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.
Even before his teens, Conor Niland knew that his life was unusual. While his friends hung around at the weekend, Niland and his mother would travel across Europe to play in international tennis tournaments, competing against a clutch of junior players who would ultimately rise to the very top of the sport.
Tennis would go on to define his life - from a scholarship in the US to a seven-year career touring the world as a professional player. But while some of those he played against as a teen earned fame and fortune, Niland existed just outside of the rarified status of the world’s top 100. His peak ranking, 129, makes him Ireland’s best-ever player, but it did not secure him a place at the top table. Instead, he fought on the lower tours, peaking in 2011 when he qualified for both the US Open and Wimbledon. He retired a year later.
He has just published his memoir, The Racket, which chronicles the life of a journeyman tennis player trying to earn a living in a hierarchical system. In this podcast, he reflects upon his career, identifies the key turning points, and examines why Ireland does not produce more international-standard tennis players.
Britain and France seemed to have curtailed the rise of the far right with a pair of election results that have brought joy to centrists across both countries. But despite the results, it is clear the support for the far-right has grown and that quirks in both electoral systems have helped traditional parties. The Currency's editor Thomas Hubert and London editor Michael Cogley explain it is very unlikely that the populist movement has reached its peak.
What do Google, Novartis, the NTMA, Glanbia, AIB, Philip Morris, the Central Bank, Walls and Sodexo all have in common?
The answer is Margaret Considine, the founder and chief executive of the EQuita Group, the Dublin-based business consultancy and corporate training company.
Launched 23 years ago, EQuita and Considine have worked with all those companies - and many more besides - across a range of issues.
In this podcast, Considine talks through other examples of her work with clients, offering practical advice on how businesses can transition, pivot, and plan for the future. She also talks about the future of the workplace, the importance of employee engagement, and work-life balance. Mindset Matters is a podcast series in association with The Wealth Summit.
Shari Wenk is a sports agent, a bestselling author, founder of the SWL Agency and an ace negotiator who cuts deals on behalf of the likes of the Tiger Woods Foundation, Dennis Rodman, and Walter Payton. Tim Grover is the CEO of Attack Athletes Inc, which works with athletes and business leaders. Grover came to prominence as the personal coach and trainer of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but he has also worked with thousands of other athletes and professionals as a personal trainer. In this episode of Mindset Matters, they talk about high performance and the importance of being relentless.
The law firm Whitney Moore represented McCambridge Bread in its lengthy battle with Joseph Brennan Bakeries and the Irish firm Waterwipes in an alleged infringement case against a rival start-up. It also helped thwart a Dylan Thomas copyright claim in the Irish courts. In the final episode of Brand Matters, joint managing partner Emma Richmond and commercial litigation partner Robin Hayes talk about protecting your brand, the legal process, and some of the cases they have worked on. They also talk about building the brand of a law firm in an increasingly crowded marketplace. The series is supported by Whitney Moore.
The world we live in is changing, and that change is accelerating and deepening like never before. Society. Politics. Technology. Environment. Generative AI. The list goes on, and on.
But what does this transformation mean for companies and business leaders? In an age of exponential disruption, how can businesses continue to transform and evolve?
To answer these questions, and much more besides, Ian Kehoe is joined by Amy Ball, Business Transformation Leader with PwC Ireland, as part of the PwC Leadership Exchange Series.
In this podcast, Ball offers practical advice to business leaders on how to prepare a company for transformation, how to develop a culture of innovation, and how to ensure buy-in from staff and stakeholders.
Ball also talks about successful examples of transformation projects, delves into the growth of GenAI, and explains why the fear of the unknown is the biggest inhibitor to change. This podcast is sponsored by PwC.
As joint managing partner of recruitment firm The Panel, Paul McArdle works with candidates and companies in the recruitment process, trying to match the right person with the right role.
In his job, he has seen the growing importance of the employer brand, from the values that underpin a business to how it treats its most important asset – its staff. In the latest edition of Brand Matters, McArdle talks to Alison Cowzer about the growing importance of employer branding, why it is a tool for attracting, retaining, and motivating employees, and how, when done correctly, it can add to the bottom line. The series is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.
Paul Sheeran has built a major business selling some of the world’s most exclusive luxury watch and jewellery brands. But to achieve that success, he has had to convince those brands to trust him with their pieces and customers to come to his stores. So, how has it done it? And what is he planning next?
In this edition of Brand Matters, he talks to Alison Cowzer about the business of luxury brands - and how he carved out his niche in the industry. The series is supported by Whitney Moore.
Brand strategy and design business Zero-G has worked with everyone from global multinationals to governments to ambitious start-ups on their brand and identity. Think Smurfit Kappa, LetsGetChecked, Bord na Móna and the Irish government. In this episode of Brand Matters, its founding partner and managing director Ciarán ÓGaora talks about the creative process that underpins his company’s award-winning work, what brands and branding actually mean - and how they can resonate. The series is sponsored by the law firm Whitney Moore.
Environmental, social, governance. ESG. Just three letters. But those three letters can have a major impact on businesses – from their engagement with staff to customers to investors. David McGee, ESG leader for PwC in Ireland, joins Ian Kehoe in the podcast studio to discuss how companies can ensure they are doing the right thing at the right time to deliver the right outcomes.
McGee talks about how companies can embed ESG into their business, offers advice for businesses striving to achieve net zero, and explains obligations under the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
This podcast is sponsored by PwC.
