"I don't believe we can trust the gambling industry." As his book on corporate culture See-Saw is published, Fintan Drury looks back on his own career and his time on the board of Anglo Irish bank and chair of Paddy Power. It has been an extraordinary career and in this interview with Dion Fanning, he discusses representing Brian Kerr, his early career in journalism and why his career left him with a feeling of angst.
Nicholas Boys-Smith is the founder of Create Streets, a social enterprise in the UK which is focused on making new development as popular and as beloved as historic development. This matters not just for its own sake, but because unpopular development tends to get blocked in the planning process, which drives up housing costs. Boys-Smith speaks to Sean Keyes.
“We are not just bean counters in this department. We do have a key role as guardians of the public finances, but we have to protect the overall priorities of government”
As Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has overseen one of the biggest spending packages in the history of the state. As Minister for Reform, he also must ensure the state gets value for money. He talks policy, politics and the public sector with Stephen Kinsella.
Kevin O'Donovan was a co-founder of Element Power when the Norwegian state-owned renewable energy giant acquired it three years ago. He is now Statkraft's boss in Ireland and oversees its wind and solar energy business across northern Europe. In a companion interview to Thomas Hubert's exploration of the business, O'Donovan shares his views on the renewable project life cycle, what Ireland needs to do to achieve its decarbonisation targets and the unique funding model he can tap into within the Statkraft group.
Ben Schreckinger, a reporter in Washington with Politico, has written a book on Joe Biden's long public life and the compromises and conflicts of interest that might have arisen during those years. Biden's life has been defined by tragedy and those tragedies brought his family together but in keeping that united front, questions have been raised about some family dealings. In this podcast, he talked to Dion Fanning about the president's career and the family he shares it with.
Many of the best things that have happened in Irish sport have involved Gary Keegan, including the rise of Irish boxing, where he was high performance director for six years. Keegan has since worked with the IRFU, Cricket Ireland and is CEO of Uppercut, which looks at ways of maximising high performance for individuals and organisations. Paul Flynn worked with Keegan at Dublin and in this conversation they discuss those years, vulnerability and why Jim Gavin's endless curiosity ensured success.
Ireland is finally getting ready to join a global agreement on the taxation of multinationals at a firm rate of 15 per cent – assuming other pieces of the complex puzzle can fall into place in the coming days. Sean Keyes is joined by The Currency's Senior Correspondent Thomas Hubert and Chief Economics Writer Stephen Kinsella to discuss the latest state of play and the consequences of the emerging final deal on the country's industrial policy, tax revenue and wider economy.
Colm Tóibín’s new book, The Magician, deals with the life of Thomas Mann.
Tóibín finished the book before lockdown but he went back to it in that period and amended it and edited it. The subject matter has added to the natural anxiety which Tóibín feels as he releases a novel. He is not writing about Ireland, he says, or Wexford. Or Enniscorthy. He is dealing with one of the great German writers from a family that have intrigued many for a long time.
But the pandemic too has increased that anxiety. In this podcast Tóibín talked to Dion Fanning about the effect of lockdown on the psyche, his wonderful new book 'The Magician', as well as Ireland today.
“I don’t believe the particular qualities which have made Michael O’Leary a success are the qualities that would make him the best Taoiseach in the country”
Michael Lillis glided effortlessly from the apex of the Irish public service to the boardroom of Ireland’s most exciting international company. After helping to negotiate the Anglo Irish Agreement, arguably the most important treaty this state has entered into since independence, he joined Guinness Peat Aviation, the company that persuaded the world to lease aircraft from Ireland. And all before he turned 40. In this podcast with Sam Smyth, he talks about all of that and more, including his conversation with Franco, Castro and Pope John Paul II.
Jair Bolsonaro came to power following dissatisfaction with corruption and the mismanagement of Brazil's economy. But his own organisational weaknesses and his failing brand of populism means he is likely to get more desperate before next year's election. Richard Lapper, author of a book on Bolsonaro's Brazil discusses his rise to power and why Trump's minions are attracted to him.
“Green investment and VCs that are very much looking to support the social enterprise sector are quite prominent nowadays. So what we really want to do is find investors who are aligned with our business ideals”
This time three years ago, Emily Beere was selling software to Wall St investment bankers. She has since joined the founding team of Thriftify, a social enterprise dedicated to turning charity shops into cutting-edge online retailers. Yet the Kildare saleswoman has lost nothing of her appetite for growth and tells Thomas Hubert the company is now pitching to investors who want to achieve positive impacts while making money: "It's not a not-for-profit. We do make profits, but it's very much the social impact and doing good business that are at the forefront of what we do."
