules to leveraging the power of a fully connected ecosystem. “Because the sum of the parts is far greater than the individual parts,” she explains.

Ultimately, Adrienne’s message to the business community is one of partnership in the face of transformation. “Partnering with a company like Shireburn helps guide you through that change. Take away the noise and focus on what’s really important, because if you’re not looking at the competitive advantage you can gain, you risk losing out significantly.”

With a clear vision that honours the company’s 40-year heritage while actively pursuing the future of work, Shireburn’s new CEO looks set to lead the company into a new era – one where technology serves humanity, and where business efficiency paves the way for extraordinary human potential.

This article is part of the serialisation of 50 interviews featured in MaltaCEOs 2026 – the sister brand to MaltaCEOs.mt and an annual high-end publication bringing together some of the country’s most influential business leaders.