Down To Business

Bobby is joined in the Executive Chair this week by Peter Hyland, CEO of Carroll's Irish Gifts.

Ice cubes used to be quite functional, but Richie French, the founder of the LXRY Ice Collection, thinks it is just an important feature in any luxury setting. He joins Bobby to discuss.

Starting a business can be terrifying. It is estimated that 90% will crash and burn. That means heartache and pain, both emotionally and financially, both for the entrepreneur who came up with the idea and the investors who backed it. It doesn’t have to be that way. Why Startups Fail’ has just been launched. It’s written by a man who has worked in venture capital for 21 years & has also been p...

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Breda Browne of Unique Media & Ciaran Hancock, Business Editor of the Irish Times.

With the midterm elections in sight, the strength or weakness of the US economy will resonate more with US voters than ‘that’ AI image of Donald the Messiah. US economics commentator and columnist for The Times, Irwin Stelzer joins Bobby to chat about it all.

For this week’s Industry Review, Bobby goes goes beyond the headlines and takes a closer look at the job of being a columnist. ● Tanya Sweeney, features writer and columnist for the Irish Independent  ● Mick Clifford, Special Correspondent for The Irish Examiner  ● Brenda Power, columnist with the Sunday Independent & Irish Daily Mail

The Irish bridal sector is a significant and competitive market, built on reputation, precision, and trust. For this week’s Industry Review, Bobby is joined by three business owners operating at the sharp end of that industry:  Marina Hogan, owner of Stylicious Hair & Makeup Yvonne Maher, of Makeup by Yvonne Mairéad Kennedy from MK Bridal Ltd

There has been a lot of coverage all week about the ongoing fuel crisis. Joining Bobby to look at the cost analysis and whether the protests could actually achieve anything is economist Cormac Lucey.

We all know AI might do some of the day-to-day ‘heavy lifting’ for some tasks, but we still need leaders engaging with their teams. Claire Brumby thinks the human connection that all good leaders should possess will be key to business success. She is also the author of ‘Forget Normal, I Want Magic: The 5 Rules of Leadership’ and joins Bobby to discuss.

Bobby is joined in the Executive Chair this week by Louise Whelan, MD of Pioneer Homecare.

NASA’s Artemis II mission has safely returned to Earth after a 10-day journey around the Moon, marking the first time in more than 50 years that humans have travelled to lunar distance and back. The four-person crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following a high-speed re-entry that tested the Orion spacecraft under extreme conditions - a crucial step as NASA prepares to send astronauts back t...

Founded by three friends, Sisterly is the smarter, simpler way to supplement that was developed for women by a team of doctors, female health experts and nutritionists. Bobby was out & about in Brown Thomas to find out a little bit more about the company.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Linda Daly, Business reporter with the Sunday Times & Stephen O’Leary, founder of Olytico.

Ciarán Casey has over three decades of senior leadership experience. His new book, ‘Leadership in Tune’, looks at the idea that leadership is more about what he calls the ‘space between people’ rather than control. He joins Bobby to discuss.

During the week, Bobby was at an event all about food trends called ‘Table to Tech’, organised by the Irish Food Service Alliance. There, he chatted to Simon Stenning, Food Futurist and Doug McMaster of ‘Silo’, which is a zero-waste business.

Ireland’s housing market remains one of the most pressing issues facing the country, with prices stabilising in some areas, still rising in others, and supply continuing to lag behind demand. For first-time buyers, it’s a question of access; for developers and agents, it’s a question of viability. So, where exactly are we now and what happens next?  Joining Bobby to discuss is: Clement Herron...

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers is Gina London from the Language of Leadership & Robert Whelan of Rockwell Finance.

Bobby is joined in the Executive Chair this week by Rory O’Hanlon, CEO of NetZero Group.

Bobby is joined by EY Ireland Head of Assurance & EY Entrepreneur of the Year Partner Lead, Roger Wallace, to talk about this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Cross-border working is a feature of many European Cities - think of Malmö’s relationship to Copenhagen or Bratislava’s relationship with Vienna. People live in one and work in the other, commuting daily. Paschal Taggart has a proposal to have Newry create something similar, where people would live there but commute to and work in Dublin. He joins Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby to go through the main business stories from the Saturday papers are Kathleen Gallagher, Markets Correspondent with the Business Post & Lorcan Allen of Keating and Associates.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Maurice Pratt, Chairman at Uniphar Group.

Now in its 30th year, Rugs.ie has gone from strength to strength, expanding its horizons to include an extensive website filled with a variety of high-quality products. Phoebe Holland, MD of Rugs.ie joins Bobby to discuss.

We all know life is all about choices. Those sliding door moments when we find our lives changing direction for any number of reasons, explained or not. Johan Depraetere thinks these moments can be deeply enriching and that life isn’t like a box of chocolates but more like a bag of gummy bears. He joins Bobby to chat about his new book, Pick Your Gummy Bear: Lessons from my biggest life choices.

For this week’s Industry Review, we’re taking a closer look at Ireland’s coffee sector through the lens of engineering and operations.  These are the men and women who keep the country caffeinated day in and day out, 365 days a year. From how coffee is delivered and scaled across national networks, to the know-how that powers machines, this is the side of the coffee business most customers ne...