In 2001, Peter McKenna was on the corporate fast track at Smurfit in the publishing business. But a conversation with mentor Paddy Wright planted the seed for a dramatic career pivot as stadium director of Croke Park. When he took over, the stadium was under construction and loss-making. Last year, it had annual revenues of €132 million and paid a €16 million dividend to the GAA.
McKenna still serves as stadium director but he is also in charge of the GAA’s commercial arrangements and corporate partnerships.
In this episode of Sports Matters, he talks about making the stadium as a financial contributor to the GAA, the decision to take control of the association’s streaming service, and the lessons from his career.
Sports Matters is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.
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.
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."
Adam Tooze is a better economist than most economists, a better historian than most historians, and has a focus more global than anyone currently writing. In his podcast with the economist Stephen Kinsella, he discusses his latest book, Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World Economy. He delves into just how complicated the ‘real’ nature of the Covid crisis is and what it tells us about this moment of acceleration we are heading into.
Kinsella and Tooze also discuss the possibility of a climate detente between the US and China, as well as risk societies and polycrisis, the idea that the vectors of global change from climate to geopolitics to future pandemics feed into and accelerate one another.
Wendy McCormack Stunt set up her B2B digital business card company, Go DigiCard, almost five years ago to make networking easier and faster by creating personalised business cards that can be shared with anyone that has internet access on her phone. Go DigiCard is now used by 300 organisations across Europe, China, and the United States. She talks to Cait Caden about signing a new large partner in the US, her plans to rebrand, and her vision of creating a Golden Pages of digital business cards.
In 2017, Shane Curran won the BT Young Scientist and Technology Competition. Two years later, after abandoning college after just weeks, he went to Silicon Valley with an idea. He returned with backing from some of the world’s biggest funds. But the young entrepreneur is interested in more than business – he is fascination by how technology shapes society and the nature of education. In this conversation with the economist Stephen Kinsella, they discuss the evolution of the higher education system, what it can do to help founders succeed, and what might come next.
Marie Donnelly is the new chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, which is about to publish Ireland’s first five-year carbon budget. This ceiling on the amount of greenhouse gases the country can give off will trickle down into government policy for all sectors – and changes for every business. Donnelly takes Thomas Hubert through the process and shares tips on how business owners can prepare.
The Ireland football team lost heroically to Portugal on Wednesday night. Does this signal the beginning of a new era for Irish football and the Football Association of Ireland or is the road back too long and bumpy? Economist Colm McCarthy, Sean Keyes and Dion Fanning discuss Irish football and what needs to happen for it to prosper.
Eamonn Quinn has retail running through his veins. Having served as deputy chairman of Superquinn, the supermarket chain founded by his father Feargal, Quinn is now a board member and active investor in a portfolio of retail and food business such as Buymie and Kelsius.
In a podcast with Ian Kehoe, Quinn talks about how Covid-19 has accelerated shifts in shopping behaviour and explains what this means for traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers as well as the fabric of the high street. He talks about what retailers can do to remain relevant, why the smartphone is a gamechanger for retail, and how businesses can develop customer loyalty online.
Quinn also talks about the future of food, and addresses issues such as product traceability, labelling and Brexit. Quinn also explores his role as chairman of Buymie and Kelsius and reveals what he looks for in an investment opportunity.
Simon Kuper's new book details the making of Barcelona but also the series of blunders which led it to a position where it became a club with a billion euro debt. In this podcast he talks about the rise and fall of Barcelona, the personalities who shaped it, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, in particular. The future - post Messi - is uncertain and as football becomes a playground for petro-states, success at Barcelona is not guaranteed.
