The EY Podcast

Mark Garvey became Group CFO of Glanbia in 2013, a time of significant change for the company. It was rapidly transitioning into a global performance nutrition and ingredients business, with acquisitions and joint ventures forming a core part of this successful diversification and expansion strategy.    However, in 2019 Glanbia hit a ‘speed bump’ in its performance nutrition business, requiring an...

Economic Eye podcast host Richard Curran talks to EY Ireland Chief Economist, Neil Gibson, about current key economic indicators and the impact they are having on business across the entire country.  In this episode, Neil outlines the findings of the Economic Eye Spring 2021 Forecast: ‘Recovery – but at what price?’.  Topics include: Two economies at either end of the growth charts in 2020 Similar...

Steve Bowcott had effectively retired when he got the call about the role of CEO at John Sisk & Son Ltd. Having worked in PLCs for most of his career, Bowcott was intrigued by the idea of working for a private, family-owned company, with a long history and a clear purpose.  Now, almost six years after taking up the role, Steve finds himself steering John Sisk & Son Ltd. through what is arg...

With 6000 forest properties nationwide, totalling over one million acres of land, Coillte has been a very visible presence in Ireland since its formation in 1989. But in recent months Coillte-owned forests have become a lot more familiar to a lot more people, attracting over 2.2m visitors between March and December 2020. Coillte CEO, Imelda Hurley, is proud to be providing such a vital outlet for...

Managing the finances of any organisation is challenging at the best of times, but when that organisation is the Health Service Executive, and the country is in the midst of a pandemic, the role of CFO takes on a whole new meaning.   Stephen Mulvany is acutely aware that the HSE and the services it provides touches the lives of every citizen in the country. As such, his position as CFO is particul...

“ I have been challenged over the last 35 years to be someone I’m not, and I’ve stood firm. That means you have to show vulnerability...to show people who you really are and what you stand for. And when you do that, your team will follow .”  Leadership is something that Cathriona Hallahan does not take lightly. Keenly aware that it is a position of great privilege, she has spent a lot of time thin...

If somebody had told Pat O’Doherty that he would one day be running an organisation of 8000 people from a room at home, he wouldn’t have believed them. However, that is exactly the position the CEO of ESB finds himself in today.  When COVID-19 struck, Pat had two main priorities: to keep the lights on and to keep his people safe and well. Those priorities, alongside his mission to transform the ge...

In this episode of the EY CEO Outlook podcast, Frank O’Keeffe tells host Richard Curran about his journey through the ranks of EY to the role of Managing Partner, his passion for building a better working world and views on how that world is changing, and what motivates him and helps him to maintain the ‘relentless focus’ his has applied through his career. They also talk about:  Growing up in a v...

In 2011 Dara O’Reilly was Finance Director of the Quinn group when, suddenly, he was called in to a meeting and told it was “lights out” for the company. Receivers had been appointed and Dara’s role no longer existed.  Three years later, O’Reilly and a number of other former directors of the Quinn group put forward a successful bid for parts of the business. Today, the company is more profitable,...

Anne Heraty founded CPL in 1989 and, 31 years later, in 2020, sold the company for €318m. That journey from inception to exit has involved recessions, a floatation, and the digital transformation of the workplace. However, despite the recent sale of CPL Resources to Japanese firm Outsourcing, it is not a journey that Anne is ready to end just yet. Heraty believes that the world of work is at a fas...

Trying to explain to people what ICON does is something that Brendan Brennan has found challenging in the past, but not anymore. This fast-growing Clinical Research company partners the world’s biggest Pharma companies to deliver end to end clinical trial services – and with ICON now involved in over hundred different COVID-19 vaccine and treatment trials, the company’s profile and contract list h...

 Irish Residential Properties (I-RES) REIT is Ireland’s largest private residential landlord, providing homes for over 8000 people. However, the company’s CEO, Margaret Sweeney, does not particularly like the term ‘landlord’. As she tells host Richard Curran, “we’re neither Lords nor do we own that much land”.  In a country where 95% of residential landlords own one or two properties, the I-RES RE...

The EY Economic Eye podcast provides up-to-the-minute analysis of the all-island economy across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In each episode, host Richard Curran talks to EY Chief Economist, Neil Gibson, about current key economic indicators and the impact they are having on business across the entire country.  Areas covered include growth forecasts, the labour market, wages, trad...

The role of the Chief Financial Officer has evolved dramatically in recent years. While managing costs is still a core part of the position, today’s successful CFOs are taking a lead in evolving the business strategy of their organisations and in creating long-term stakeholder value. With thirty successful years in the banking and financial services sector behind him, Myles O’Grady is clear about...

Tony Smurfit almost became a professional racehorse breeder at a young age, but the call of the family business ultimately led him to forge a long and successful career with Smurfit Kappa. Led by his father and grandfather before him, Smurfit Kappa was the first major Irish multinational company, and today is the number one company in Europe producing corrugated packaging, and one of the leading p...

Rosheen McGuckian had spent a number of years leading the Irish operations of a US multinational when she decided it was time to join an indigenous Irish company. Focussing in on sectors where she could leave a tangible legacy, Rosheen wrote down a list of six successful Irish multinationals for whom Ireland was ‘the centre of the universe’ from a decision-making perspective, and started to knock...

Becoming CEO of a large, successful organisation is always a challenge, but taking on the role in the midst of a global pandemic is a very different proposition. However, successfully leading teams through adverse times is something in which Eamonn Crowley, the new CEO of Permanent TSB, has a lot of experience and expertise.  His time as a trader during the Black Monday stock market crash was an e...

Mark Foley has had a career of two halves. After many successful years in the private sector, the dot-com collapse forced Mark to reinvent his career. There began a long and successful time in the commercial semi-state sector, including leadership positions in daa and Coillte. While at Coillte, Mark had a ‘personal epiphany’ about climate change, setting him on a path that led to his role today as...

“ I am patriotic, I love this country. I’m also somebody who likes running big businesses .” When David McRedmond was offered the chance to run Ireland’s postal service, An Post, he didn’t have to think too hard about it. Having held leadership positions in companies such as TV3, eir, and WH Smith, the opportunity to put his skills to work in a “great state enterprise like An Post” appealed greatl...

In 1996, Carolan Lennon left her permanent, pensionable job to return to university and complete an MBA. Leaving a secure role, and having recently taken on a mortgage, it was a risky play. However, her decision marked the beginning of a stellar career in the Telecoms sector. After a number of successful years with Vodafone, Carolan went on to join Ireland’s largest telecommunications company, eir...

Ireland’s ability to attract and nurture major multinational companies is world-renowned. The FDI sector has been credited with helping Ireland emerge from the last recession, and, today, multinationals employ almost 250,000 people in Ireland and contribute over €22bn to the economy.   At the heart of that success story lies the IDA. The semi-state body, responsible for promoting Foreign Direct In...

After over 50 years in business, Pat McCann has weathered many storms. Starting out in the hospitality trade during the Oil Crisis of the 1970s, McCann successfully steered businesses through the many crises and recessions in the decades that followed. Now, as CEO of Ireland’s largest hotel operator, Dalata PLC, he is facing into his latest challenge with perspective and resilience, understanding...

What is it like to lead a national health service through a global pandemic?  In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Outlook, Paul Reid, CEO of the HSE, talks to Richard Curran about the personal and professional challenges of steering Ireland’s health service through the Covid-19 crisis.  This is not the first time Paul Reid has managed a large organisation through a time of deep crisis. As he te...

Richard Curran meets the CEOs of Ireland’s leading organisations to talk about world-class leadership, weathering storms and delivering results. You will get an insight into the secrets of their success, the lessons they’ve learned along the way and their plans for the future.  Subscribe or follow The EY Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more about the series at ey.com/ie/podcasts o...