Ed Guiney, co-founder and CEO of Element Pictures, has spent his career blending creative instinct with strategic acumen to shape one of Europe’s most influential film and television production companies. From early days making student shorts at Trinity College Dublin to producing globally acclaimed works like Room, The Favourite, and Normal People, Guiney’s journey is rooted in a deep love of storytelling and a clear understanding of how to bring it to market.
In this episode of Arts Matters, Guiney tells Alison Cowzer that he sees intellectual property ownership as the cornerstone of a sustainable industry and is a strong advocate for supporting emerging writers through initiatives like the Story House festival. While others speculate on the impact of AI, Guiney remains confident in the irreplaceable value of human creativity.
There has been a surge in Irish deals involving both domestic and international private equity firms. The finance house Renatus has identified 49 deals that were completed with private equity firms in the first nine months of this year, up from 20 deals for the same period last year.
But just how do you know if private equity is the right fit for your business? And if you decide that it is, how do you prime your business for private equity?
In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, Gerard Hughes, a partner at the accounting firm Baker Tilly, explains the issues that companies must weigh up before deciding to take private equity investment - from decision-making changes to ownership timeframes. He also talks through seven key considerations for businesses preparing for private equity investment.
Shane Kenny served as Government Press Secretary during the years of the Rainbow Coalition. They were eventful years in Irish life and for the government: the murder of Veronica Guerin, a divorce referendum, Michael Lowry and the murder of Jerry McCabe. But what took up most of Taoiseach John Bruton’s time was the peace process. Shane Kenny believes Bruton has been written out of history. In this podcast he talks to Dion Fanning about why it’s about time Bertie Ahern gave his predecessor some credit.
Eoghan Murphy’s political ascent, through Fine Gael and government, was rapid. So too was his political unravelling. His new book, Running From Office, is a compelling and uncomfortable reflection of that journey. In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, the former housing minister argues that writing about his failures has allowed him to move forward with his life. He also talks about the toxic relationship between politics and politicians, and why he believes politics can corrupt your sense of self, and self-worth. He also talks candidly about his time in office, when he needed to get away from politics, and whether things could have turned out differently.
Donald Trump has completed an historic political comeback, reclaiming the White House with a startling election victory. But what does it mean – for the US, for global politics, and for Ireland? To discuss these issues, and much more besides, Sam Smyth is joined on this podcast by Prof Barry Scheck, the eminent criminal defence lawyer and an early authority on DNA; Joanna Molloy, author, and one-time New York gossip columnist; and Jamie Smyth, US energy editor of The Financial Times, born in Belfast and now based in New York.
The global average cost of a data breach is now €4.49 million.
For many businesses, it can be the difference between success and failure.
And yet, despite the high cost of cyber breaches, less than one in three Irish organisations have implemented robust cyber resilience across their business.
That is according to PwC’s 2025 Digital Trust Insights Survey, the longest-running and the largest annual survey worldwide on cyber security trends.
The study surveyed more than 4,000 businesses and tech executives across 71 countries, including Ireland.
To discuss its findings and the wider issue of cyber security, Ian Kehoe is joined on this episode of The Tech Agenda by Len McAuliffe, a cybersecurity partner with PwC Ireland.
McAuliffe talks about embedding cyber resilience into your business, third-party cyber risks, and why GenAI has given hackers new ways of breaching systems, while simultaneously offering new greater safeguards and defences. This podcast series is sponsored by PwC.
“Money: A Story of Humanity” attempts to tell the history of the world - from 18,000 BC to the present - through the medium of money. "Money has proved to be one of the most seductive and enduring ideas of the past five millennia," writes its author David McWilliams. In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, McWilliams, an economist, columnist and broadcaster, argues that money sits at the core of human evolution, shaping and moulding human, social, and economic life.
AI. Gen AI. Automation. Digitisation. Data Analytics.
Companies know that they have to embrace cutting-edge technologies if they are to remain relevant in the future.
But business leaders are also concerned, fearful, and apprehensive. So too are many workers.
So how they can bridge the gap? How can business leaders make new technologies work for their companies - and their people?
Eoin O’Reilly is a partner with EY in Dublin and the Irish firm’s leader for AI and data. In this role, he helps clients - listed corporations, multinationals, Government, and large private companies - design and deliver data and AI-driven strategies to help grow revenues, optimise cost and manage risk.
In this podcast with Ian Kehoe, O’Reilly talks about the relationship between data and AI, explaining that the quality of AI outputs is proportional to the quality of the data that underpins them. The podcast is sponsored by EY.
O’Reilly talks about how AI can unlock value creation for organisations, and why AI has gone from “can-do” to “must-do” for companies. O’Reilly also talks about how organisations can embrace responsible AI and outlines how EY's AI Labs can help clients of all sizes develop and implement a data and AI strategy.
Thomas Ennis understands how to work within a franchise model better than most. After all, his eponymous Thomas Ennis Group owns six Spar outlets and one larger Eurospar supermarket, making him one of the largest operators within the BWG family. He also owns three service stations that operate under the Maxol franchise brand. Ennis has managed to work within the strict demands of the franchise brand while also constantly innovating. He was the first Spar franchisee to have a barista on-premises, and he was also among the first to cook all food fresh in the store. In this episode of Franchise Matters, he talks to Alison Cowzer about building a franchise business, how he innovates within the system, and the current state of the retail market. He also reflects upon his own journey - from training as a butcher with FX Buckley to working for the late retail legend Feargal Quinn to getting his chance from the businessman John Clohisey to open his own Spar.
Australian agribusiness veteran John Rich chairs MHP, Ukraine's largest farming and food processing company. On a visit to Dublin, he told Thomas Hubert about the challenges of running a business when staff are mobilised into the army, export routes are closed and capital restrictions lock it out of money markets. From paying veterans' salaries to raising equity from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Rich discusses how a modern listed company trades through "World War Three in Europe" and defends the future integration of the Ukrainian agricultural superpower into the European Union.
A new report by PwC and SustainabilityWorks and PwC identified the potential of the Climate Tech sector in Ireland. In this episode of The Tech Agenda, David McGee, PwC’s ESG leader, explains how Climate Tech could be a “double win” for Ireland - helping the country achieve its climate emissions targets while developing a vibrant new economic sector. To help make it happen, McGee tells Ian Kehoe that funding and supports for developing climate technologies should be focused on areas where there is a competitive advantage, instead of trying to address decarbonisation challenges across all economic sectors. This podcast series is sponsored by PwC.
