Business Ireland Q1 2014

Q1 2014

Human

Capital TOP RECRUITERS OUTLINE JOBS MARKET OUTLOOK

Under the

Hammer WHAT’S DRIVING THE PROPERTY AUCTION RECOVERY?

Chamber President

Martin Murphy on his ambitions for 2014

News Lifestyle Chamber Focus Industry Spotlight

  

34 Messages in Motion Valerie Jordan looks at how Treehouse Republic is creating meaningful communication through animation and motion picture.

37 Modernising Copyright Patricia McGovern of DFMG Solicitors looks at how businesses can benefit from the reform of Irish copyright law.

39 Top Tips to Presenting Effectively Laura Fitzsimmons provides five simple tips on how to improve every presentation you deliver.

Let’s Get Dublin Working President Martin Murphy on his ambitions for 2014.

NEWS 2

Briefcase The latest business news in Dublin.

8 SME Bites The latest news and advice for SMEs operating in the capital.

10 Capital Investment A look at companies expanding or starting operations in Dublin and the jobs that are coming on stream.

CHAMBER FOCUS 40 24 Under the Hammer Property auctions are back in vogue.

Conor Forrest finds out what’s driving the recovery and whether it can be sustained.

26 The Chief Who’s Connected UPC Ireland’s Magnus Ternsjö talks to Joseph O’Connor about the company’s latest figures and how he’s connecting with customers.

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Movers & Shakers New appointments in the Dublin business community.

Fostering Entrepreneurial Spirit Dean Van Nguyen reports on this year’s David Manley Awards which provide financial and mentoring support for emerging entrepreneurs.

FEATURES

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Industry Spotlight: Recruitment Valerie Jordan speaks to the country’s top recruiters about employment trends and the process of procuring talent.

Get Disability Friendly Dean Van Nguyen profiles Train Ability, an SME offering support, advice and training on disability awareness to Irish businesses.

The latest news, events and members at the Chamber.

LIFESTYLE 82

Motoring Michael Sheridan took the new Peugeot 308 for a test drive to see if it can truly rival the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.

86 Beer Business In the first of a new series, Business Ireland assessed the flavour and quality of three Irish craft beers.

87 Tech Timeout In our new gadgets section, Business Ireland casts its eye on the latest in wearable technology.

88 On a Lighter Note Business Ireland caught up with Geoff Scully, Managing Director, Shop Direct Ireland.

EDITOR: Joseph O’Connor COMMERCIAL EDITOR: Valerie Jordan MANAGING EDITOR: Mary Connaughton DESIGN & Layout: Alan McArthur PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE: Nicole Ennis PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mary Connaughton SALES DIRECTOR: Paul Clemenson CONTRIBUTORS: Laura Fitzsimons, Conor Forrest, Valerie Jordan, Patricia McGovern, Graeme McQueen, Michael Sheridan, Dean Van Nguyen ADVERT DESIGN: Séamus Neeson, Antoinette Sinclair PHOTOGRAPHY: Thinkstock.com BUSINESS IRELAND MAGAZINE is published by Ashville Media Group, on behalf of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce ASHVILLE MEDIA GROUP Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7. Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 672 7100 Email: info@ashville.com DUBLIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 7 Clare Street. Tel: (01) 644 7200; Fax: (01) 676 6043; Email: info@dublinchamber.ie; Web: www.dublinchamber.ie Material printed in this journal is not necessarily endorsed by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce or

by Ashville Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © 2014

Briefcase

The latest business news from Dublin

Business Ireland recognised at IMAs

The Ashville Media Group team pictured at the Irish Magazine Awards.

Over 200 people gathered for the 2013 Irish Magazine Awards at the Marker Hotel in the trendy docklands area of Dublin last December 5th to celebrate all that is great in the Irish magazine industry. It was there that

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Business Ireland saw off stiff competition to win B2B Magazine of the Year.

The judges chose Business Ireland which is published

by Ashville Media Group in recognition of “the range of content provided to readers of this title on developments and initiatives across all sectors of business in the capital; good tips and advice from industry experts as well as more in-depth interviews with prominent figures in Irish business; nicely laid out

with a clean design making it an attractive read.”

The Awards were hosted by Today FM’s Mairead Farrell and the guest speaker was Sally Cartwright who spoke about her lifelong passion for magazines having spent 17 years as publishing director of Hello! Magazine.

John Whelan, Chairman, Magazines Ireland said: “This has been another fantastic year for the awards. I would like to

congratulate all of our winners and finalists on the outstanding quality of their submissions and their commitment to the highest quality of magazine publishing.”

The Business Ireland team will not be resting on its laurels and will be busy freshening up the look of the magazine over the coming issues while continuing to provide readers with the latest news and interviews on business in the capital.

Briefcase

Continued Support for International Women’s Day Event

Deirdre Kiely, Partner & Head of Audit, Advisory & Assurance, Liz Hughes, Head of ACCA Ireland, Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman and Anne Keogh FCCA, Deputy President ACCA Ireland.

Grafton Street to welcome back HMV Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID), which is a collective of 2,500 businesses in Dublin City Centre, has welcomed the news that HMV is set to return to Grafton Street. The announcement came from HMV and Xtra-vision owners Hilco Capital that it will open a new store on Dublin’s Grafton Street which will be located at the old A Wear premises adjacent to Bewleys. An official opening date for the store will be announced soon.

Grafton Street is now one of the highest occupancy streets in the BID area, with over 100 shops on the street, just five are currently vacant.

Of the five all are either under refurbishment or have options on them.

Commenting on the development, Richard Guiney, CEO of Dublin City BID said: “The news that HMV is returning to Grafton Street is very welcomed as is the 35 jobs it will create. They have been sorely missed from the area. Vacancy rates in the city centre are now down to nine per cent from highs of 15.6 per cent in 2010. These developments are a huge vote of confidence for Dublin City Centre.”

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Last March RSM Farrell Grant Sparks continued their support of ACCA Ireland for the third year running in sponsoring their International Women’s Day Breakfast Seminar, now in its 12th year. Keynote speaker for the event was Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman. The International Women’s Day Breakfast Seminar took place in the Westin Hotel on Friday March 7th. Deirdre Kiely, Partner and Head of Audit, Tax & Advisory delivered the welcoming address which saw over 100 women and men gathered across a number of industries and sectors.

Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman spoke about her views and experiences of being a senior woman in business. The event was concluded with an interactiveQ&A session where a number of interesting topics were covered.

The Giro is Coming

Dublin footballer Kevin McManamon and Irish Women’s rugby player Mary Louise Reilly teamed up to prepare for the arrival of the Giro d’Italia.

Ireland goes pink on May 11th this year when it welcomes 200 of the world’s elite cyclists as they enter the final stage of the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza 2014.

The first two stages will take place in Northern Ireland while on day three, a massive 22 teams of nine riders per team – almost 200 in total

– of the best cyclists in the world will race from Armagh to Dublin for the final stage before heading back to Italy.

The Giro’s pink jersey is one of the most iconic sporting emblems in the world.

Dublin City Council is calling on all its residents to come out and support the Giro on Sunday May 11th.

Briefcase

Kavanagh Appointed Chairman of IHKBF Mr Stephen Wong Regional Director Europe, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Liam Kavanagh, Chairman of the IHKBF, Joe Costello, Minister for Trade and Development, Ronan King, former Chairman of the IHKBF, and Ms Linda Lai, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union.

Liam Kavanagh, Managing Director of the Irish Times, has been named as the new Chairman of the Ireland Hong Kong Business Forum (IHKBF). Kavanagh replaces Ronan King, who has held the position since 2008.

Kavanagh was formally inaugurated at a lunch held in Dublin to celebrate Chinese New Year. The event was hosted by the IHKBF and Dublin Chamber of Commerce,

and featured a keynote speech from Joe Costello, Minister for Trade and Development.

Speaking at the event, Kavanagh said: “I am delighted to take up the position of Chairman at such an exciting time for the Forum. Business links between Hong Kong and Ireland continue to strengthen, not least with the recent news that a consulate is to be opened in Hong Kong.”

Digicom Announces Print Deal with Mazars Digicom, a leading Irish specialist in print management, has announced the implementation of a new Ricoh managed print service for Mazars.

The secure solution is transforming print and document processes for Mazars.

The overall value of the deal is estimated at a200,000 over five years including equipment and managed services. The solution will provide a full return on investment before the lifetime of the deal due to significant cost efficiencies being introduced, including a 25 per cent saving on print costs.

Mazars is one of the country’s

Ray Byrne, Channel Manager, Ricoh Ireland, Trevor McCarron, Director of Finance & IT for Mazars Ireland and Greg Clarke, Managing Director, Digicom.

leading professional services firms with more than 250 audit, consultancy, corporate finance, financial outsourcing, business restructuring, insolvency and tax

employees in its Dublin and Galway offices. It serves a broad client base in Ireland and internationally, including corporate, Government and owner-managed businesses.

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Briefcase

New Programme A Boost To Financial Start-ups

Declan McCarthy, Vice President - Head of Global Technology Services at State Street, Ben Hurley, CEO, NDRC and Minister of Communication, Pat Rabbitte T.D.

Ireland’s financial services sector is set for a shake up as the country’s first financial technology start-up programme, NDRC FinTech, was launched by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte. Established in association with blue chip firms and financial services enablers, Bank of Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Mediolanum and State Street, NDRC FinTech will recruit ten early stage financial services start-ups to work with over a part-time five

week programme starting on 19th May 2014.

Drawing on its experience of supporting start-ups in various markets, this is NDRC’s first financial sector programme. NDRC has brought together these four sponsors who will each provide their deep domain knowledge to the entrepreneurs and technologists as well as sourcing innovative ideas and mentors from within their firms.

Port Expansion Good News For Exports The redevelopment of Dublin Port will leave Ireland well-positioned to capitalise on future export opportunities, according to Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

The news that a planning application has been made to make Dublin Port more accessible to modern vessels has been

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welcomed by the Chamber, who have urged An Bord Pleanála to approve the plans for the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) project.

Gina Quin, Chief Executive, Dublin Chamber, said that the long-term development of Ireland’s largest port is vital in maintaining Dublin as an

internationally competitive city region. “We are an island nation and our economic recovery will be export based, which means that we are dependent on ports to help further the economic rebound. Dublin Port is an essential part of the City Region’s competitiveness architecture, providing a key

channel to export markets.”

The ABR plan is the first large scale project under Dublin Port Company’s Masterplan 2012-2040, a framework for the future development of Dublin Port with reference to economic and trade developments set in the context of EU, national, regional and local development plan policies.

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SME Bites

Business Ireland takes a look at the latest news and advice for SMEs operating in the capital.

More Carrots Please!

E

mployers in Ireland continue to drain employee motivation and damage productivity by focusing too much attention on extrinsic factors such as financial incentives and not enough on the psychological needs of their employees. This is one of the key findings from new research by System Dynamics which shows that employees in Ireland typically respond much better to the ‘carrot’ than the ‘stick’.

To ensure employees are happier, healthier and more engaged in the workplace, John Sexton of System Dynamics recommends three areas of focus for managers who want to get the best results from their teams.

Lessons in ‘Lite’

T

he passing of the recent Companies Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2013 which introduced Circuit Court examinership, or examinership ‘lite’ as it is has become known, is intended to provide a lower cost examinership for SMEs seeking court protection. Much commentary to date has focused on the fact that the professional costs in the Circuit Court typically stand at 30 per cent less than the High Court so, on the face of it, there are savings to be made.

The key to lower costs of examinership is less court involvement and a shorter process.

Aside from the professional and legal fees one of the key costs of any examinership is the creditor dividend to be paid as part of the scheme of arrangement. The availability of funding to exit examinership is a critical issue that needs to be factored into any discussion on SME restructuring.

PwC has put together a new restructuring guide which aims to outline the examinership process, particularly for SMEs given the recent legislative changes.

The guide’s purpose is to introduce firms to the potential benefits examinership can bring in restructuring a business. The guide can be downloaded at http://download. pwc.com/ie/pubs/pwc-2014-ireland-smeexaminership-brochure-january.pdf.

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• Employers need to ensure that their employees feel a sense of choice in how they go about their work. In short, employees need a sense of autonomy.

• Employees need to believe that they have the ability and competence to do the job required. So give your employees stretch targets, just don’t stretch too far.

• Employees need to experience meaningful, satisfying and supportive relationships at work.

When these employee needs are satisfied there will be greater support for continuous improvements in productivity.

SEI Seeks Innovative Ideas

S

ocial Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) have launched their nationwide search for people who have innovative ideas and new solutions to solve some of Ireland’s social and environmental problems.

The annual competition, now in its tenth year, has backed 169 social entrepreneurs to date and invested a5.4 million in direct funding to projects in areas ranging from community and active citizenship, education and learning, environment and sustainability and mental and physical health.

Speaking at the competition’s launch, Sean Coughlan CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland said: “We are keen to attract entries and ideas from across Ireland and so for the first time we are taking a roadshow around the country to tell people more about the work that we do and how SEI can support their idea or project.”

The closing date for entries to the 2014 competition is 5pm on Monday April 28th. Following a multi-stage review process, the winning nominees will be announced at a ceremony in November 2014. For further details visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie.

SME Bites

Google Apps for SMEs

G

oogle Apps for Business is a cloud collaboration suite that is perfect for small to medium size businesses looking to boost productivity and improve internal communications. As well as providing Gmail services, Google Apps for Business also includes shareable calendars, video chat and Google’s own suite of office and productivity tools for document creation and collaboration. Although working with an authorised reseller is the preferable option for setting up and managing Google Apps for Business, below is an overview of the steps involved in setting up your accounts, courtesy of E-MIT solutions.

• Sign up: To get started, go to the main Google Apps for Business page. Select whether to start a 30-day trial or register for a full account.

Some Dates for your Diary

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April 2014

• Verify domain: Before you can use Google Apps with your business domain, you have to verify that you own it. The most common way to do this is using the TXT method.

• Create user accounts: Once your domain is verified, the next step is to create user accounts for everyone who will be using Google Apps within your organisation. You can add up to 10 users on a free trial. You can either add users individually or all at once.

• Activate your business email address: Once users are added, you will need to change your domain’s MX Record to route mail to Google servers. This can be configured on your Google Admin Console.

Athena Media Training Social Media & Online Content Strategy for Business Time: 9.30am-1pm Venue: Digital Depot, Thomas Street, Dublin 8.

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May 2014

• Set up mobile devices: Sync your Google Apps mail, contacts, and calendar data with your Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile device.

• Migrate data: Copy your existing email, calendars and contacts into Google Apps. You can import your data directly from Microsoft Exchange or any other mail server. If you would like to keep using Microsoft Outlook, you can install the Google Apps plugin for Outlook.

Fund to focus on investing in Irish SMEs

SMEs need to Cheque Out

inister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, has launched a a75 million fund under the Development Capital Scheme, to support established Irish companies targeting significant revenue and jobs growth through export markets. The development and roll out of the scheme is a critical element in the Action Plan for Jobs. The BDO Development Capital Fund, which will be managed by Development Capital, a 100 per cent subsidiary of BDO, will invest development and growth capital in established, mid-sized and profitable companies to support and accelerate their export growth plans. It breaks new ground for an enterprise investment fund which brings together a blue chip partnership of large Irish corporates and industry experts who, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, will provide not only funding but also the necessary experience, expertise and international reach to assist secure, business growth opportunities.

Sage survey of SMEs in Ireland has found that the majority of them are unaware of Government initiatives to promote electronic payments at the expense of cheques.

Sage calculates that 60 per cent of businesses are not aware of the National Payments Plan (NPP), a Government initiative that aims to make savings of a1 billion annually to the Irish economy by increasing the use of electronic forms of payment such as debit cards and electronic banking. The survey also revealed that 70 per cent of businesses have not heard of eDay, an initiative aimed to reduce cheque usage in the economy.

From September 19th 2014, all central government, local authorities and state agencies will no longer issue or accept business cheques.

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Vodafone Smart StartUp Network Breakfast Event Time: 7:30am - 9:30am Venue: The Marker Hotel, Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2.

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May 2014

National Digital Media And Marketing Summit 2014 Time: 8:50am - 5pm Venue: Croke Park, Dublin 3.

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June 2014

International Council for Small Business World Conference 2014 Venue: Double Tree by Hilton Dublin, Burlington Road, Dublin 4.

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Capital Investment

Business Ireland looks at companies expanding or starting operations in Dublin and the jobs that are coming on stream.

Capital Investment New Relic Software analytics company New Relic, which has its headquarters in San Francisco, has announced it is to establish headquarters in Dublin for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, creating 50 new jobs.

Founded six years ago and now with 350 employees working in offices in a number of locations in the US, the firm is a good example of the kind of new, fast-growing enterprise that the IDA has been targeting for Ireland.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said: “Targeting high-growth emerging companies is a key part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs.

“The thinking behind this drive is that these companies will establish deep roots here from early in their growth and make a substantial impact on our economy.”

announce this development with Knightsbridge Student Housing Ltd. This appears to be one of the most significant office space developments of recent years in Dublin and the entire project will create up to 300 construction

IBM IBM has announced 40 new jobs at its multilingual operations centre in Mulhuddart in Dublin.

The roles will be in the areas of finance, project management and business operations, in addition to candidates with particular language skills.

The new centre is expected to push the adoption of big data, cloud and collaboration to support clients around the world. It will support IBM’s software labs in rolling out services to new clients, and also support client engagement around the world.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD; Edel Flynn Chief Executive Officer of the DHDA; and Bob Crompton, CEO of Knightsbridge Student Housing.

jobs, giving a much-needed boost to the sector.” When complete, the building is expected to house eight to ten new businesses.

Digital Hub

The Dualway Group

The Digital Hub is to benefit from a a40 million investment in the construction of accommodation for almost 500 students and the development of 10,650sq ft of office space. There is currently a long waiting list of companies seeking space at the technology campus which was set up by the government in 2003.

Announcing details of the project, Edel Flynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Hub Development Agency, said: “The Digital Hub is continuing to grow and add value to the wider economy and, as such, we are delighted to

The operators of City Sightseeing bus tours, The Dualway Group, has announced it will increase its staff by almost half - with recruitment of 46 new staff.

The company says the new jobs will mainly be for its centre-based ‘Hop On, Hop Off’ tours, with an increase in its bus fleet by 50 per cent.

David McConn, CEO of Dualway, said: “The tourist sector has definitely turned the corner and we’re anticipating good growth this year in visitors to Dublin.”

Dualway currently employs 101 people.

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The natural choice

An Irish law firm with global reach Not all law firms are the same.

In Ireland, Eversheds offers a real difference through a full service offering, seamless international capability with 49 offices in 29 jurisdictions and services that go beyond legal advice.

Our roots are in Ireland. But our reach is global.

We deliver local expertise coupled with access to a worldwide resource. Our range of products and unique project management approach enable you to control time, costs and risk.

If you want to experience a top quality law firm that is committed to unlocking the full potential of your organisation, then we would be delighted to hear from you.

Alan Murphy Managing Partner and Chairman – Eversheds International +353 1 6644 289 alanmurphy@eversheds.ie

“Strategic high quality legal advice, pragmatic commercial advice and real value for money.”

The criteria which saw Eversheds voted the overall leading firm in the Legal Business, in-house counsel survey 2013.

www.eversheds.ie

Movers & Shakers

Movers&Shakers

Ray Holland Horizon Digital Print Horizon Digital Print has announced the appointment of Ray Holland as their new Business Development Executive.

Holland brings with him extensive experience in the retail and fmcg brand industry.

He has worked with Musgrave, Unilever and Cadbury Ireland in various marketing and business development roles, and has an extensive background in shopper marketing projects and point of sale.

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Andrew Smyth Savills

Noel Curran RTÉ

Property consultants Savills Ireland have appointed Andrew Smyth as their PR and Online Media Manager. He will be responsible for developing the company’s traditional and online media presence. Smyth joins Savills from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, where he worked with the organisation’s public affairs department, managing their media relations and communications activity.

Andrew has over eight years of experience in the PR industry.

He began his career with FleishmanHillard International Communications working with clients in the healthcare, financial services, construction and telecommunications sector.

Noel Curran’s reappointment as director general of RTÉ for a further four years has been approved by the Government.

Curran, who worked in RTÉ from 1992 to 2010, took up the role in February 2011.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, welcomed the decision to reappoint Curran. He said Curran had demonstrated great leadership in his initial term, during which RTÉ has been operating in a very difficult economic environment, facing increased competition and commercial challenges.

The director general is appointed by the board of RTÉ following a public competition.

Movers & Shakers

Graeme McQueen Dublin Chamber of Commerce Dublin Chamber of Commerce has appointed Graeme McQueen as Senior Policy and Communications Executive.

McQueen joins the Chamber after almost a decade working as a business journalist, most recently with Business Plus magazine where he was Assistant Editor. McQueen is responsible for media relations in the Chamber as well as member communications.

Alma O’Brien Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants Hughes Blake Chartered Accountants have announced the appointment of Alma O’Brien as Partner. O’Brien brings a total of over 15 years’ experience in providing tailored tax solutions to clients. Recognised as a leading authority on property tax, O’Brien provides up-to-date counsel to a wide range of organisations, helping them keep pace with the fast-changing policy landscape in this area.

O’Brien, who was recently made a member of the Institute of Tax VAT Committee, joined Hughes Blake in 2009 as Director of the Tax Department. Prior to taking up the role, she worked for eight years as Tax Director and VAT advisor at a leading specialist taxation firm, where she advised on the tax structuring of large commercial property transactions and tax planning for high net worth clients.

Ann Lalor Eugene F. Collins Eugene F. Collins has appointed Ann Lalor as a new partner in its banking department where she will specialise in the areas of acquisition finance, property and development finance and general secured and unsecured lending since qualification.

Lalor has extensive experience in acting for both banks and borrowers in relation to the drafting of facilities agreements and the negotiation and drafting of security documentation for both new lending transactions and the restructuring of existing facilities. Lalor also acts for a number of financial institutions in carrying out security reviews.

In addition, she advises financial institutions on enforcement options and remedies.

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Industry Spotlight

Human

Capital

A

fter years of employment cuts, lay-offs and staff shedding, Irish companies are again looking to recruit, to expand and attract top talent. At the end of 2013 the numbers on the Live Register were at a three-and-a-half year low and though emigration is still a factor it is

clear that employment conditions are improving domestically.

Foreign Direct Investment has played a much lauded role in boosting jobs.

According to IDA Ireland, nine of ten leading global pharma companies; nine of ten global ICT corporations; three of six gaming firms; and 12 of 15 medical device manufacturers are located here.

Over 1,000 overseas companies located in Ireland employ more than 160,000 professionals.

But it’s not just these companies that are hiring; the domestic market is also recruiting once more, with major growth centred in a number of sectors, namely finance and banking, funds, IT and pharmaceuticals and sciences.

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©iStock/thinkstock.com

The recruitment industry’s performance generally reflects the state of the economy at large and a gradual return to confidence in the capital has led to an upturn in recruitment across several sectors. Valerie Jordan speaks to some of the country’s top recruiters about employment trends and the process of procuring talent.

Industry Spotlight

International banking groups offering third party operations in Dublin as global capital markets have rebounded significantly since 2010. This has had a positive impact on recruitment in this sector.”

Finance and Banking Among the industries which suffered greatly in the last four to five years, finance and banking is one sector seeing a significant upturn and corresponding requirement for new talent.

“From a ‘Brand Ireland’ perspective, one of the sectors which has suffered most in the last three years has been the banking sector. The number of banks offering traditional retail and commercial banking services has decreased, however, those offering outsourced solutions to legacy debt are continuing to expand. In this highly regulated sector there is high demand for candidates with QFA or APA (loans) designation,” says Sinead Wallace, Commercial Director at Grafton Recruitment.

“International banking groups offering third party operations in Dublin as global capital markets have rebounded significantly since 2010. This has had a positive impact on recruitment in this sector, with continued demand from graduate level upwards and with over 50 per cent of the world’s leading financial services firms operating in Ireland today, this sector will continue to be a cornerstone of growth,” concludes Wallace.

There will be continued growth of jobs in the funds sector, with

Trayc Keevans, Director Inward Investment at Morgan McKinley.

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solid demand for fund accountants and transfer agents. “That industry is absolutely booming still. Fund accountants at every level are in high demand. We’re also seeing a lot of growth in pensions at the moment.

Pension administrators and quantitative analysts are in short supply,” says Trayc Keevans, Director Inward Investment at Morgan McKinley.

strategic international operations, such as R&D and Shared Service Centres,” says Wallace. “Alongside the global players, smaller emerging tech companies have chosen Ireland as a launch pad to Europe with the availability of talent a key factor.”

We will continue to see increased demand for ICT specialists in an already tight market with more demand than local supply. “They estimate in 2015 there’s going to be approximately 900,000 ICT vacancies in the European Economy that we can’t fill. The Commission has just launched a grant coalition for digital jobs.” says Lisa Holt, Managing Director, Careers Register.

The IT Crowd

Science and Pharma

With Ireland often seen as Europe’s technology hub, jobs are plentiful for specialist IT professionals. “Nine out of ten world-leading technology and internet companies operate in Ireland today with many choosing Ireland as an EMEA HQ or a platform for European

With continued investment by established companies, new investment and the well-documented skills shortage in science and pharmaceuticals there is a strong demand for talent in these sectors.

“We’ve seen a lot of new biologic companies like BioMarin, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Alexion establish themselves here. It’s a big area. In the food sector, Kerry Group and Glanbia are leading the way in innovation and we’ve seen a corresponding drive for R&D professionals and scientists,” says Keevans.

The skills shortage in the sciences has been apparent for several years. “There is a lot of talk about trying to encourage students to do maths and science degrees and highlighting the importance of those. This problem has been known for years. It’s not a surprise, but it’s always been a challenge to attract young people in to that mathematical

Sinead Wallace, Commercial Director at Grafton Recruitment.

Fund accountants at every level are in high demand.

We’re also seeing a lot of growth in pensions at the moment. Pension administrators and quantitative analysts are in short supply.”

Industry Spotlight

and science sector. We’ve to do more to make that happen,” says Holt.

Other Growth Sectors As consumer confidence begins to tentatively grow so too does employment in related industries. “An interesting area where we’ve seen yearon-year growth is the beauty, haircare and leisure category. It’s coming from a low base but it suggests there is a bit more money out there so people are slightly more confident and spending more on themselves,” says Orla Moran, General Manager of IrishJobs.ie.

Holt agrees: “It’s clear that people are starting to borrow again and spend again. Our retail recruitment and our sales and marketing team are really busy.

That points to where things are at.”

Also showing signs of recovery is a sector that was obliterated by the recession: jobs are on the increase in construction and architecture. In the IrishJobs.ie Jobs Index, construction and architecture positions advertised were up by approximately 26 per cent.

Salary and Incentive A sign of tentative recovery in the recruitment sector is the increase in permanent positions being filled.

“We’ve seen growth in full-time roles on the site IrishJobs.ie. Prior to 2013 we would have seen a lot of contract roles.

While the Jobs Index shows a five per cent increase in the total number of jobs advertised year-on-year, contract roles advertised by corporate clients on IrishJobs.ie decreased by seven per cent in 2013 which is an indication that there is greater confidence amongst our corporate client base as they advertise for full-time permanent roles again,” says Moran.

The upturn is also evident in salaries and remuneration packages. IrishJobs. ie’s salary report indicates salaries are on the rise. “Overall salaries are up about three per cent. They’re up about ten per cent in IT; 15 per cent in banking and finance; and about five per cent in engineering. Sales roles are still driven by performance and incentive,” says Moran.

Wallace echoes that sentiment: “Salaries have increased in 2013 as most companies have sought to

They estimate in 2015 there’s going to be approximately 900,000 ICT vacancies in the European Economy that we can’t fill. The Commission has just launched a grant coalition for digital jobs.”

reward employees as part of their retention strategies and also to ensure that potential employees see them as an attractive option. Indeed some employers are offering bonuses for the first time in almost three years with personal performance bonuses dominating the trend.”

The Morgan McKinley salary survey published in January this year showed that salaries and benefit packages had rebounded strongly in many professions, despite much of the growth being centred in Dublin. In certain industries professionals in Dublin received between eight per cent and 15 per cent more than those in identical jobs in other regions.

But it’s not all about salary as employers seek to extend their offering to employees. “As the demand for toptalent remains competitive, a lot more

Lisa Holt, Managing Director, Careers Register.

employers are seeking to benchmark their benefits offering to ensure it is competitive in attracting and retaining the best professional talent. It’s to give employers a guide of what their competitors are offering, so we included an overview of benefits offered in this Morgan McKinley salary guide this year,” says Keevans. “We’re confident it’s more comprehensive in its accuracy.”

War for Talent One effect of the downturn may have been employers’ increased understanding of the importance of

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Industry Spotlight

their people. A recent survey by PWC revealed 73 per cent of 225 of Ireland’s most prominent CEOs listed ‘creating and fostering a skilled workforce over the next three years’ as a key priority.

Interestingly, almost half also plan to invest in a healthy workforce.

“We believe the ‘war for talent’ will intensify, both in terms of our clients seeking to retain existing employees and attract new employees.

As the economy continues to bounce back, we anticipate our clients hiring more people and correspondingly there will be intense competition to retain and hire the best talent available.

Already, we are seeing demand from our clients to engage us for talent pooling and mapping exercises whilst advising them on candidate attraction strategies,” says Wallace.

Such is the competition for talent that employers are increasingly focussed on the attraction and retention of top talent through ‘employer branding’.

Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of attracting and compensating their employees with benefits, reward and company culture, as well as salary and incentive packages.

“We’re seeing employers place a big focus on their reward structures and compensation packages to attract top talent,” says Keegan. They’re trying to make themselves stand out from their competitors. Employers are recognising it’s not just about salaries, but the overall compensation strategy.

‘Employer branding’ is a much more popular term, particularly among large multinationals and the technology companies, who are looking to brand themselves as an employer of choice.

“The technology companies are the ones who would lead this, differentiating their benefit offerings

An interesting area where we’ve seen year on year growth is the beauty, haircare and leisure category. It’s coming from a low base but it suggests there is a bit more money out there so people are slightly more confident and spending more on themselves.”

with flexibility, work-from-home capability, team building events, canteens and games areas. It’s typical of technology companies but other companies are starting to look at it as well. They want to differentiate themselves and their employer brand to attract talent.”

Employees are also aware of the importance of selecting an employer for their corporate culture, career progression opportunities and company offering. “People will choose a better company to work for that has developed its brand significantly over a higher salary in a company not so well known.

Employees move jobs for a healthier working environment – where they learn, develop and grow; where they will be treated with respect; where there is team camaraderie; where they will make a difference and be acknowledged for making that difference. Companies who brand around their values and recognition and reward will always attract top talent,” advises Holt.

The significant upturn in industries such as finance and banking, funds, IT, science and pharma and construction will bolster employment. Salaries look set to rise as employers engage in a ‘war for talent’, particularly in those sectors where the demand outstrips the supply of suitable candidate.” | 18

Orla Moran, General Manager of IrishJobs.ie.

An Outlook “For IrishJobs.ie our main indicator is year-on-year jobs, which are up five per cent. Sentiment is good and we’re seeing confidence is contagious,” says Moran. “We had our busiest quarter for applications in Q4 last year. On the jobseeker side, applications were up by about 25 per cent which suggests that candidates are on the move.

“We also had our busiest period for new customers coming on-site in December last year and the trend continued in to January. I think you need to see a consistent pattern of growth, but what we predict – given the sentiment across candidates and customers – it’s definitely going to be a better year,” says Moran.

The significant upturn in industries such as finance and banking, funds, IT, science and pharma and construction will bolster employment. Salaries look set to rise as employers engage in a ‘war for talent’, particularly in those sectors where the demand outstrips the supply of suitable candidates.

Attracting FDI will continue to be a focus for new job creation and investment in areas outside the capital is a key priority - the IDA has set an ambitious regional economic development target of 50 per cent of investments in regions outside Dublin and Cork for 2020.

The outlook for recruitment and employment is certainly more positive than it has been in recent years. While the recovery has not been experienced evenly by all sectors and despite challenges ahead, there are now positive signs that employment is picking up.

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Cover Story

I’m really looking forward to leading the Chamber in 2014.

Ireland as an

economy has come a long way.

Dublin Chamber President Martin Murphy spoke to Joseph O’Connor about his plans for office in 2014 and why job creation and competitiveness are key to economic growth.

I

t’s difficult not to feel optimistic on the back of a conversation with Martin Murphy, new president of Dublin Chamber of Commerce. The Dublin native and managing director of Hewlett Packard has been busy setting out his stall for the year ahead and his outlook is positive.

Murphy was presented with the chain of office by the Irish Times managing director and 2013 president, Liam Kavanagh, at the Dublin Chamber AGM last February. As managing director of HP in Ireland, one of the largest, most diverse multinationals in the country employing over 4,000 people at locations in Kildare, Galway, Dublin and Belfast, Murphy is well versed in leadership. Parallel to this role, he acts as Chairman of a new Labour Market Council, an expert group established last September, which will drive the delivery of the Government’s Pathways to Work

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Martin Murphy

strategy and advise on wider labour market and employment policy. He currently sits on the board of Smurfit Business School and has previously been listed as one of Silicon Valley’s top 50 Irish/Irish-Americans in Technology by Irish America magazine. An impressive CV no doubt but what will Murphy bring to Dublin Chamber and its members and what is his vision for his one year term in office?

According to Murphy, a key focus in 2014 will be on job creation and increasing Dublin’s competitiveness; two ambitious tasks but ones which he believes can be delivered on. “I’m really looking forward to leading the Chamber in 2014. Ireland as an economy has come a long way. The outlook has changed considerably over the past 12 months,” he says enthusiastically, before outlining some stats to back up his claim. “We’re the first European country to emerge from the EU-IMF programme; we’re a competitive and stable location for jobs; over 61,000 jobs have been created in the past year and we’re back selling bonds again. 2014 is designated

by Government as the year of jobs and alongside that the Government has stated that in 2016 Ireland will be the best small country in which to do business. They’re very strong statements of intent and goals that I personally share.”

Murphy is not naive, however, and knows of the challenges that come with such ambitions. “Great macro economic news isn’t necessarily filtering down into individual lives so to speak and there are other significant extra charges individuals are facing,” he says. “We also have a very high level of unemployment and a more expensive country in which to live. There’s an anomaly there that’s a significant challenge.”

A Pro-Business Agenda Although Murphy’s background is in the corporate sector, he is acutely aware of how SMEs have taken the brunt of the economic crisis and he believes that through multinationals and small business working together, we can sustain a viable economic recovery.

“Every business has a role to play in the growing economy” he says, and the

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Cover Story

work of Dublin Chamber fits with this. “The Chamber has a very strong, probusiness agenda that covers both the domestic and corporate side and is predicated around competitiveness and job creation.

For me these priorities will be led and delivered by the Chamber.”

Some of these important policy priorities that the Chamber will focus on during the coming year include; seeking to influence Government policy on a number of issues including the pricing of water charges to business, the retention of the proceeds of the local property tax at a local level and Budget 2015; generating support around the Chamber’s Dublin manifesto for the upcoming local and European elections; providing input into the Government’s new national spatial planning and ensuring that the contribution of the Dublin City Region to the national economy is recognised and supported by public policy.

Murphy explains the 2014 agenda further: “If you were to say ‘what does that mean?’ It means from a competitiveness perspective, it’s working with Government to make sure we are ruthless and relentless about being competitive and that where resources become available, we really target them very wisely, such as targeting tax cuts rather than increased wages. It means keeping down the cost of doing business, promoting competition and it means making sure we don’t put unemployment on the back burner and let structural unemployment hold back the recovery.”

Hewlett Packard In terms of his day job, Murphy is kept busy with the responsibility of driving HP’s business growth in the Irish market.

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The Chamber has a very strong, pro-business agenda that covers both the domestic and corporate side and is predicated around competitiveness and job creation.

For me these priorities will be led and delivered by the Chamber.”

In recent years, HP Ireland has achieved record growth and is one of the largest IT and services providers in Ireland.

Work has started at its new 87,000 sq ft Galway facility which is due to be completed by early 2015. The company has essentially moved from a products business to a service-led business and much of its work is focussed on research and development. This renewed focus has increased at the four HP bases here, including Belfast where the number of engineers has doubled in the last year.

Murphy is confident that HP will continue to invest in Ireland. “HP has been here for 40 years. I think the company’s commitment to Ireland is without question. We have deep roots here. I’m a strong believer in putting leading global research activity here, that’s exactly what is needed to sustain HP in Ireland into the future. I’m very confident that we’ll be here for a long time to come.”

Vision So how would Murphy like to see the business environment 12 months from now when he presents the chain of office to his successor? “My vision for Ireland is one where Government are making economic decisions based around the principles of competitiveness and sustainable growth in the economy; an Ireland which would continue to develop and enhance its reputation as a great country to build a business and do business; a country where unemployed people are given the skills and confidence to work and where we devote as many of our scarce resources as possible to the most vulnerable in society. So where will Ireland be in 12 months time? I think we are well capable of hitting those three major milestones and if we do, again, I would be very optimistic for Ireland’s prospect into the future.” All things considered, it seems that 2014 is a good time to be in business and part of the Chamber.

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to issue a social dividend to Irish society.

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To find out more about our CSE Framework log on to www.ipb.ie/cse

Feature

Hammer

Under the

Property auctions are back in vogue. Conor Forrest caught up with Loman Dempsey, Head of Auctions at Savills, to find out what’s driving the recovery and whether it can be sustained.

C

urrently Head of Savills Auctions, if there is one thing which Loman Dempsey has in abundance, it’s experience. Dempsey began his career in the property sector with estate agency Gunne back in the ‘80s before moving to London and back to Ireland once more, where he became a co-founder of Navan agency, Raymond Potterton.

Large aspects of his work surrounded sales by auction, particularly in relation to farmland, pubs, commercial and residential properties. “Those were very tough times in Ireland,” says Dempsey.

“But it was one of the forums in which you would sell property. With any particular property, you might only perceive that you would have four or five buyers who would have an interest in it. To bring it to a head, in a relatively short period of time, to a situation where you’re getting the best price available on the open market, it was always very popular for that. All through the ‘90s, as the market rolled, it became more popular.”

As time passed, Dempsey brought his considerable expertise in the field to his role in Savills, the property agency previously known as Hamilton Osbourne King, a full service real estate advisory firm whose reach extends right across the island. However, despite many years of solid performance, in 2007 the auction trend stalled, due to reasons which are all too familiar now, and began to reverse. “In 2007, it was not an appropriate time to be auctioning,

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because effectively there was no market there,” Dempsey explains. “Through 2007 to 2012, I think it would be fair to say that it really wasn’t an appropriate forum in those five years, basically due to the lack of finance in the market, and the lack of confidence and all of the uncertainty that goes with that.”

A return to form?

Last year, however, marked something of a return to form for auctioning as a manner by which property is sold, even if it remained more of a shadow of its former popularity. From 2011/12, written bids began to creep back into the market, in situations where more than one buyer was circling the property. “Volumes started to come back into the market in terms of interest – the perception that things had improved in Ireland. It became an appropriate forum once again,” says Dempsey.

One important issue remained, however, an issue which worked to keep the level of sales by auction in check. As a result of the financial crash, auctions have become associated with a particular type of sale – distressed properties – fuelled in part, undoubtedly, by the emergence of Allsop, the auction agency which has made the news recently through mass

sales at auction of properties in distress.

“The process has suffered a little bit with the mass auction platform which has started. I suppose the result of that is that some people might deem an auctioned property as a distressed property; it has to be sold,” Dempsey explains. “It’s a perception that has come into the market. It’s not the criteria we would judge a property on. We would judge it

Feature

agent. “You’re basically standing up in front of everyone and saying ‘all the cards are on the table now’; you bid and we try and sell it,” he says. “It’s probably a more transparent process, and one that I would be very fond of having, having the experience of dealing with it over 20 or 25 years.” From Savills’ perspective, there are quite a number of properties which are suitable for the auction process, high value properties which require more attention, and the transparent nature of auctions is something which the company is keen to highlight. “We’re concentrating on that end of the market, the higher value end, in order to be a better servant to the vendor and purchaser,” says Dempsey.

2013 in particular marked a notable turning point for the auctioning of property in Ireland – the breaking of guide prices. In Q3 and Q4, a number of newspaper reports noted this new trend, something which didn’t escape the attention of Dempsey either. “That can happen when people are in an open forum,” he explains. People, as a rule, are competitive, particularly if they want something badly enough. As Dempsey outlines, while private treaty sales may not generate significantly high prices over the guide, when standing next to someone at an auction, both bidding for a property you have set your heart on, it’s not too hard to understand as to why things Loman Dempsey, Head of Auctions, Savills. may get a little heated, and drive the price through the on our perception of the demand, and the roof. For example, at an Allsop auction in late 2013, an unfinished five bed house transparency of the process.” in Clane, along with 4.4 acres, sold for a540,000 following some heavy bidding.

Transparency Dempsey believes that this transparency The guide price? a250,000. Two months before, a house in Donnybrook, listed at is at least partly behind the auction’s a guide price of a2.74 million by Lisney, rising popularity as opposed to a tender sold for a respectable a4.6 million. process in which you’re bidding blind, albeit with the guidance of a property Dempsey has had some similar

experiences in 2013. “We had some [auctions] last year that had a guide of a500,000 and finished at a850,000, so we were a good 40 per cent above. If we had gone on a private treaty sale, and encouraged bets and final bids, it would be hard to see yourself sitting down and writing down a300,000 above the guide price, whereas if you’re standing in a room and there’s a guy standing to your left or right and the auctioneer is taking bids, you can see what’s happening and you say ‘right, I need to bite the bullet here.’ Everyone wants to pay as little as they can, but at the same time they don’t want to leave things behind.”

Though at times, people can get carried away, Dempsey believes it is more a case of the property finding its true value, its true level in the marketplace.

“What happened is that when the market was going up, everybody was chasing it, and then it falls, and is trying to re-establish itself.” And, while in some cases, issues such as rights of way or irregularities with the title may sow doubt in the mind of a potential purchaser, “if they’re sitting in the auction room, and have the confidence that two or three people are interested in the property and are bidding on it, they’re more comfortable.” Dempsey also notes the positive influence of the Captial Gains Tax, which allowed those who purchased property before the end of December 2013 – providing they hold the property for seven years – to avoid paying the tax, though that has now been extended until December 2014.

Making Strides Looking ahead to 2014, Dempsey is of the opinion that the auction market will make further strides in re-establishing itself. “The level of interest in having properties sold through our auctions is continuing at an unprecedented level,” said Allsop Space director of auctions Robert Hoban, in a recent statement. “I think it will,” Dempsey echoes. “I think it’s certainly set to continue with more auctions. We hope to grow our business in the auction arena substantially this year.” And with the experienced Loman Dempsey at the helm of Savills’ auction department, the property group is certainly in capable hands.

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Feature

The Chief who’s

Connected Magnus Ternsjö is settling in well in his role as chief executive of UPC Ireland.

He talks to Joseph O’Connor about the company’s latest figures, their business offering, but is keeping tight-lipped about a much speculated move to mobile.

I

f you are a UPC customer and have had a six feet seven inches tall man with a Scandinavian accent arrive at your home or business to install a product, chances are you have been doorstepped by the company’s charismatic chief exective. Nine months into his role, Swedish native Magnus Ternsjö is making his mark. Having replaced Dana Strong as CEO last June, Ternsjö has arrived at the company at an important time in a competitive market and is keen to get to know the dynamics and workings of the firm from a grassroots level up.

Previously managing director of Liberty Global’s Central European Direct to Home satellite television business, he has held a number of roles in UPC’s parent company, with his most recent one based in Luxembourg. Ternsjö brings with him an array of management skills and business acumen as well as his own personal stamp. “Every single CEO brings a certain personality with them and I’ve obviously brought mine,” he says. “I think some of the first impressions were, ‘My God, who’s that tall man?!’ That one aside though, I’m tremendously approachable and very open. I spend a lot of time not just with my own management team but with engineers, customer

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Feature

I think some of the first impressions were, ‘My God, who’s that tall man?!’

That one aside though, I’m tremendously approachable and very open. I spend a lot of time not just with my own management team but with engineers, customer care agents and support staff to really understand the business and I do believe that they feel a high level of motivation as a consequence.”

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I also learn a lot from a consumer viewpoint; how they appreciate the product and what they don’t appreciate as much, so it’s been a very good learning curve for myself.”

care agents and support staff to really understand the business and I do believe that they feel a high level of motivation as a consequence.”

Taking time out to see first-hand how the company’s engineers carry out their day-to-day business was an important learning curve, according to Ternsjö. He believes the experience helped him to learn more from both a technical and customer point of view. “It was absolutely brilliant,” he affirms. “I have a technical business background so I do sympathise very much with those people with the kind of challenges they have. But I also learn a lot from a consumer viewpoint; how they appreciate the product and what they don’t appreciate as much, so it’s been a very good learning curve for myself.”

Getting Results UPC currently brings television, broadband internet and telephone services to approximately 13 million customers throughout 11 European countries. Last February, UPC Ireland announced continuing strong performance for the fourth quarter and year ended 31st December 2013. During this period, Ternsjö’s second quarter in charge, the company added a further 19,700 subscriptions for its fibre powered broadband, TV and phone services across its home and business divisions. Compared to the same quarter a year previous, total subscriptions increased by seven per cent or 71,000 to a record level of 1,059,700.

“The numbers are significant increases and I’m obviously very pleased and satisfied with the growth,” says Ternsjö. He outlines three key reasons why he believes UPC is performing so well in Ireland. “The very first one is really down to investment. Over the years UPC has invested in well over a500 million in its core infrastructure and that is what we normally call our ‘fibrepowered network’ to deliver the kind of digital services that consumers actually want to have in their daily lives.

“And the second reason is that we are big in building innovative and valuable products for consumers. We are pretty focussed on trying to enable consumers using products that they perceive being high value to make their daily lives easier.

The third point is that we have a very talented and high-skilled, motivated staff force.”

Motivation is not something Ternsjö is lacking and if ongoing reports that UPC is to make a move into the mobile phone market are anything to go by, he would have plenty of work to focus his energy on. The latest murmurings suggest UPC would piggy-back on the Three phone network as part of a wider pan-European mobile business under Liberty Global. The UPC Ireland chief is reluctant to provide any details on such

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plans to date. “Yes I have also read those newspaper reports and there has been certain speculation in this market,” he says.

“There is no secret that Liberty Global, our parent company, and ourselves are interested in mobile but we are not in the business of speculating and don’t give announcements until we are ready to do so. So in due course, when we have something to communicate, we will do so.”

Business to Business Looking after its business customers is something UPC is conscious of and the company is hoping that its latest service developments can address the specific bandwidth-hungry and time sensitive needs and requirements of each business client.

In January, the company launched its 500 Mbps business fibre power broadband services to companies across the country. This more than doubles the broadband speeds currently available and the idea is that the service will ensure that businesses working with large volumes of data will have consistent and reliable connection. It is initially being made available in the capital along with Waterford and Galway and will then be rolled out to other towns and cities across Ireland. “This [service] is something we are particularly proud of because our B2B business has had even better growth numbers than the ones that you presented because those are the consolidated numbers and we see a great demand and increase, in particular from smaller businesses and also certain enterprises, in connectivity services,” says Ternsjö.

Exciting Times UPC Ireland has had a busy few months since Ternsjö took charge, from the launch of its new Horizon TV service to a new phone application which allows customers to use their smartphone to make calls through their UPC home phone call pack. If the company continues to develop its services at this pace, and if it does make the move into mobile as reports suggest, Ternsjö will have his work cut out for him for the rest of 2014. But talk of the year ahead appears to only excite the spirited Swede.

“This whole industry is tremendously vibrant,” he says. “We see certain trends on consolidation in the market, not just from an Irish viewpoint, we see mobile businesses trying to get together.

From an international level now, our mother company in the Netherlands, Liberty Global, announced recently that we would acquire Ziggo, another huge cable operator, and from a global perspective we have seen Comcast putting in a bid for Time Warner. There are lots of very exciting things happening in this industry. I am very confident about our future.”

As far as fitting in with the Irish lifestyle is concerned, Ternsjö is no stranger to adapting to new cultures. His daughter was born in his native Sweden, his son in Holland and both he and his wife have resided in various locations on the continent.

When he was only 13 years old he travelled around the world on a freighter which his father was captain of. This might explain why he is so open to new cultures. “Oh I love Ireland,” he says. “Believe it or not, I actually anticipated the weather to be worse. I came from Luxembourg and it was even more wet than this country. On top of that there is simply lovely people here.” He has met plenty of them in their homes already; one way to connect to a nation.

Feature

Fostering

Entrepreneurial Spirit For more than a decade, the David Manley Awards have provided financial and mentoring support for emerging entrepreneurs – Dean Van Nguyen outlines the good work done by the initiative and profiles the 2014 winners.

S

ince their establishment in 2003, the David Manley Awards have provided almost a1 million in cash and mentoring prizes to assist promising entrepreneurs operating in the arts, business and social sectors.

Currently sponsored by Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Ulster Bank – and with consultancy services provided by a range of firms including Deloitte, Content Kings, Grainne Byrne PR and Mason Hayes & Curran – this year’s top honour was awarded to The Little Museum of Dublin.

Founded by Trevor White and Simon O’Connor, who serve as the museum’s director and curator respectively, and housed in a beautiful Georgian townhouse right on St Stephen’s Green, the museum was launched in 2011 with the aim of telling the story of 20th century Dublin. Since then the group has gone from strength to strength, and having recently been recognised by the committee charged with choosing this year’s David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award recipient, they will now enjoy a prize package worth over a100,000 (a10,000 in cash and the rest in mentoring services) that will hopefully foster their continuing growth.

“All nine finalists were very impressive but the judging panel felt that Trevor and Simon resonated the most with the late David Manley – the man whom these awards honour,” said Dr Chris Horn, CEO of Iona Technologies and Chair of the Jury Panel upon the announcement. “Like him, they are passionate, full of energy and positivity, are great lateral thinkers and highly engaging. They have a very

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John McGuire, Chairman of the David Manley Awards Committee.

clear vision and roadmap of how they intend to fulfil it.”

David Manley’s legacy Having worked to recognise entrepreneurial spirit and support their development for over a decade now, the awards have proved a fitting tribute for David Manley himself, who before his untimely death in 2002 did so much to nurture a number of small-to-medium sized businesses. An accountant and business strategy consultant by trade, he served as Dublin Chamber president from 2000 to 2001 and was known around the city as a true leader and creative thinker in the business, social and arts arenas. The chairman of the awards committee is John McGuire, who knew Manley personally having first come across him in the late eighties.

“I met him through the Marketing Institute of Ireland and in the following years he was chairman of the institute which was very interesting from the point of view that he was an accountant by training,” remembers McGuire. “He

{David] was an entrepreneur himself and was blessed with a most creative mind. He was a mentor extraordinaire, he took a great interest in anyone with a half decent business idea and there was nobody more generous with their time to give advice and to help someone out.”

started off his career in Stokes Kennedy Crowley which later became KPMG Right from the outset he was an unusual creature in that being an accountant by training he worked his way along [and became] recognised by the marketing professionals as the person suitable to lead the Marketing Institute. It was there I met him when we were on the council together. We got to know each other quite well.”

Having spent a few years with Stokes Kennedy Crowley after graduating from Trinity College in 1974, Manley became involved with the establishment of accountancy practice Newmarket Partnership – developed into Newmarket Consulting in 1995 – where he provided audit and tax services to SMEs working in sectors such as arts, culture, sport and tourism. In addition, “he acted as a consultant to a lot of medium sized companies and did a lot of mentoring,” says McGuire.

Feature

On top of his work with Newmarket, Manley was a member of many business organisations and professional bodies.

He was, among other things, an early member and Chairman of the Business to Arts organisation, sat on the board of the National Concert Hall, and served as CEO for the Not For Profit Business Association.

“He was very interested in social entrepreneurship and he was a member of lots of different Tom Lyons, Irish Times (Media Award Winner); Trevor White, Sarah Costigan and Simon O’Connor (centre) of the Little Museum of associations,” says Dublin (Arts Category and Overall Winner); Fiona McKeon, BizWorld Ireland (Social Category Winner); James Sherlock, Ar-nua Tec (Business Category Winner); Brian Casey, Ulster Bank, Eugene Bent, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

McGuire. “At any sort of evening business meeting or dinner that was on The Little Museum of Dublin scooped doesn’t work. That’s just the way in town, he’d be at it networking and the main prize this year, also recognised life is. But we have had a number of mixing with people.” were Anthony Glynn and James Sherlock outstanding successes.”

Manley sadly passed away at just of Ar-Nua Tec, who won in the Emerging But while the nature of the awards 50 years of age. Having left such a Business Entrepreneur category, and means some companies must be strong and lasting legacy, his friends Fiona McKeon of Bizworld Ireland in the chosen over others, the whole event is and family were determined to honour Emerging Social Entrepreneur category. less about prizes and competition, and his contribution to small and medium They each receive p1,000 in cash and more about remembering a man whose enterprise, and they did so by launching mentoring. According to McGuire, the contribution to Dublin business deserves the first ever David Manley Awards. Initial process is incredibly thorough, and to be remembered while simultaneously fundraising came via many generous includes a separate subcommittee continuing his legacy. members of the business community deciding on each category and a panel of From John McGuire’s speech that that Manley had worked with.“We raised external judges who are asked to score opened this year’s awards: “[David] was just short of a100,000 at the time each application to bring a degree of an entrepreneur himself and was blessed which was the seed capital to set up the independence to the system. In addition, with a most creative mind. He was a awards,” says McGuire. With an annual The David Manley Media Award was mentor extraordinaire, he took a great burn of a20,000 to a30,000, the group added in 2010 to recognise journalists interest in anyone with a half decent has worked to maintain the awards for their outstanding coverage of business idea and there was nobody through various follow up fundraising entrepreneurship. This year’s winner was more generous with their time to give activities and sponsorship.

Tom Lyons of The Irish Times. advice and to help someone out. He was an accountant and a marketer and if you think they were at opposite ends of the The Awards No Guarantees business spectrum, they were very easily While there can only be one overall While winning the award certainly brought together by David. He was a fixer winner, nominees for the David Manley provides business with a leg up, it’s not of problems, a brilliant networker – he Emerging Entrepreneur Award are divided necessarily a sure fire route to success. knew everybody. But most importantly into three categories: the arts sector, McGuire is conscious of this but insists of all he was a great family man, a social enterprise, and general business, he is proud of every group who have with three finalists being chosen in been recognised by the jury. “We accept, wonderful husband and an adoring Dad. each section. A winner is selected in and it’s part of what the awards are “The awards were established each category, which narrows it down about, that not all the winners are going to honour David’s vision of and to three final nominees, and from there to go on and be successful because contribution to entrepreneurship in an overall winner is chosen. So while sometimes a particular business idea Ireland during his short life.”

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SME Feature

Get Disability

Making sure your business is accessible to people with disabilities is not straightforward. Angela O’Connor’s new company, Train Ability, can help, as Dean Van Nguyen discovered.

A

ccording to the 2011 census, almost 600,000 people in Ireland have a disability. This equates to 13 per cent of the population and represents a near 4 per cent rise since 2006. With these conditions varying in nature – from physical impairments and chronic illness, to intellectual disabilities and psychological disorders – some businesses struggle to implement the necessary measures to ensure their staff and facilities can cater for everyone.

Train Ability was established in 2013 by Angela O’Connor to help such companies become more, as she describes, “disability aware”. Through her new business, O’Connor offers support, advice and professional training to firms seeking to improve their accessibility. “There was a huge need in the private sector for an introduction of real initiatives to train staff with disability awareness for their customer care,” says O’Connor.

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©iStock/thinkstock.com

FriendLy

I had two choices: I could either keep thinking about starting the business or I could actually give it a go.”

SME Feature

In the public sector they have a set percentage of people they have to employ with a disability but there’s never been an onus on private sector companies to even look at this area. So a huge part of the work that I’m doing is really getting the conversation going.”

Angela O’Connor, SME Train Ability.

“The whole issue of disability awareness is still relatively new in Ireland. Unfortunately there is still a stigma attached to even the word ‘disability’. A lot of the work that I do is just breaking down those barriers and helping companies look at how the majority of people with disabilities are living amongst us.”

Methodology Prior to founding Train Ability, O’Connor spent a decade working as a primary school teacher in special education, before going on to lecture in colleges on disability awareness.

Starting her new business, however, was something she’d been mulling over for some time. “I had two choices: I could either keep thinking about starting the business or I could actually give it a go. I took the plunge and the first six months were probably the biggest learning curve of my life.”

Among the services O’Connor provides is specialist training for staff who may lack confidence when serving people with disabilities or who may have negative pre-conceived ideas. Rather than relying on lectures or sermons to illustrate her points, she favours a hands on approach, and tries to bring “a bit of fun” to her workshops.

“I previously worked with the National Council for the Blind where I learned how to help customers with a visual impairment,” says O’Connor on one particular method she utilises. “I try various training methods such as using blindfolds to help staff learn how to manage someone in a shop and give them an idea of what it’s actually like to be in their store or hotel with a visual impairment.”

While O’Connor hopes such methods can improve a business’s disability awareness, she finds much of her work involves the simple task of getting management to open their eyes. “When I arrived at a hotel I worked at recently, somebody had put two big plant pots outside, making it impossible to get a wheelchair or even a double buggy through the doors. A lot of the work I do is simply getting people to take a step back and look. You may say that your premises are accessible, but have you actually tried going around them with a wheelchair or double buggy? Have you looked at accessibility from your customer’s point of view?”

Access to Church

Few would argue that it’s good ethical practise for owners to ensure their business is fully equipped to deal with clients who have disabilities. But considering as much as 13 per cent of their potential revenue could be at stake, it makes good business sense too. According to O’Connor, when considering the importance of their company’s disability awareness, management need to look at their bottom line. “Your customer is your customer,” she affirms. “If you’re making yourself more accessible, you’re also making yourself more appealing to our aging population in providing the correct facilities for mobility.”

One company which recently reviewed their accessibility, with the help of O’Connor through a series of interactive workshops, is the Church Venue on Jervis Street. These workshops caused minimal disruption to the company as they lasted just three hours and gave both staff and management the opportunity to consider how accessible they were and whether or not they were marketing it online.

Speaking after the training course, General Manager Darren Moore highlighted the benefits of participating in the programme: “Apart from being a great team building course and helping my staff improve their awareness, I would like to think it has made The Church a more inclusive dining experience. With the fact that this is a 90 per cent funded course, I would highly recommend it to other businesses in the hospitality sector.”

Employment opportunities As businesses improve their facilities to better meet the needs of their disabled customers, the opportunities available for disabled people seeking to join the workforce also improve.

This is something that O’Connor is clearly passionate about.

“A lot of the companies I’ve worked with are starting to come around to the idea,” she beams. “I have had two companies look at employing someone with a disability. Additionally, there are lots of agencies around the country who are encouraging companies in the private sector to employ staff with a disability.

There are so many different grants available for this and it is just a case of getting the conversation going with companies in the private sector. In the public sector they have a set percentage of people they have to employ with a disability but there’s never been an onus on private sector companies to even look at this area. So a huge part of the work that I’m doing is really getting the conversation going.”

Facilitating that conversation is something O’Connor has spent her entire career working towards. Operating at the core of improving Ireland’s disability awareness, she’s buoyed by the improvements she’s seen, but admits more efforts must be made.

“I do think there is some way to go but I think we’re getting there,” she says with confidence. “The new generation are beginning to talk, whereas the older generation didn’t; it was hushed away. I think the conversation is getting there.”

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SME Feature

Messages in

Motion

As Treehouse Republic approaches its fourth year in business, Producer Ciara Byrne talks to Valerie Jordan about creating meaningful communication through the medium of animation and motion picture.

W

hen you hear the word ‘animation’ what springs to mind? Is it a cartoon or comic or computer game? It’s unlikely the first medium that comes to the mind for conveying effective business messages.

Enter Treehouse Republic, a creative media agency based in Dublin that produces innovative and original content for broadcast media, advertising and corporate clients through animation, live action, visual effects and motion graphics.

Treehouse Republic was founded by Kevin McBride, Dale Robinson and Stephen Fagan in 2010. All three had animation backgrounds and had spent a number of years freelancing before setting-up their own studio. “They got to the stage where they were fed-up being freelance and they wanted to set up their own studio with a core group of people,” says Producer Ciara Byrne. “So the three started taking on small jobs. Over the last number of years they’ve progressed and the company has grown and developed.

“At the moment we have twelve permanent staff with studio capacity for about 40 when we have particularly big projects on.”

Organic Growth The company naturally developed three distinct areas of business. The television and broadcast department focuses on

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Still from the video by Treehouse Republic for Golden Pages.

more traditional animated programming, including Brendan Grace’s Bottler series for TV3 and the character Dotzy for RTÉ’s Republic of Telly, as well as motion graphics for RTÉ’s Irish Pictorial Weekly. The interactive department focuses on e-learning, gaming and app development and the commercial department produces creative advertising, broadcast and corporate video projects for clients.

“The growth of the company into the three departments was quite organic. We only started the commercial department in the last year when we saw the need for a distinct area,” says Byrne.

“Within departments there is an awful lot of crossover – if we have a client in the commercial department and we know someone in another area is particularly good with the style the client is interested in we’ll get them in. We share the talents that are here.”

Business Interests In its first year the commercial department has worked with a number of commercial clients, including Gala, Rehab Bingo and Fundraising Ireland. Bus Éireann commissioned them to create a broadcast ad with a feel-good factor when the warm weather hit the country last summer. They worked under the extreme time pressure of one week to get the ad to air lest the hot-spell ended suddenly.

SME Feature

More recently, Treehouse Republic worked with Golden Pages to relaunch the iconic ‘Let your fingers do the walking’ campaign.

They created two ads for television and media: a teaser ad that went out initially and a fulllength ad which followed.

Byrne is keen to point out that they’re not looking to work with a particular type or size of client. Treehouse Republic have a versatile team that work closely with their individual clients to come up with something that is unique and appropriate to them. “When we first meet clients we’ll brainstorm to find out what they’re looking for,” explains Byrne. “Then we go away, come up with some ideas and a look and we’ll send them our ideas and visions on moodboards.

We’ll go back and forth like this Still from the video by Treehouse Republic for Intuition Advantage. until we’re both happy.

“Once the client is happy with the look we’ll produce an Byrne. “We create animatic or storyboard of every scene. If they want any of the videos tailored to wording or a graphic changed we can change it and then we our clients’ brand, get in to the animation. Once again it’s back and forth to the message and story, so that they have client until we’re both absolutely happy with everything.” something unique to them. We sit Investing in Video Video has been heralded as an important communication down with each medium for some years now and Byrne is passionate about of our clients and how video can help businesses connect with customers. “For a really work with lot of companies it’s important to have a video, especially on them to figure their website,” she says. “The way consumers work has changed: out what it is they They won’t spend time scrolling through pages and pages of want to say and text, they want instant gratification. They want to know who only then do we you are and what you do as quickly as possible. A video of 60- look at pricing options.

90 seconds of video can entice clients without boring them.

“In the vast Sketch of Ciara Byrne, Producer, Treehouse Republic.

“Statistics show it. 97 per cent of consumers go online to find what they need and approximately 64 per cent are more likely majority of cases, to take action if they look at a video. You’ve engaged with them. clients will have a budget in mind and we will be able to show them samples of our previous work to give them an idea of Video is amazing – short and sweet is what people want.”

Video can be used by companies both on their website what they can expect for their investment, but just because a and throughout their social media channels, for corporate client may have a little more or a little less to spend, doesn’t presentations or in the more traditional mediums of advertising mean their story is any less or more important. So we will work and broadcasting. Hosting a video on a website also helps with them within their budget and give them something great back for what they can afford to spend.” boost the site’s SEO ranking.

In a world where we now want information as quickly and Although many businesses now recognise a good corporate video as an asset, others still see it as an expense. “Getting conveniently as possible, animation and motion graphics is an people to believe in video is still the biggest challenge for us,” ideal option for getting a clear and concise message across. And Byrne reveals. “Some businesses think they have a website and one that might just help a company stand out from the crowd. they have everything they need on it. But video is the way “We want to give clients something different,” says Clarke. forward, it’s the best way for businesses to reach the consumers “We create a video that’s bespoke for them - that creates their message in a way that is unique to them.” they want.”

Treehouse Republic are happy to work with clients of varying budgets. “It’s hard to put an average cost on a video,” says For more information visit: treehouserepublic.com

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Feature

Patricia McGovern of DFMG Solicitors looks at how reform to Irish copyright law can help strike a balance between those businesses which require copyright protection and those which need a flexible body of law to allow innovation.

©

Modernising

I

n May 2011 the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, established the Copyright Review Committee with terms of reference which included examining current copyright legislation and identifying barriers to innovation, identifying solutions to any such barriers, examining the US ‘fair use’ doctrine to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish context and finally to make representations for changes to EU Directives if necessary to eliminate barriers to innovation.

The Committee, of which I was a member, submitted its report to the Minister in October 2013.

As well as containing a number of recommendations, the report also contained draft legislation, which, if implemented, will bring much needed reform to Irish copyright law.

The report tried (and hopefully succeeded) in its recommendations to strike a balance between those who require the protection of copyright law to go about their business and those who need a flexible body of law to allow innovation. The following are some of the recommendations.

The report recommended that legislation provide for a range of graduated civil remedies so that at one end of the scale unintentional breaches would not be met with significant awards of damages but at the other end of the scale serious breaches could give rise to restitutionary, exemplary or punitive damages. The report also

opyright

recommended the establishment of specialist intellectual property (not just copyright) jurisdictions in the District and Circuit Courts.

Two new exceptions to copyright were recommended in the report, namely the innovation exception and the fair use exception. The innovation exception provides that it will not be an infringement of copyright to derive an original work which either substantially differs from or substantially transforms an initial work. The innovative work must not conflict with the normal exploitation of the initial work or unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner of the rights in the initial work.

The proposed fair use exception is substantially different from the US doctrine of the same name. The ‘Irish version’ will be very limited. The report recommends that existing exceptions to copyright are to be regarded as examples of fair use. Therefore a court, in considering whether acts constitute fair use, would first consider if the act comes within any of the other exceptions, for example, fair dealing.

If not, then up to eight factors will need to be considered, which include the amount and substantiality of the portion of the work used, whether the legitimate interests of the owner of the rights are unreasonably prejudiced and whether the use is accompanied by sufficient acknowledgement.

Finally, the report recommended that linking should not infringe copyright

Patricia McGovern, DFMG Solicitors.

except where the entity providing the link knew or ought to have been aware that it connects with an infringing copy. It was also recommended that reproducing a very small snippet (no more than either 160 characters or 2.5 per cent of the work subject to a cap of 40 words) of the linked work reasonably adjacent to the link would not be an infringement of copyright.

Patricia McGovern was one of the three members of the Copyright Review Committee (with Dr. Eoin O’Dell of Trinity College Dublin and Prof. Steve Hedley of University College Cork). Ms McGovern is Chairman and Head of the Intellectual Property Department at DFMG Solicitors in Ballsbridge, Dublin. She advises on all aspects of intellectual property law, both contentious and non-contentious including advising on copyright. She is Chairman of the Intellectual Property Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland.

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Feature

Top Tips to Presenting Effectively Laura Fitzsimons, Training and Presenting Coach, provides simple and easy tips on how to improve every presentation you deliver.

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here are many experts in their fields but not all are good at presenting their ‘expert’ knowledge and information. Learning how to present effectively is key to engaging your audience so they are willing to listen to your message. Here are five tips to ensure you don’t fall into the usual traps and which will help you present more effectively.

of speaking in a monotone or you’ll bore your audience. The pace of your presentation should be slow enough for people to pick up all your sentences.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

Your presentation is for your audience, not you! Find out their knowledge level on the subject you are presenting on, know who the key players are and yes, give them extra eye contact and attention. Know your audience’s roles and responsibilities, their experience and background. All this information will help ensure you present content that is relevant to them.

Anticipate the questions your audience may ask and either be ready with the answers or incorporate them into your presentation. Think of what challenges or objections they may raise and be ready to deal with them too.

Scope out your presentation You need to be clear on your objective, in other words – what are you trying to achieve as a result of giving your presentation? For example let’s say you want to talk about social media – then ‘social media’ is your subject. However, your objective in talking about social media is ‘to influence and persuade your audience to use social media to promote their businesses’. If you just scope out your presentation from your subject, then you could end up presenting too

Laura Fitzsimons

much and irrelevant information. If you scope out your presentation from objective, then your message will be clearer, relevant and concise.

Be aware of your non-verbal communication The Mebrabian Communication Study is still valid; 55 per cent of communication is relayed through our body language.

So that’s our posture – which should be erect and comfortable. Our eye contact – three seconds is optimal per person, any longer and your audience member will start to feel intimidated. Our facial expressions play a part too – it always helps to smile at the beginning of your presentation even if it is a serious topic.

Lastly, our gestures which help relay, underscore and emphasise our message, should be natural and fluid.

38 per cent of our communication comes through our voice – our intonation – this should be melodic and interesting to listen to - beware

Know the venue and room set-up Look for pillars and check if they are blocking the view of the stage or lectern from the seats located close to them.

If there are round tables in the room, make sure the seats are positioned in a u-shape with a gap at the top towards the lectern – there is nothing worse than making your audience either strain their necks to see you or have them move their chairs 180º.

By applying the above tips, I guarantee your presentations can only improve!

Laura Fitzsimons is a Training and Presenting Coach For further information: E-mail: laura@skillworks.ie Phone number: +353-86-814-5189 Website: www.skillworks.ie

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©iStock/thinkstock.com

Know your audience

Yes, practise does make perfect! Practise your timings – don’t run over or your audience may get anxious to leave.

Practise your links between slides – don’t say ‘and the next slide is about’. Instead use ‘which leads to my next point’.

Practise the flow of your presentation – are you logically moving from point to point or are you backtracking and saying the same things over and over again?

Practise using anecdotal information and examples that are relevant to your presentation. These guarantee higher retention and recall from your audience.

Chamber Focus Shown The Way In

San Jose

Business officials on the San Jose trade mission.

Each year, a delegation of Dublin business officials travel to San Jose in California to help enhance trade links. Gina Quin, Chief Executive of Dublin Chamber of Commerce, outlines what happened during the 2014 visit.

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F

or 27 years, Dublin has been twinned with the city of San Jose in Northern California. Slightly smaller than Dublin, San Jose has a population of one million.

The aim of the trade mission is three-fold: to open opportunities for entrepreneurs, support FDI into Ireland from Valley-based companies, and develop and enhance links. This year’s mission took place over five days in early March and was led by Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn, City Manager Owen Keegan, President of Dublin Chamber of Commerce Martin Murphy, Vice President Greg Clarke and CEO Gina Quin. The delegation included representatives from Cisco, CPL, DCU, Deloitte, The Digital Skills Academy, The

Digital Hub, GOAL, Kotinos Partners Magnet, Pitchbull.com and Sandymount Hotel, Solgari and TV3.

The first meeting of the mission was with AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), a $5 billion graphics and software company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Power is hugely important for the tech sector, and anything that reduces power usage for tech companies and products is in great demand. Minimising power usage becomes even more critical as data centres move towards picture and video processing and data mining. These efforts tie in with the idea of ‘going from cloud to fog’, that is, transitioning from mega data centres to more localised data centres.

Chamber Focus

Business officials on the San Jose trade mission.

Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisin Quinn, Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Greg Clarke, Vice-President of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

As more and more people flock to cities, companies are striving to improve quality of life for urbanites. Over half the world’s people live in cities, and as this population grows, urban services have the potential to become a $4.6 trillion industry.

How can we build the best possible urban environment for this future? This was the question which guided the briefings given by Cisco, Intel and the San Jose Chamber of Commerce.

Cisco pointed to parking as a simple example of how data can help reduce traffic congestion and improve the ease with which people move around cities.

In the average city, about 67 per cent of traffic is the result of people looking for parking. Meanwhile, about 30 per cent of parking spaces are empty at any given time. Simply providing drivers with this information could make a huge difference to the price of parking.

This in turn could generate demand and

city footfall, with a knock-on effect for businesses and consequently rates and sales taxes paid to cities.

The San Jose Chamber explained that San Jose has more patents issued, more engineers, more social media jobs, and more jobs per capita than any other US city. However, much like Dublin, these factors are creating challenges for infrastructure. Housing builds are at an alltime high and costs continue to escalate.

The result is that while it may be easy to find a job in San Jose, finding somewhere to live can be more problematic.

At Intel, the focus switched to the ‘Internet of Things’, and how it can help deliver acceptable city living into the future. The Dublin delegation heard how the quadruple helix of government, academia, industry and citizens will in future drive sustainable intelligence systems, figuring out how to run cities more efficiently. The Intel Collaborative Research Institute (ICRI) is currently

using London and Dublin as test beds for numerous projects related to energy use. Most notably, they are trialling gameification, allowing citizens to interact with data and information in a fun way.

A visit to Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto included a tour of the HP labs centre. Dublin Chamber President and Managing Director of HP Ireland Martin Murphy helped explain ‘HAVEn’, the big data platform from HP, which facilitates analytics and processing of massive data banks for productive outputs.

The delegation also heard about the exciting Prospect Silicon Valley project, an initiative funded by the City of San Jose to accelerate clean and smart technology. A $12 million campus, due to open in 2015, will offer innovators a lab environment and full access to the data platforms of San Jose City. The project has a network of partners across the globe with DCU in Dublin as the Irish partner.

The trip was a master class in what is new in the world of technology, smart cities, the Internet of Things, power efficiency and minimisation, and a critical building block in the strong relationship between Silicon Valley and Dublin.

This area is full of opportunity for Irish companies and entrepreneurs, strongly supported by the Dublin City / San Jose twinning. We look forward to more members joining us on future delegations.

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ChaMber Focus

Member Profiles Accountable

Bizworld Ireland

BNY Mellon

Accountable works with clients to make financial accounts easy and straightforward, through the provision of confidential and flexible accountancy services. Companies requiring assistance with tax and company returns, financial accounts or revenue audit should contact David at Accountable.

Education is traditionally seen as equipping young people with the skills and knowledge to complete a CV in order to get a job. However, Bizworld Ireland is sowing the seeds in children to consider creating employment, taking in the CV and giving out the jobs!

Bizworld Ireland is a group of educators and business people who have come together to inspire and empower children aged 10-13 to learn about money management, critical thinking and enterprise in a fun and creative way. Bizworld Ireland sows the seeds so children can grow their future.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments.

Biomarin With five products on the market and a fully integrated multinational organisation in place, BioMarin is providing innovative therapeutics to patients with serious unmet medical needs.

Member Focus CAB 2000: The Corporate Choice for Travel in Dublin.

From humble beginnings, Cab 2000 is now one of Dublinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest taxi service providers boasting over 450 cars at this present day. With corporate and hotel clientele accounting for 80 per cent of our business, we keep our focus on high standards. We are currently accredited with both internationally recognised standards such as the ISO9001 for quality management and Ohsas 18001 for health and safety.

Cab 2000 was the first company in Dublin to introduce GPS technology in taxis. We recently took another look at our business to see how we could improve our services. In January 2014 we once again made substantial investment making Cab 2000 the leaders in the marketplace. We provide the very latest technology and services available. Most notably we have introduced chip and pin terminals in all our vehicles. This allows clients to utilise the service in-car, providing transparency for all clients. The terminal will issue official receipt after each transaction, all major credit cards accepted including American Express. Cab 2000 is the only major taxi service provider in the Republic to provide such services across their entire fleet.

Another feature includes our state-of-the-art smartphone application which allows clients to book a taxi with two clicks. Unlike other apps on the market â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;MY CAB2000â&#x20AC;&#x2122; app is home-grown, providing pre-booking and credit card facilities. Many of our current clients have complemented us on our new Phantom telephone system. This intelligent software will recognise your most regular pick up points, allowing you to book cars instantly without the need to speak to an operator. This is a must at busy periods and now accounts for handling over 25 per cent of all calls received.

We at Cab 2000 pride ourselves in delivering customer satisfaction to each and every client. Our professional, highly trained customer service team is on hand 24 hours to assist your every need. All our drivers are courteous, professional and wear full uniform at all times. All our drivers are continually assessed on an ongoing basis and must adhere to company policy which is outlined in the Cab 2000 driver manual.

Cab 2000 provide excellent account packages for prospective clients and specialise in meet and greet services at Dublin Airport. We are an Irish-owned company ready to do business. Please contact us and allow us the opportunity to tender for your business.

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Cab 2000: Corporate Taxi Co Cab 2000 are an elite taxi service provider to corporate clientele.

They pride themselves on customer satisfaction, focusing on quality, reliability, efficacy and safety.

CRB Credit Risk Brokers is a new specialist credit insurance broker set up to cover the island of Ireland mainly. It was founded to offer a personal service by two wellknown names in credit insurance, Michael Raleigh and John Simpson.

Eaton Industries Ireland Eaton is a global technology company with headquarters in Ireland since its acquisition of Cooper Industries in late 2012. Eaton is a leader in power management solutions that makes electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power operate more efficiently, effectively, safely and sustainably.

Eventbrite Eventbrite is a self-service online ticketing platform that millions of people all over the world have already used to create events, sell tickets and manage registrations for events of all types and sizes. As of January 2014, Eventbrite had processed over 157 million tickets for organisers, totalling nearly a1.5 billion in gross ticket sales in 179 countries.

Nearly 60,000 organisers around the

Chamber Focus

Member Insight Big Data People and the Telephone Charles Spinosa from Vision Consulting says why you should make that call.

The appeal of today’s big data analysis turns managers into sordid private investigators sifting through customers’ past purchases instead of their rubbish. It is an ethos. We are supposed to be smart enough to identify the behavioural patterns of our customers, competitors, colleagues and suppliers, and then predict their next actions. Like Steve Jobs, we believe our customers, competitors, colleagues and so forth, will not know what they want until we show it to them. There is something to this belief. The capacity to predict what someone will do next can lead to building ‘gee-whiz’ customer journeys, with exciting moments of truth – ‘Will my banker call at exactly 2pm as promised?’ – and now businesses are racing to develop these journeys. They substitute for trusting relationships. The ethos, however, kills the basic entrepreneurial disposition. A team at a recruitment company wanted to make an offer to manage HR services along with supplying workers. How much could the company charge? The team trawled the internet looking for data. When the consultant said, “just call a few customers and ask what they would pay”, the team members looked appalled. They would look like fools.

An entrepreneur would just call. Call your raving fans; they think about you and your products. Call when you are stymied in the middle of a meeting. Call when you think a client insight will start a creative flow. Call when you are in a bind. Just call! Business is about building relationships, not data collections. Hubert L. Dreyfus, a philosopher at the University of California and critic of the internet, says that if we had invented the telephone after email, we would be amazed: You can have long-distance simultaneous communication that builds relationships and delivers information when needed.

Astonishing! Who are you calling now?

and demonstrable impact on existing clients’ arrears portfolios.

Immigrant Council of Ireland With over twelve years’ experience, the Immigrant Council of Ireland is the leading voice in securing improved rights and protections which benefit Irish citizens, migrants and their families.

They offer support, advice and information, while also achieving positive change through strategic legal action and engagement with lawmakers to make immigration laws fit for purpose.

Irish Telecom Irish Telecom is a corporate Internet Service Provider offering high-speed Internet, IP, LAN and WAN services. Their nationwide coverage keeps businesses connected through a combination of fibre optic and wireless technologies.

Whether it is time to review or upgrade from an existing internet provider, Irish Telecom offers companies the most cost effective solution in the market without compromising performance.

Kantar Media world use Eventbrite each month to manage all types of events from small classes, book signings and networking gatherings, to concerts, festivals and conventions for thousands of attendees.

receive all postal mail digitally, straight to your smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. They link up with the organisations that send you postal mail and they send a digital version instead.

Future Analytics Consulting

Higgins Life & Pensions

Future Analytics Consulting is a dynamic SME consultancy specialising in spatial planning at national, regional and local level, as well as urban and rural planning, development and economic research, based at 23 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Green Light Events Green Light Events specialises in global corporate group travel in the fields of destination management, professional conference management, event management and venue finding solutions.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the company also has an office in Shannon.

GreenLetterBox.com GreenLetterBox.com allows you to

Formed in 1985, Higgins Life & Pensions is an independent provider of life assurance, serious illness cover, income protection cover, retirement planning, lump sum investment. They offer individuals and companies comprehensive advice and a broad range of products.

HML HML is the leading third-party financial administration company in Ireland and the UK, with more than 25 years’ experience. They have serviced Irish lenders’ portfolios since 2005, providing best-in-class loan administration, arrears management and resolution services to effectively manage their portfolios.

During this time they have built up a deep understanding of Ireland’s financial environment and have made a positive

Kantar Media Ireland was founded in 2002 under the local independent brand of MediaMarket. They are committed to delivering fast, accurate and efficient media monitoring services to the Irish market.

Kennedy Wilson Kennedy Wilson is a global real estate investment and services firm with a success proven legacy. Our team is forward-thinking, entrepreneurial and relationship-oriented, and our results reflect the quality and strength of our people. Our vision is to maximise opportunities and continually create value for our clients, partners and shareholders.

Kylemore Services Group (KSG) Limited Kylemore Services Group (KSG) provides catering and restaurant services to a range of clients in the healthcare, education, at work and travel sectors.

KSG serves 10 million customers annually operating from 120 trading locations and employing 1,000 staff.

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ChaMber Focus

New Members Accountable David Lafferty, Business Owner david@accountable.ie

AnaBio Technologies Ltd www.anabio.ie Sinead Doherty sinead.doherty@anabio.ie Jens Bleiel, Partner jens.bleiel@anabio.ie

Anglo Printers www.angloprinters.ie Brendan Burke, Account Executive brendan@angloprinters.ie

Aware www.aware.ie Amo Sayed, Business Development Manager amo.sayed@aware.ie

Big Wave Media Training Ltd

Liz Cogavin, Executive Assistant to Joe Duffy liz.cogavin@bnymellon.com Tara Coleman, Executive Assistant to Rachel Turner tara.coleman@bnymellon.com Juliann Coogan, Executive Assistant to Carol Andrews & Mark Mannion juliann.coogan@bnymellon.com Lisa McGovern, PA to Paula Kelleher lisa.mcgovern@bnymellon.com

www.bnymellon.com Janet Wright, MD, Head of Financial Reporting UK and Offshore Funds and Management Company Janet.Wright@bnymellon.com

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Diabetes Ireland

Digital Hub Development Agency

Cab 2000 - Corporate Taxi Co

www.thedigitalhub.com Edel Flynn, CEO EFlynn@thedigitalhub.com

www.dublincab2000.ie Laura Warren, Sales Director laurawarren@dublincab2000.ie

Vinnie Quinn. MD vinnie.quinn@camba.tv Lisa Craddock lisa.craddock@camba.tv www.camba.tv

BNY Mellon

www.creditriskbrokers.com John Cogavin, Director john.cogavin@creditriskbrokers.com

www.businessinchina.ie Shumin Cao, Director shumin@businessinchina.ie

BioMarin

www.bizworldireland.ie Fiona McKeon, CEO fiona.mkeon@bizworldireland.ie

CRB

Business in China

CallPageboy Contact Centre

Bizworld Ireland

www.conflictskills.ie Anne Brennan, Director anne@conflictskills.ie

www.diabetes.ie Gary Brady, Brand Partnership & Events Manager gary.brady@diabetes.ie

www.bigwavemediatraining.ie Suzanne Collins suzanne@bigwavemediatraining.ie Liam Hurrell, Director liam@bigwavemediatraining.ie

www.bmrn.com David Caharel, Commercial Operations DCaharel@bmrn.com

Conflict Skills

www.callpageboy.ie Robbie Fitzpatrick, Head of Sales RobbieFitzpatrick@callpageboy.ie

Cambatv.com

Canduco www.canduco.com Gary Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keefe, Managing Director gary@canduco.com

Capa International Education www.capa.org/dublin Susanne Bach, Resident Director sbach@capa.org

Dublin Dispute Resolution Centre (DDRC) www.dublinarbitration.ie Naoimh McNamee, Manager info@dublinarbitration.com

Eaton Industries Ireland www.eaton.com/Eaton/index Darren Byrka, Finance Manager DarrenByrka@Eaton.com Declan Dullaghan, Manager Indirect DeclanDullaghan@Eaton.com Diarmaid Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor, Senior IT Specialist DiarmaidOConnor@Eaton.com Kelly Claire clarekelly@eaton.com Lisa Benson, Senior Executive Assistant & Office Manager LisaBenson@Eaton.com Steven Bartlett, Corporate Operations StevenDBartlett@Eaton.com Thomas Moran, Senior Vice President and Secretary thomasemoran@eaton.com

Chamber Focus

Embassy of Mexico

GreenLetterBox.com

Insurance Ireland

Carlos Garcia de Alba, Ambassador cdealba@embamex.ie

www.greenletterbox.com Nick Keegan, CEO nick@greenletterbox.com Marcin Jernas, CTO marcin@greenletterbox.com

www.insuranceireland.eu Jane O’Driscoll, PR & Communications Manager jane.odriscoll@insuranceireland.eu Kevin Thompson, CEO kevin.thompson@insuranceireland.eu Laura McLellan, Director of Member Services laura.mclellan@insuranceireland.eu Paul MacDonnell, Head of EU Regulatory Affairs & Planning paul.macdonnell@insuranceireland.eu Ciara Whooley, Secretary to Kevin Thompson Ciara.Whooley@insuranceireland.eu

European Consumer Centre Ireland (ECC Ireland) www.eccireland.ie Ciaran Dyar, Director Ciaran.dyar@emergeeducation.com Grace Duffy, Press and Communications Officer gduffy@eccireland.ie Ann Neville, Director aneville@eccireland.ie

Eventbrite www.eventbrite.ie Marino Fresch, Country Manager Ireland marino@eventbrite.com Sebastian Boppert irelandpr@eventbrite.com

Evolution Consulting www.evolutionconsulting.ie Irial O’Farrell, Business Owner irial.ofarrell@evolutionconsulting.ie

F6Tech www.f6tech.com Denis O’Connor, Chairman/Director denisoconnor@f6tech.com Michelle O’Connor, Sales Manager michelleoconnor@f6tech.com

Future Analytics Consulting Limited www.futureanalytics.ie Michael O’Leary, Director Michael.OLeary@futureanalytics.ie Stephen Purcell, Director stephen.purcell@futureanalytics.ie William Hynes, Director william.hynes@futureanalytics.ie

GCS Recruitment Specialists www.gcsltd.com Tim Dunne, Business Manager tim.dunne@gcsltd.ie

Green Light Events www.greenlightevents.ie Noelle Murray noelle@greenlightevents.ie Roisin Callaghan, Director roisin@greenlightevents.ie

Hailstorm Commerce www.hailstorm.ie Dave Curry, Sales Director dave@hailstorm.ie John Barry, Business Development Director john.barry@hailstorm.ie

Invest Northern Higgins Life & Pensions Ireland www.higginslife.ie

HML www.hml.ie Andrew Jones, CEO andrew.jones@hml.co.uk Nigel Turner, CCO nigel.turner@hml.co.uk Paul Fryers, Commercial Director paul.fryers@hml.co.uk Phillippa Smith, Sales Delivery Manager phillippa.smith@hml.ie

HRM Recruit www.hrmrecruit.com Rachel O’Sullivan, Marketing Leader rachel.osullivan@hrmrecruit.com

IG www.ig.com Declan Bourke, Managing Director declan.bourke@ig.com Fearghal Power, Relationship Manager fearghal.power@ig.com David Lynch, Premium Client Manager david.lynch@ig.com

Immigrant Council of Ireland www.immigrantcouncil.ie Saorlaith NiBhroin, Immigrant Council of Ireland Saorlaith@immigrantcouncil.ie

www.investni.com Geraldine Moloney, Administrator geraldine.moloney@investni.com Terri O’Donnell, Business Development Director Terri.Odonnell@investni.com Elaine Thompson, Business Development Manager elaine.thompson@investni.com Jenny Young, Director Ireland jenny.young@investni.com

Irish Maritime Exhibitions John O’Reilly, Managing Director joreilly@shackletonexhibition.com

Irish Telecom www.irishtelecom.com Adele Plant, Business Development Manager adele@irishtelecom.com

Isolate Productions www.isolateproductions.ie Sarah Staunton, Director sarah@isolateproductions.ie

Joe Duffy Motor Group (Audi North Dublin) www.joeduffy.ie Duncan McAlpin, Head of Customer Experience & Relations dmcalpin@audinorthdublin.ie Vincent Murphy, Head of Business vmurphy@audinorthdublin.ie

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ChaMber Focus

Kantar Media www.kantarmedia.com Donal Greene, Business Development Executive donal.greene@kantarmedia.com

LeBruin Private www.lebruinprivate.com Oonagh Reynolds, Head of Marketing OonaghReynolds@lebruinprivate.com Tom Browne, Co-founder and Managing Director tombrowne@lebruinprivate.com Cathal FitzGerald, Co-founder and Director cathalfitzgerald@lebruinprivate.com

KBC Fund Management Limited www.kbcfm.com Aidan Cronin, Director aidan.cronin@kbcfm.com Alan McQuaid, Head of Facilities Management alan.mcquaid@kbcfm.com Koenraad Van de Borne, Managing Director koenraad.vandeborne@kbcfm.com

Kennedy Wilson www.kennedywilson.com Jason Byers, Senior Acquisition Manager jbyers@kennedywilson.eu Peter Collins, Managing Director pcollins@kennedywilson.eu

KSG (Kylemore Services Group) Limited www.ksg.ie Neelie Murray, Business Development Administrator Neelie.Murray@ksg.ie

Magpie AV Ltd www.magpieav.ie Barry Redmond, Managing Director info@magpieav.ie

MasterCard Europe www.mastercard.com Gary Lyons, Chief Innovation Officer gary_Lyons@mastercard.com

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McGee Pharma International www.mcgeepharma.com Ann McGee, Managing Director ann.mcgee@McGeepharma.com Jane Lyons, Operations Manager jane.lyons@mcgeepharma.com Victor Cowper victor.cowper@McGeepharma.com

Miller87 www.miller87.ie David O’Carroll, Co Owner david@miller87.ie Jarlath Moloney, Business Owner jarlath@miller87.ie

NASC Connect www.nasc.ie Clyde Hutchinson c.hutchinson@nasc.ie

Neotechmedical www.neotechmedical.com Thomas Shortt, Executive Director thomasshortt@galmoy.com

O’Brien Finucane Architects Ruairi Finucane, Director r.finucane@obfa.ie

O’Connor and Kelly

David Hamill, Principal Consultant David.Hamill@PACONSULTING.COM Frank O’Donnell, ead of PA Consulting Ireland frank.odonnell@paconsulting.com Johnny Lynch, Head of Private Sector Consulting johnny.lynch@paconsulting.com Paula O’Gorman, Office Manager paulao’gorman@paconsulting.com Pierre-Henri Baviera, Head of Enterprise & Innovation pierre-henri.baviera@paconsulting.com

Padraig McKeon Independent Business and Communications Advisor padraig@mckeonireland.com

Park Retail Limited (Love2shop) www.love2shop.ie Robert O’Donnell, National Account Manager robert.odonnell@love2shop.ie

Peak Indicators www.peakindicators.com Tony Cassidy, Managing Director tony.cassidy@peakindicators.com

Peter McVerry Trust www.pmvtrust.ie Pat Doyle, CEO pdoyle@pmvtrust.ie

www.oconnorandkelly.ie Aidan O’Connor, Director aidan@oconnorandkelly.ie Jim Kelly, Director jim@oconnorandkelly.ie

Plexus Consultancy Ltd

O’Leary PR

Press Play Presentations

www.olearypr.ie Sarah Gallagher sarahgallagher@olearypr.ie

Oroville Economic Alliance Aileen Foley, EMEA Representative aileen@CAbusinessoasis.org PA Consulting Group www.paconsulting.com

www.plexusconsultancy.net Kieran Walkin, Managing Director kieran.walkin@plexusoft.com

www.pressplaypresentations.com Lottie Hearn, Web-Cam Coach and Presenter Trainer lottie@pressplaypresentations.com

RealTime Recruitment Limited www.real.ie Declan McNiff, Managing Director declan.mcniff@real.ie

Chamber Focus

Red Flag Consulting

Stability Financial

www.redflagconsulting.com Garret Doyle, COO garret.doyle@thisisredflag.com Mandy Scott, Accountant mandy.scott@thisisredflag.com

www.stabilityfinancial.ie Terry Pierce, CEO terry@stabilityfinancial.ie

Red Tree Recruitment www.redtree.ie Eamonn O’Reilly, MD eamonn@redtree.ie Noreen O’Keefe, Director noreen@redtree.ie Mark Middleton, Head of Banking/Financial Services mark.middleton@redtree.ie Stacey Lennon, Marketing & Sales Support stacey@redtree.ie

Superior Express www.trans.ie Brian Cleary, Managing Director brian@superiorexpress.ie

Taina Consulting Services Ltd Taina Horgan, Managing Director taina@tainaconsulting.com

Telecity Group Ireland

Redstorm Marketing

www.telecitygroup.ie Sarah McCluskey, Marketing Manager sarah.mccluskey@telecity.com

www.redstorm.ie Carol O’Kelly, CEO carol@redstorm.ie

The Children’s Medical & Research Foundation

Scanomat www.scanomat-ireland.com Corrado Morelli Carroll, Director corrado.morellicarroll@scanomatireland.com

SGK Sharon Kearns, Managing Director sharonkearns@sgk.ie www.sgkaccountancyservices.ie

Sheehan & Company www.sheehanandco.ie Caroline Brennan, Office Manager cbrennan@sheehanandco.ie Mel Ferguson fergusonm@sheehanandco.ie David Colbert colbertd@sheehanandco.ie

Shelbourne College Dublin www.scdublin.com Zahid Shakil, CEO zshakil@scdublin.com

www.cmrf.org Johann Fox, Corporate Fundraising Manager JFox@cmrf.org

The Dawson Group www.thedawson.ie Emilie Quinn, Marketing Manager emilieq@thedawson.ie

The Little Museum of Dublin www.littlemuseum.ie Sarah Costigan, Director of Development sarah@littlemuseum.ie

Therapie Clinic www.therapieclinic.com Phillip McGlade, Managing Director phillipmc@therapieclinic.com

Thomas International

Thornton’s Restaurant www.thorntonsrestaurant.com Lorna Lambert, Sales & Marketing Manager sales@thorntonsrestaurant.com

Trustee Decisions James Kavanagh, MD james.kavanagh@trusteedecisions.com www.trusteedecisions.com

Uniphar Plc www.uniphar.ie Gerard Rabette, Chief Executive Officer grabbette@uniphar.ie Tim Dolphin, CFO tdolphin@uniphar.ie Liam Quinn, Operations Director lquinn@uniphar.ie Padraic Dempsey, Managing Director Allphar Services pdempsey@uniphar.ie Michelle Bonner, Human Resources Manager mbonner@uniphar.ie

Whatswhat.ie www.whatswhat.ie Barbara Gordon, Managing Director info@whatswhat.ie

World Vision Ireland www.worldvision.ie Aidan Marshall aidan_marshall@wvi.org Sheila Garry, Programme Director sheila_garry@wvi.org

XL Group www.xlgroup.com Regina O’Connor, Senior Vice President Government Affairs and Corporate Compliance regina.oconnor@xlgroup.com

www.thomasinternational.net Daire Lynam, Director daire@thomas.ie Elaine Davitt, Business Development Manager elaine@thomas.ie

47 |

DUBLIN INSPIRES: BUSINESS CONFIDENCE Google, Intel, IBM, Emirates, Microsoft, Accenture, Oracle, KPMG and Teradata are some of the most dynamic giants of today’s business world.

this professionalism has won us no less than 25 industry awards.

They all share a relentless commitment to innovation, service and excellence. So it’s not surprising that they’ve hosted events somewhere with an identical attitude: The Convention Centre Dublin.

Located in Dublin’s rejuvenated docklands – home to many of the capital’s most progressive companies – The CCD has 18,500 hotel rooms nearby, Dublin Airport only 15 minutes away and one of Europe’s most vibrant cities on its doorstep.

The CCD distils all the forward-thinking attitudes that now make Dublin so attractive to world-class businesses like Facebook, Kellogg’s, Pfizer plus many others. And since we opened our doors in 2010,

So if you want a world-class venue for your next event, visit www.theccd.ie today. You’ll soon see why we’ve inspired such confidence in some very inspiring companies.

Contact our Sales Team on: T: +353 1 856 0000 E: sales@theccd.ie W: www.theccd.ie

Events Gallery

Dublin Chamber Annual General Meeting 2014

Kindly Sponsored By

AGM guest speaker, Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group.

Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, with Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Liam Kavanagh, Immediate Past President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, with Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Liam McLoughlin, Chief Executive, Retail Ireland Bank of Ireland.

Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

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Events Gallery

Dublin Chamber of Commerce Dinner in Camera

Kindly Sponsored By

Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce with Gabriel D’Arcy, CEO, Bord na Mona.

Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Gabriel D’Arcy, CEO, Bord na Mona; Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce; Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Brendan Jennings, Managing Partner, Deloitte.

Gabriel D’Arcy, CEO, Bord na Mona.

Over 60 guests attended the first Dinner in Camera event of 2014.

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Events Gallery

Dublin Chamber of Commerceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Green Economy Forum Paul Hallam, PM Group.

Marie Donnelly, European Commission.

Matt Kennedy, SEAI, Paul Hallam, PM Group, Marie Donnelly, European Commission, Mark Sweeney, Enterprise Ireland, and Patrick Walsh, Cellulac.

Paul Hallam, PM Group, with Marie Donnelly from the European Commission and Aebhric McGibney, Director of Public and International Affairs, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Paul Hallam, PM Group, with Marie Donnelly from the European Commission.

51 |

Events Gallery

Leaders Series Events

Kindly Sponsored By

Leaders Series with John Herlihy, Vice President, SMB Sales and Head of Google Ireland John Herlihy, Vice President, SMB Sales and Head of Google Ireland.

John Herlihy, Vice President, SMB Sales and Head of Google Ireland, Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Alan Murphy, Managing Partner, Eversheds.

Leaders Series with Aongus Hegarty, President, Dell EMEA Aongus Hegarty, President, Dell EMEA.

Eugene Bent, Director Communications and Retention, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, with Aongus Hegarty, President, Dell EMEA.

Leaders Series with Danuta Gray, Non-Executive Director, Paddy Power

Danuta Gray, Non-Executive Director at Paddy Power.

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Alan Murphy, Managing Partner, Eversheds, Danuta Gray, Non-Executive Director at Paddy Power, and Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Events Gallery

Smart Series

Kindly Sponsored By

Regina Moran, CEO, Fujitsu.

Dr Joseph Reger, CTO, International Business, Fujitsu, Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, David Sneddon, Director, Large Client Sales, Germany, Switzerland & Austria Google, Regina Moran, CEO, Fujitsu, and Johnny Ryan, Head of Innovation, The Irish Times.

Dr Joseph Reger, CTO, International Business, Fujitsu

Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Dr Joseph Reger, CTO, International Business, Fujitsu, and Regina Moran, CEO, Fujitsu.

Johnny Ryan, Head of Innovation, The Irish Times, David Sneddon, Director, Large Client Sales, Germany, Switzerland & Austria Google, and Dr Joseph Reger, CTO, International Business, Fujitsu.

Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

53 |

Events Gallery

International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day 2014:

Kindly Sponsored By

Celebration, Connection and Inspiration for Women in Business

Members of Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women.

Joanne Hession, founder, QED Training; Karen Brown, Karora Cosmetics; Louise Phelan, Paypal, Vice President of Global Operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Anne Sheehan, Enterprise Director, Vodafone.

A Business Approach to Tackling Youth Unemployment

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton.

| 54

Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD, Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and President of the of Dublin Chamber of Commerce Martin Murphy with participants from the Ballymun Pilot Youth Guarantee Scheme Project Johnny Friel and Megan Clerkin.

Events Gallery

Post Troika - What Next for Ireland? Conference Catherine Day, Secretary General, European Commission, Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, and Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Martin Murphy, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, with event speakers, John McCarthy, Chief Economist, Department of Finance, John McHale, Chair, Fiscal Advisory Council, and Stephen Donnelly, Independent TD.

Chinese New Year Lunch

Ms Linda Lai, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union.

More than 150 guests attended the lunch, which is organised by the Ireland Hong Kong Business Forum and Dublin Chamber of Commerce

55 |

Business Tourism

Business Travellers: Fáilte go hÉireann > Business tourism is a high value segment of the tourism market which warrants investment from the tourism trade. Business Ireland spoke to Fáilte Ireland’s Paul Mockler and Jennifer Churchward about attracting and welcoming the business traveller.

M

eeting, incentive, conference and exhibition, or MICE, tourism is big business for Ireland.

Business tourism supports 19,000 jobs in Ireland and is worth about a529 million to the economy. It’s also an extremely high yield sector of the trade with the average business tourist worth twice that of the leisure visitor.

“On average each conference visitor is worth a1,400 per stay to the economy,” advises Paul Mockler, Corporate and Incentives Manager with Fáilte Ireland. “Business tourists bring a lot of financial clout but they’re also very much loved by our trade. There’s a couple of reasons – they come year round in months like November, January and February when the leisure tourists aren’t as plentiful. They also stay Sunday to Thursday nights whereas leisure tourism tends to be concentrated between Thursday to Sunday. We collaborate with this sector because it is a driver of business.”

“In 2012 business tourism grew 13 per cent jump from 2011. While the figures aren’t yet out for 2013 we anticipate a very strong year. We’re hoping or predicting double digit growth based on the strength of the corporate initiatives built in to The Gathering,” adds Mockler.

Infrastructure and Access In terms of attracting MICE tourism the Irish product is good. For corporate meetings and conferencing, venues of scale such as the Convention Centre Dublin are required. Four and five star hotels with good bed stock are essential and direct access is also

| 56

The Convention Centre, Dublin.

preferred by business travellers. For these reasons most of this sector is still concentrated in the capital where the infrastructure is best suited to hosting large numbers of delegates. However, the existing infrastructure does pose certain limitations in terms of the capacity of events that can be hosted.

One of Fáilte Ireland’s aims is to assess and attract business that is appropriate to Ireland.

“Ireland is well placed,” says Mockler. “The product is excellent, access continues to improve and the infrastructure is strong. We need to ensure we stay ahead of the curve and work with our trade to support them and

put the opportunities in place. There are a lot of external factors but in the short term business tourism growth is looking very strong.

“However, one of the problems this industry faces is the four-star product. The stock of four-star hotels, particularly in the city centre within walking distance of the major venues is one of the biggest issues we have.

I think we have to push some of the business on to Dublin’s doorstep and utilise the DART, Luas and transport infrastructure that we have,” he adds.

“As we move forward we should be pushing our infrastructure and pushing the product in to new cities.

We need to ensure we stay ahead of the curve and work with our trade to support them and put the opportunities in place. There are a lot of external factors but in the short term business tourism growth is looking very strong.

Business Tourism

Mockler also raises the issue of access to the country. “For business tourism it needs to be direct,” he states.

“Access to Dublin from our core markets – North America, Great Britain, France, Germany and Belgium – is very good.

Access to the west coast from North America is excellent as well.

Aer Lingus’ new direct route from San Francisco is very exciting, especially from the corporate incentive side, because it opens up Silicon Valley and California.”

Fáilte Ireland have just launched The Wild Atlantic Way project to rejuvenate Irish tourism and to repackage the western seaboard for international and domestic visitors. It stretches from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork and takes in more than 500 visitor attractions, 120 golf courses, 53 Blue Flag beaches and 50 loop walks.

“Shannon Airport would be a strong gateway for high yield US incentive visitors who tend to come and stay on the west coast. We have the five-star castle product, we’ve excellent golf links and we have the high octane adventure product. One of our projects now is to rebrand and refresh this product under the banner of the Wild Atlantic Way,” says Mockler.

Ireland’s Ambassadors In 2014 Fáilte Ireland are supporting 118 conferences worth a74 million to the Irish economy through their Conference Ambassador programme.

International Conference Manager with Fáilte Ireland Jennifer Churchward explains how the programme offers support in getting a conference to Ireland. “We support the ambassadors through the bid process, help them in

hosting a site visit to Ireland, show them around locations, hotels, possible venues for Gala dinners and the additional leisure activites they could undertake.

“We also provide financial support.

Typically per delegate we provide a monetary amount and we provide monetary assistance in producing marketing material. It’s not huge money but generally it contributes to securing the event. If a conference is won a delegate has a a1,400 value on staying, eating, drinking and visiting the city. In terms of direct return it’s over 140 times the return and that support is typically only paid out once the event is secured for Ireland. Plus there is a high potential of repeat leisure visits.”

So what type of conferences has Ireland succeeded in hosting? “Some of them are quite obscure and unless you were within the association you might not be aware of them but they bring in significant numbers of delegates,” says Churchward. “We’ve brought in everything from a floral artists’ show to a juggling convention, to medical conferences.”

“To build on the success of the Conference Ambassador programme we’re about to launch a Corporate Ambassador programme,” advises

Mockler. “We hope we can use the learnings to target major corporations with satellite offices in Ireland and identify people of influence to become ambassadors of Ireland to ensure their next corporate meeting comes here.

“If there are people who feel they may be able to exert their influence and bring their next corporate meeting to Ireland we’d love to hear from them.

A key message from the Corporate Ambassador Programme is we’re looking to work with groups who look to invest in to Ireland and by bringing a corporate meeting to Ireland they’re inadvertently creating jobs which really helps the economy. I think it’s time we tried to get a greater focus on that,” says Mockler.

By becoming a Conference Ambassador, Fáilte Ireland’s Business Tourism Unit can help with bid documentation preparation and presentation, site inspection hosting and marketing support.

If you would like to find out more about Fáilte Ireland’s supports please contact Neasa on 01-8847169 or Azeta on 018847189 or visit www.meetinireland.com/ conferenceambassador

57 |

Aviva Stadium Where Ireland Does Business

Make Your Next Event Stand Out A purpose built conference and event venue which marries a spectacular event space with an award winning team to deliver outstanding results At Aviva Stadium we plan corporate meetings, car launches, exhibitions, award ceremonies and association conferences.

Guests have dined amongst the newest vehicles in our Atrium and collected prizes on the impressive stage sets in the 1872 suite. Clients have created supermarket aisles in our President’s Suite and raced Formula 1 cars in the tunnel.

Aviva Stadium’s Meeting and Events team create memorable corporate events with the added wow factor.

The versatility and scale of the venue means we can accommodate an extensive range of events within our 50 event spaces.

Call our sales team today and let Aviva Stadium make your next event stand out.

Phone: 01-238 2388 Email: sales@avivastadiumevents.ie www.avivastadiumevents.ie

I just want to say a big thank you to all of the staff at the Aviva Stadium for helping us ensure that the Intouch event last week ran brilliantly. The facilities were perfect for what we were trying to do coupled ZLWK HI¿ FLHQW DQ IULHQGO\ VHUYLFH 7KH GHOHJDWHV commented particularly on the excellent quality of the food served over the three days so please pass our thanks to the catering team.

Ciaran Budds, Diageo

An enormous thank you to the team at Aviva Stadium for your huge efforts in making our Gathering for Action Conference such a success.

Your help with planning; at the walk through stage and throughout the execution of a very complex two day programme was invaluable.

Yve O’Driscoll British Irish Chamber of Commerce

Business Tourism > Aviva Stadium

Made-to-Measure Meetings > Aviva Stadium is a stand-out facility for a meeting or conference that is unique and memorable. Business Ireland takes a look at the the venue’s past and future events and what the dedicated team can offer corporate clients.

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o far 2014 has been a busy year for the Aviva Stadium Meetings and Events team. The team has already hosted over 50 meetings and events with some of the world’s largest companies. “From daily corporate boardroom meetings to training conferences and industry colleagues, we have had excellent feedback all round,” says Sales and Marketing Manager, Julie O’ Sullivan.

In February Aviva welcomed back the Irish Cancer Society to launch Daffodil Day 2014, one of a number of clients who return year after year due to the excellent service and award winning team at the venue. In March Aviva Stadium hosted the DMX Dublin conference for the second year running, which is the largest digital media conference in the country. Compass Group Ireland, who manage the meetings and events at Aviva Stadium, also worked with the Irish Hospitality Institute on the National Business Management Game 2014. Upcoming events include the National Seafood Conference, The Irish Fundraising Awards 2014 and the National Cancer Conference.

Accommodating Clients The Aviva Stadium Meetings and Events team has utilised their flexible conference spaces in a variety of innovative ways to suit clients – creating supermarket aisles in the President’s Suite, racing Formula 1 cars in the underground tunnel and building incredible floating stage sets in the 1872 Suite. The inspired and unique use of space at the stadium offers clients something really different for a memorable meeting or event.

“At Aviva Stadium our meetings and events team pride ourselves on our consistent high standards in providing one of the most unique venues and event experiences for our clients. Compass Group Ireland’s Sports Leisure and Hospitality team, led by Martina Flood, cater for all events at the venue from sports fixtures, concerts, conferences and events as well as management of the non-match day sales and marketing functions. Our team with Compass at the Aviva Stadium have made the venue an expert in all conference and event requirements,” says O’Sullivan.

With over 50 spaces spread over three levels, the bright open areas throughout the stadium inspire events.

The emotion and heritage of the venue adds to the atmosphere and stadium tours for attendees can be arranged.

The stadium also boasts high-end technological infrastructure and complimentary WiFi throughout.

Aviva Stadium has just launched Christmas party packages for 2014

starting at a59 per person. “The team is committed to offering clients something different for their Christmas party whether it’s a large party of over 1,000 or a more intimate party of 100. Our team is with you every step of the way, working alongside our chef to create bespoke menus for your party based on individual budgets and requirements. We have incorporated a range of innovative event catering ideas into client events such as live chef demonstrations, interactive chef’s tables, dessert buffets, pitch cakes and even personalised ice sculptures,” advises O’Sullivan.

“For décor we work with some of the country’s best event suppliers to create memorable Christmas events to suit your taste, theme and budget.”

For June to August 2014, Aviva Stadium is also offering fantastic deals for summer parties, corporate family days and BBQ’s. For more information contact Julie O’Sullivan, Sales and Marketing Manager on 01- 238 2388 or visit www.avivastadiumevents.ie

At Aviva Stadium our meetings and events team pride ourselves on our consistent high standards in providing one of the most unique venues and event experiences for our clients.”

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Business Tourism > DoubleTree by Hilton

Creating A Rewarding Experience > Extensive renovations and carefully considered added extras make a stay at The DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin – Burlington Road a thoroughly rewarding experience for the business or leisure traveller.

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he DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin – Burlington Road has just completed an extensive a16 million refurbishment of all public areas, guest rooms and suites, conference facilities, and exterior, as well as a completely-renovated executive lounge. This iconic Dublin hotel, formerly The Burlington Hotel and located just minutes from the city centre, now offers discerning business and leisure travellers the perfect blend of luxury accommodations combined with contemporary amenities, modern facilities and convenient location.

Catering to business travellers and event professionals, the hotel boasts more than 30,000 square feet of innovative event space – ranging from intimate meeting rooms to conference event space accommodating groups up to 1,400. Features of the space include a dynamic conference centre, a 13,000 square foot ballroom, and a separate business floor with 18 technology-savvy meeting rooms, a fully equipped business centre and multiple function rooms.

The dedicated meeting floor, comprising of 18 naturally lit meeting rooms with built-in A/V technology and complimentary WiFi, provides an abundance of sophisticated meeting space and private breakout areas for large conferences held in the nearby Fitzwilliam Hall. A comfortable and spacious lobby allows executives the opportunity to entertain colleagues with ease and the floor’s on-call business centre manager will assist with all requests and event execution, assuring a seamless experience for executives and attendees.

A stand-out amenity at The DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin –

Business Centre Lobby

Meeting Room

Burlington Road is the new Executive Lounge. The Lounge serves continental breakfast daily, afternoon refreshments and snacks, light bites in the evening and is available for diamond members, executive floor guests, upgraded GOLD members, or can be purchased as an added amenity. The Lounge’s oversized tufted leather chairs, custom dark wood bar and modern décor provide a perfectly relaxing escape from the day. A special feature is the ‘Pour your Own Guinness Tap’, where a continually rolling video demonstration teaches guests the six steps behind the art of pouring the perfect pint of Guinness. From the glass, to the tilt, to the settle, The Lounge’s Guinness tap is not located behind the bar, but available for guests to perfect their pour at their leisure.

As part of the enhancement programme, the hotel updated all 501 guest rooms and suites. Each room now features air-conditioning, multi-

channel TV, a coffee maker, hairdryer, trouser press, iron and ironing board, and Crabtree & Evelyn’s Citron Honey & Coriander bath products. Business travellers will enjoy the comforts of home with plush beds, oversized work desks and complimentary WiFi. At any time of day, guests can visit the hotel’s complimentary 24-hour fitness centre, and evenings offer the opportunity to enjoy dining at the hotel’s Sussex Restaurant or have a pint or cocktail at B Bar, one of Dublin’s most popular venues.

In addition to the new hotel renovations, the DoubleTree’s signature philosophy, ‘Create A Rewarding Experience’ for our guests (CARE), is evident in all aspects of the new property. From being greeted by a warm cookie upon arrival, indulging in citron, honey and coriander by Crabtree & Evelyn bath products, to experiencing world-class concierge city-guides, DoubleTree’s brand amenities provide an enjoyable visit away from home.

Catering to business travellers and event professionals, the hotel boasts more than 30,000 square feet of innovative event space.”

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Irish Exports

Experts in Exports > B usiness Ireland speaks to the newly appointed CEO of the Irish Exporters Association, Simon McKeever, about connectivity, competitiveness and being the voice of the Irish exporting industry.

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One goal is increasing the numbers of companies that are exporting.

That is about raising competence and confidence within them.

The Challenges

Another role of the IEA is encouraging business to explore the option of entering foreign markets.

“One goal is increasing the numbers of companies that are exporting.

That is about raising competence and confidence within them,” says McKeever. “Our other goal is increasing access overseas – whether that’s getting first time exporters in to new markets or getting existing exporters in to a wider range of markets.

“We have an initiative called the Asia Trade Forum which is designed to give practical trade support to companies that are looking to export in to China, Japan, India, Korea and the ASEAN area. We’re about to launch a Latin America Trade Forum to support companies looking at that region and in April we are launching an initiative with Enterprise Ireland and ICAM to help companies in to Eastern Europe,” advises McKeever.

The new exporting chief has a busy year ahead in a sector which the economy will continue to rely heavily on.

The association will continue to act as the representative body for companies wishing to realise their true potential in foreign markets. As McKeever says, “The IEA is an organisation that is the voice and connecting force of Irish exporters and the source of practical help and knowledge.”

robust export industry is vital to a small island nation like Ireland.

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) is a national membership organisation which represents companies that are exporting or looking to export. It provides practical support and education for exporters and works to identify new markets and business potential.

Simon McKeever has been in his new role as chief executive of the IEA since last November. McKeever is no stranger to trade and global markets, having held senior executive roles in such areas, as well as in business consultancy and more recently in the development of trade policy across Ireland and UK as director of trade and investment at the British Embassy in Dublin. He outlines the main challenges facing the Irish exporting industry: “We and the Government need to do everything we can to make sure we have the right environment for export in the country,” he says. “One issue is access to finance. We need to make sure that Irish companies, particularly SMEs that are exporting or looking to export, get proper access to business finance.”

Secondly, McKeever highlights the importance of Ireland maintaining its competitiveness. “Competitiveness revolves around two areas,” he says.

“One is the cost of wages and the other is the cost of doing business.

There is a lot of talk by the unions about it being time for a wage increase.

From our point of view and from our members’ point of view it certainly isn’t.

The general cost of doing business – whether it’s refuse costs or broadband costs or rents – is increasing. We

Simon McKeever, CEO of the Irish Exporters Association.

need to remain competitive, otherwise those cost increases get fed in to the price of our products making us less competitive overseas.”

Identifying New Opportunities As the global economy veers towards recovery, the role of the IEA in enabling Irish exporters to identify opportunities is a crucial one. McKeever sees the expansion of Dublin Port as an opportunity for increased access. “An expanded port will help get more and more goods on and off the island of Ireland. Dublin in many ways is a feeder port; currently a lot of the traffic goes through Dublin Port to the UK and bigger international ports, so if we can get bigger ships to come in here then we might get some direct routes – transatlantic and further afield.”

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Irish Exports > Investec

Support Specialists > Aisling Dodgson, Head of Treasury, Investec Ireland, looks at the year ahead for exporters and explains how Investec is helping support the treasury needs of the Irish corporate.

Could you tell us about Investec’s partnership with the Irish Exporters Association on its annual Top 250 Exporters in Ireland and Northern Ireland report?

For the past three years Investec has supported the Top 250 Exporters Report, an established and insightful ranking of Ireland’s and Northern Ireland’s exporting companies. The report provides an interesting insight into the Irish indigenous companies, the regions and sectors that are performing strongly.

Exporting is vital to the success of most Irish companies because Ireland has a relatively small domestic market compared to the UK, Europe and the wider world. Irish companies and their products have performed exceptionally overseas. Fortunately, Ireland has a fantastic reputation for quality products and fair dealings and Irish companies are pushing at a pretty open door when it comes to foreign trade. The Irish Exporters Association and its involvement with Government have been instrumental in leading the way for Irish companies abroad.

Investec has always supported entrepreneurs and their companies, many of whom are exporters in all stages of their life cycle, from venture capital finance, treasury and banking services, corporate finance and capital markets activity. Our Wealth and Investment division supports entrepreneurs in their personal capacity.

How has the performance of exporters been thus far in 2014 and what is your outlook for the rest of the year?

We have had relatively little by way of hard data around the performance

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Fortunately, Ireland has a fantastic reputation for quality products and fair dealings and Irish companies are pushing at a pretty open door when it comes to foreign trade. The Irish Exporters Association and its involvement with Government have been instrumental in leading the way for Irish companies abroad.”

Aisling Dodgson, Head of Treasury, Investec.

of the export sector since the start of 2014. The CSO has up to now only released merchandise trade statistics for January. These show a welcome 4 per cent year-on-year (y/y) increase in exports to a7.0 billion, led by a 6 per cent y/y rise in exports of chemicals and related products and a 9 per cent jump in exports of food and live animals.

We will have to wait until the end of June before we get the first firm data on services exports.

There are other releases that provide us with a more timely read on how Irish exporters are faring. The new export orders component of both the Investec Manufacturing and Services PMI reports for Ireland is a very good example of this, as the monthly data covers a wide swathe of the economy.

The new export orders component of the Manufacturing PMI was in positive

territory for a ninth successive month in March, while the same component of the Services PMI has consistently been in positive territory since August 2011.

The PMIs also provide us with clues as to the outlook for the rest of the year. In the releases published since the start of 2014, respondents have repeatedly cited the US and UK as areas of strength. This chiefly reflects the impressive pace of economic recovery underway in both markets which, broadly speaking, we expect to see sustained throughout the rest of this year and beyond.

Taken together, the US and UK were the destinations for 37 per cent of Irish merchandise exports in 2013, the same proportion that went to the euro zone. While the single currency area exited recession in Q2 of 2013, its growth rates have been decidedly more

pedestrian than what we have seen in the so-called ‘Anglo’ economies.

Given the lopsided growth profile across our three main trading partners, which collectively account for threequarters of Irish merchandise exports, it may be prudent for exporters to focus their sales efforts away from the euro zone and towards the US, UK and also towards emerging markets. While such a move may yield benefits in terms of providing greater exposure to stronger markets, it exposes firms to potential exchange rate risks. Thus, the adoption of robust strategies to mitigate these risks is something that we in Investec would strongly advise firms to consider.

Ireland, as a small open economy, is highly leveraged to benefit from improving global trends, and through the adoption of appropriate strategies for each of these markets, our firms can take full advantage of the opportunities that the recovery will bring.

What will be the strong performing sectors?

The recovery across Ireland’s key trading partners will be of direct benefit to many sectors of the economy. As disposable incomes rise, this should underpin increased demand for food and drink exports along with Ireland’s tourism sector. Specialist manufacturers, such as in the technology and machinery sectors, are very well placed to benefit from higher investment as private and public budgets start to loosen across our main export markets. Ireland has become a global hub for professional services, particularly in areas such as insurance, fund accounting and administration, aircraft leasing and software. As the world economy picks up, these segments are very well placed to benefit from this – with indigenous firms and multinationals alike sharing in this upturn.

What treasury services does Investec offer to its corporate clients and how does it help support the treasury needs of the Irish corporate?

Investec’s treasury business has grown significantly in the last five years.

As more and more Irish exporting companies expand abroad, they are seeking to work closely with specialist

©iStock/thinkstock.com

Irish Exports > Investec

treasury partners who understand both their business and the challenges they face in actively managing their treasury requirements. Investec provides specialist treasury solutions to some of the strongest performing sectors including the food and drinks sector, the IT sector, chemicals and medical device, aircraft and many more.

We are a unique specialist team in the Irish market offering services including foreign exchange, cash management, interest rate and commodity hedging and structuring. Clients are serviced by both a dedicated relationship manager and a trading manager who in turn are supported by an experienced back office support team. This support is vital in ensuring accuracy in both the execution and delivery of payments whilst our online support system enables clients to confirm and track their trades accurately.

Investec was delighted to be voted best banking provider by Irish exporting companies last year.

Could you tell me about Investec’s corporate finance team in Dublin and how companies are benefiting from its service?

Our corporate finance division is a leading corporate advisor in Ireland for debt refinancing and restructuring, mergers, disposals and acquisitions and equity capital markets. In 2013, Investec was proud to possess a wide range of Irish corporate clients including Arnotts, BWG, Topaz, Suretank, Mainstream,

SIAC, storyful, ATA and Aer Lingus.

In addition, through our wider UK franchise, we support Irish corporates internationally such as Greencore, whom we act as broker to, and Kentz, who we advised recently on the USD $425 million acquisition of Valerus in the US. Investec, through our international network, has teams in Dublin, London, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Sydney and, through our affiliation with Raymond James, throughout the US. Investec in Ireland, a member of the Investec Group, is a leading specialist bank and wealth and investment manager and is based in Harcourt Street, Dublin 2. The Investec Group is a leading international, specialist-banking group, with headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. The group was founded in 1974 and currently has approximately 8,000 employees with offices in 14 countries. Investec acquired NCB in 2012. Investec’s main activities in Ireland include wealth management (private client and institutional), bonds, corporate finance and venture capital investment. Investec plc is quoted on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges with a market capitalisation of circa £4.2bn as of March 31st 2013. Investec’s three principal areas of business worldwide are specialist banking, wealth and investment and asset management. For more information, visit www.investec.ie

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Companies Bill > Eversheds

What’s the Big Idea? > S ean Ryan, Partner at Eversheds, explains to Business Ireland some key points of the Irish Companies Bill which is expected to be enacted this year.

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ater this year, the Irish Companies Bill 2012, the largest substantive bill in the history of the State, is expected to be enacted. So, to repeat a line from Alan Partridge, ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ Well, the ‘Big Idea’ is to consolidate all existing company acts, stretching over a 50-year period, into one single act.

While this article isn’t intended to explain the Bill in detail it does summarise some key points you should be familiar with.

In Ireland, approximately 90 per cent of companies are private companies limited by shares. The Bill, in making the new model company a private company limited by shares (CLS), recognises the vital role a CLS plays in promoting business in Ireland. Parts 1–15 of the Bill set out the law governing the CLS. Parts 16–25 deal with other company types (including public companies and guarantee companies).

A CLS will now have a single constitution and will have the same legal capacity as a natural person.

This will allow it unlimited capacity to carry on any business or activity. If you wish to vary this, you will need to use an alternative company, called a Designated Activity Company.

While a CLS need have only one director, when it is limited to one, that sole person may not also act as secretary. Directors’ duties are now set out in the Bill and this should assist in making the law on this clearer.

In addition, directors of a company meeting certain financial thresholds will be required to prepare an annual director’s compliance statement confirming that certain matters have been dealt with or explaining why they

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In Ireland, approximately 90 per cent of companies are private companies limited by shares.

The Bill, in making the new model company a private company limited by shares (CLS), recognises the vital role a CLS plays in promoting business in Ireland.”

Sean Ryan, Partner at Eversheds.

have not. A new concept of ‘registered persons’, a list (kept at the Companies Registration Office) of those who can bind the company, is also proposed.

A new Summary Approval Process will allow a CLS to carry out certain restricted activities if validated by means of a director’s declaration and a shareholder’s resolution (including financial assistance and capital reductions). And, for the first time under Irish law, the merger of Irish companies will be permitted. Previously, a merger would only have been possible under Irish law if there was a crossborder element.

Offences will fall into four categories.

Category 4 offences will be summary in nature and punishable by a Class A fine (not exceeding a5,000), Category

1 offences, being the most serious, will carry a maximum fine of a500,000 with a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years on indictment.

The Bill provides for an 18 month transition period, after which time if no action is taken to re-register your company, it will automatically be deemed to be a CLS. Your company will then have a constitution comprising its existing memorandum, but excluding its objects clause and its existing articles of association. While the Bill itself is lengthy (it is made up of 25 parts, 1,136 pages and 17 schedules) in consolidating the relevant law in one place it will, without doubt, improve the accessibility and visibility of Irish company law for all.

Companies Bill > McCanny Solicitors

Company Changes More Than an Act > Significant changes are coming down the road for directors and secretaries under the Companies Act, writes solicitor Gerry McCanny.

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he proposed Companies Act aspires to consolidate, clarify and reform the 16 Companies Acts into one single easily referenced, albeit extensive, piece of legislation clocking in at over 1,600 sections.

Its current incarnation in the form of the Companies Bill 2012, the largest piece of legislation to be discussed by our TDs and senators, introduces a number of innovative amendments. For example take the introduction of a single document constitution eliminating the Articles and Memorandum of Association. Another significant change foresees existing private companies limited by shares, which make up approximately 90 per cent of companies registered in Ireland, being converted into either a Company Limited by Shares or a Designated Activity Company.

There are a number of notable changes to the roles assigned within the company including the company secretary. The requirement for a company to engage a secretary is copper fastened by the Bill and companies are obliged to appoint a secretary unlike their British counterparts who have not been obligated to employ a secretary for a private company since 2006. The increase in the demand for duly qualified company secretaries will no doubt sky rocket as a knock-on effect.

Company directors have the additional remit of ensuring that the company secretary has the necessary skills to enable them to procure the maintenance of required records. The Bill states that the position will be limited to those tasks that are specified by the directors and those that are imposed upon them by law. This may

The increase in the demand for duly qualified company secretaries will no doubt sky rocket as a knock-on effect.â&#x20AC;?

Gerry McCanny, founding partner of McCanny Solicitors.

in effect pre-empt liability for any wrongdoing vis-Ă -vis the company down the line and ensures that all parties concerned are aware of the seriousness of their position. The secretaries themselves must make a public declaration that states that they are aware of the existence of their statutory duty under the Act. It appears that this declaration imposes a higher standard of accountability on the company secretary. However, the Bill places an onus on the board of directors to be satisfied that their company secretary is capable of carrying out the functions that the Bill requires of them.

Despite the fact that the secretary has a somewhat observational and note-taking function in the Companies Acts (i.e. the maintenance of statutory registers and filing annual returns, financial statements with the Registrar of Companies), the role has evolved to one of corporate governance. The increased responsibility over the

past number of years along with the proposed amendments in the Bill envisage a different role that was originally imagined in the original legislation and places the individual in a position overseeing effective corporate governance and advising the board in the company. This requires the secretary to engage in a more active role in the actual operation of the company. This in turn ensures that there is increased transparency with the shareholders and communication between the parties is key.

From a cursory glance at the proposed Act it appears that the legislators envisage a more holistic approach to the role of company secretary in Irish companies in the future. Companies must satisfy themselves that the individuals or bodies that they have employed to carry out the job are well equipped to carry out the functions required of them and that they have a full understanding of what is required of them.

Gerry McCanny is founding partner of McCanny Solicitors, Pollexfen House, Wine Street, Sligo. Tel: (0) 71 9145928; Email: mccanny@eircom.net

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Residence St. Stephen’s Green Situated in the heart of Dublin’s business district, over-looking St. Stephen’s Green, Residence offer a number of excellent and valuable services to our Members.

• Unlimited access to beautiful Georgian meeting rooms • Complimentary bespoke event spaces for up to 120 people • Private dining for up to 36 guests • Reciprocal clubs include The Club at the Ivy in London, Norwood in NYC, Saint James in Paris & The River Club in Jacksonville • 40+ Member events & networking opportunities per annum • Fine dining at the award winning Restaurant FortyOne

To enquire about membership, email tadghw@residence.ie or call 01 662 0000 Open from 8am Monday to Friday and 12 noon on Saturday

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BI SURVEY > StepEx

DataCentres Ireland Is Back > DataCentres Ireland conference and exhibition is taking place again this year and this time it’s bigger and better than before. Hugh Robinson, Exhibition Director tells Business Ireland about the benefits of attending.

NEW: Critical Environments Conference It’s not just datacentres that need to keep running 24/7. Critical facilities are

©iStock/thinkstock.com

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ow in its third year, DataCentres Ireland, which combines a major international exhibition together with a world class conference, will again be held at the RDS in Dublin on 11th and 12th November 2014.

Focused on the key infrastructure issues, ideas and best practices which can make your datacentre or server room more efficient and effective, DataCentres Ireland is a unique opportunity to meet, discuss and learn from a bevy of national and international experts, academics and thought-leaders, offering insights which delegates cannot obtain anywhere else, at any price.

Key issues which will be addressed at DataCentres Ireland include: Design & Build, Energy Management & Monitoring, Cooling, Racks, Stacks and Cabling, Management & Operations, Fire Safety & Security, Resilience & Disaster Recovery, Training and much more.

This is the only domestic event where decision makers can find the products, services, information and advice that this growing and developing sector needs.

“By attending DataCentres Ireland, attendees have already profiled themselves as actively seeking products, service and solutions that can assist them and their team,” says Hugh Robinson, Exhibition Director, “which provides Exhibitors a unique opportunity to meet these prospects face-to-face, discuss their needs and forge lasting business relationships.”

the ones we all depend on, where the slightest service interruption or damage could threaten public health, safety – even lives. “This dedicated conference is designed to deliver additional attendees to the overall event and provide a forum where these important and influential groups can share ideas and information,” says Robinson.

Two New Launches Given the sheer pace of technological change, and fundamental shifts in how individual users interact with technology, businesses face real difficulties in making strategic decisions concerning their IT strategy and solutions. But at the same time as presenting new problems, technology is delivering new ways to solve them. Against this background, businesses urgently need up-to-date knowledge in order to develop robust IT plans, and make the most of the emerging opportunities.

Cloud Ireland Cloud Ireland will be Ireland’s only independent B2B cloud computing

event, where medium to large-scale users and providers can come together to discuss concerns, exchange ideas, present the latest technologies and find ways to implement them.

IT Security Ireland Security remains the single biggest obstacle to wider adoption of the cloud, especially with the growth in bring your own device (BYOD) and other remote/ mobile access. This event, dedicated to all aspects of data protection and IT security, is designed to address these concerns and offer practical solutions.

Cloud Ireland and IT Security Ireland will be held on 10th and 11th November 2014 and are co-located with DataCentres Ireland. Meet the market, network with colleagues and gain insights into the market in just two days.

For more information on all these events or to submit a paper outline for consideration in the various conference programmes, please contact Hugh Robinson +44 (0) 1 892 518877 or email hughrobinson@stepex.com

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BI SURVEY > Independent Trustee Limited

Lead Us Not Into Temptation > Elma Fox of Independent Trustee Limited tells Business Ireland about the moral and legal duties of pension trustees.

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he role of the pension scheme trustee is crucial in ensuring a pension scheme is wellrun. Trustees are responsible for the compliance, administration and investment of the scheme. While these duties are often delegated, ultimately the trustees are responsible for their pension scheme and must monitor their service providers.

One topical issue facing trustees of a pension scheme is to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest which has been described in terms of ‘lead us not into temptation’ rather than ‘deliver us from evil’.

The religious language serves to emphasise the moral and legal duties of trustees. Conflict of interest is a constant companion for pension scheme trustees, in particular if they are also employees of the sponsoring employer or members of the pension scheme or, as is often the case, both.

This can be viewed as a conflict of interest versus duty.

The recent ruling by Mr Justice Charleton on the Element Six case has provided some useful judicial comment on conflicts of interest faced by trustees.

Trustees owe to the members of the pension scheme a duty of good faith and fidelity. Trustees are not entitled to put themselves into a situation of conflict of interest – ‘lead us not into temptation’. A situation of conflict can arise where the trustees are influenced by how they themselves may profit or benefit from any decision they make.

Given the often overlapping roles of the trustees as sponsoring employers, employees’ and members’ knowledge of how to deal with these multiple roles and manage potential conflicts

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of interest needs to be regularly considered. It is better to anticipate and deal with potential conflicts of interest in advance than to later have to ‘deliver us from evil’.

During the Element Six case it was argued that conflict of interest may be overcome in three ways: • By informed consent • The natural operation of the scheme upon which the trust was founded • Through express provision in the trust deed On a practical level when trustees are considering potential conflicts of interest they should: • Consider their specific situation • Consider what is provided in the trust deed and rules • Know their duties and obligations • Know the standard of care required of them • Identify the potential conflict • Declare any interest and have it registered or minuted • Seek advice if necessary • Consider potential advisor conflicts Once a potential conflict has been identified it can be managed by: • Being permitted under the trust deed or as part of the natural operation of the scheme • Getting fully informed consent from the beneficiaries/other party • Use of confidentiality agreements • Delegation to sub-committee • Resignation of the conflicted trustee • Court approval of the trustee decision What is clear is that trustees will face potential conflicts of interest and need to have a process for dealing with them. When a pension trust is

Elma Fox, Trustee Manager of Independent Trustee Limited.

set up the sponsoring employer and members have an expectation that the trustees will act honestly and in good faith. Mr Justice Charleton summarises this trustee obligation: “Clarity of conscience and ability to think both clearly and objectively is thus required on any decision that impacts on the management of the trust for the benefit of those for whom it was set up. No matter what is said in a trust deed, this fundamental obligation can never be departed from.”

Independent Trustee Limited (ITL) is an established provider of independent professional trusteeship services to occupational pension schemes. For further information please contact Elma Fox at 01 614 8069 or email justask@ independent-trustee.com.

BI SURVEY > KPMG

Funding Your Business > The last 12 months have suggested a significant improvement in access to funding for Irish business. Paul Hollway, Head of Corporate Finance in KPMG Ireland, outlines the sources of funding available and some of the key factors to consider when seeking capital.

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Over the last 12 months we have witnessed an improvement in both the availability and terms of financing.â&#x20AC;?

ver the last number of years funding has moved up Irish business leadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; agenda from being an important item to being a critical one. We have experienced a long period of time when both the quantum and confidence in funding has been at an all-time low. These issues undermined the ability of companies to execute growth orientated strategies as companies were focused on managing balance sheet or banking covenant risk.

Over the last 12 months we have witnessed an improvement in both the availability and terms of financing. While there are certainly challenges in attracting satisfactory funding, the landscape has now improved and the level of deal flow has increased significantly.

Bank lending We are happy to report that over the past 12 months we have advised on significantly more new bank lending draw downs than at any time over the previous five years. Talking to the main players in the marketplace, it is clear that a more normal banking environment is beginning to emerge.

It is no longer unusual to have some level of competition for new lending mandates and there appears to be an appetite within the banks to meet lending targets.

The banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements on new loan applications have changed significantly from the last decade. The banks are conducting detailed analysis focused on the ability to repay and the underlying refinancing risk in advance of offering terms. The level of diligence the banks and their advisors will undertake has increased significantly and as a result

lenders can provide the bridge between the quantum of bank debt that might be available and the level of funds required.

Equity

Paul Hollway, Head of Corporate Finance in KPMG Ireland..

any business seeking new finance needs to conduct the necessary preparation in advance.

Significant consideration is also given to the appropriate funding structure and the different debt instruments that could be utilised. For example, we have noticed an increase in bank appetite for asset-backed lending such as invoice discounting. Companies seeking funding need to consider how best to position themselves to achieve the optimum outcome.

Non-bank lending There are several debt and mezzanine funds providing additional liquidity to the Irish market. These funders have some of the characteristics of both banks and private equity. While they are typically not the cheapest option, non-bank

Similar to the other sources of funding discussed, the level of equity available for Irish companies has increased significantly. This is partly down to the increasing attractiveness of Ireland as an investment destination and also as a result of the work of the NTPF (through its Ireland Strategic Investment Fund) and Enterprise Ireland. As a result we believe there is significant funding available not only for M&A but also for transactions such as the buyout of minority shareholders or cash release for founders.

In conclusion, we believe that the funding landscape has improved significantly over the last 12 months.

In our view the key to successful fundraising is to interact with the market, be properly prepared and to structure the funding proposition in an appropriate manner. While the economic recovery is still at an early stage, we are seeing good companies and good projects getting the funding required.

Paul Hollway is Head of Corporate Finance in KPMG Ireland.

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BI SURVEY > Café en Seine

Let our experience make yours > Dublin’s most famous and stylish Café Bar and venue, Café en Seine has unrivalled experience entertaining corporate groups for many years in an unmatched social setting.

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ublin’s city centre has seen much change in the past decade, but Dublin’s Dawson Street has remained the city’s most stylish street.

Café en Seine is at the epicentre of Corporate Dublin’s social scene, a venue unrivalled in scale and ambience for corporate entertainment and gatherings of a social kind.

With opulent interiors and impeccable service, the unique layout of the venue makes it the perfect choice for groups of all sizes, for any occasion. It’s spacious but intimate – a perfect fusion of pleasure, leisure and business.

Entertaining Business Located in the heart of Dublin, a stone’s throw from St Stephen’s Green, Trinity College, Leinster House and minutes walk from most of Dublin’s five-star hotels, it boasts an unrivalled location, in terms of accessibility. What’s more, public transport stops – Luas, Dart or Dublin Bus – are at the door and hailing a taxi takes just seconds.

Café en Seine has a rich history of hosting high profile guests and clients over the years, from film premiere after parties to exclusive customised events for some of Dublin’s high profile businesses and brands.

Whatever the occasion Café en Seine has a space to suit. A private lunch or dinner in the mezzanine, overlooking the expansive main floor below; an intimate group, here to loosen their tie and let off steam; a drinks reception to celebrate a success; or an exclusive ‘closed door’ event, Café en Seine can do it all.

“We are experts in creating social events. Whether it’s a stylish city centre drink stop, a lunch venue or a more formal evening event location

Whether it’s a stylish city centre drink stop, a lunch venue or a more formal evening event location or conference, Café en Seine has a choice of spaces to suit your event.” or conference, Café en Seine has a choice of spaces to suit your event.

With tailored packages available to suit private parties, product launches, fashion shows, business meetings and corporate events, plus an innate sense of what will work, we strive to ensure that everything is delivered to the highest standard - exceptional food, incomparable hospitality and a personalised experience with a smile,” says Hayley McGrath, Corporate Events Manager.

The Facts Café en Seine’s ground floor can cater for up to 600 people. The first floor incorporating the mezzanine and balcony has divisions for 30-300 people while the top floor can host up to 120 people.

Its unrivalled scale provides comfortable surrounds for exclusive hire bookings for up to 1,500 guests.

Café en Seine equally welcomes smaller groups for lunch and drinks as bespoke corporate events with a selection of cocktails, custom made canapés and platters and attentive service in a beautiful setting.

Discreet AV facilities are available throughout, from radio and cable mics to drop down projectors and screens.

Complimentary WiFi is available throughout for online leisure or business. Café en Seine also features several sound zones to ensure no music crossover or interference between its various areas.

Café en Seine offers Dublin ‘something different’ that other venues simply cannot – one venue that offers remarkable food, premium drinks, impeccable service and an atmosphere that facilitates groups to enjoy an evening of fun, all under one expansive roof.

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BI SURVEY > ESRI Ireland

Maps Make Sense for Storytelling > Joanne McLaughlin of Esri Ireland explains why maps are a great tool to help organisations enhance their customer’s online experience.

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s a marketer I love a good story. Tell the right story and you can capture attention, entertain, enlighten, and persuade.

Stories are fundamental to how we communicate as human beings. Stories are memorable and shareable — two of the most important aspects for the best online content.

How we consume information online has changed dramatically over the last couple of years, from text-heavy websites to a much richer multimedia experience. Chief Marketing Officers are always looking for innovative ways to present information and create a better user experience for their customers. And a map is a great way to tell a story.

We all enjoy the visual aspect of a map as it’s a convenient way of looking at the world in digestible chunks. Forget paper maps on the wall, today’s maps are interactive, global, mobile and extremely fast.

This year Fox TV Sports produced an interactive map of the history of the Super Bowl for their website.

It chronicled every game from a geographical sense; the coldest Super Bowl ever, the teams with the most wins and which county consumes the most beer - providing a fun way for Fox Sports fans to get engaged before the game. From a business perspective the Super Bowl map uncovered lots of potential marketing opportunities too.

If you know what county consumes the most beer, it’s probably an ideal location to advertise, promote beer related products or conduct sampling activity to a new beer drinking segment.

News stories that lend themselves to the use of maps as a story will almost always have a location element. Mashable.

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com is a leading source for online news with 34 million unique monthly visitors and 14 million social media followers.

To keep growing their massive digital audience they’ve been using maps to bring their stories to life. In the US the Joanne McLaughlin, Head of Marketing, Esri Ireland. media’s attention surrounding New Jersey Republican Gov. Their map showed that some towns Chris Christie has held steady at a fever were hit with thousands of tickets as pitch since January 8th this year. Emails a penalty for illegal parking – while between one of his staffers and another drivers in other areas could relax in appointee showed the two helped to what appeared to be ‘ticket-free zones’ orchestrate a massive four-day traffic which raised some serious questions jam in Fort Lee, N.J., allegedly as a plot and debate at government level. to exact political revenge on the Fort Lee The Dublin Chamber itself recently mayor. Mashable commissioned a story collaborated with Esri Ireland to develop map ‘11 Political Scandals Worse than an interactive map pinpointing the Chris Christie’s (So Far)’ to show 11 Chamber’s members around the greater governors in the US who have also been Dublin area. With the number of events under the spotlight and part of the biggest they hold annually, they need to choose governor scandals in recent history. the right locations and it’s an added value for their members to know their The Detail is an online site and aims proximity to each other and the services to help put investigative journalism they provide. at the core of the news industry in It’s clear that nowadays organisations Northern Ireland. More than 125,800 need to create the best online parking tickets were issued in towns experience so they can retain and cities across Northern Ireland customers and recruit new ones, be in 2011. The Detail compiled an it for sport, for reporting, for their interactive map showing the top 10 membership or even to save lives. streets, roads and car parks where Interactive maps are fast becoming a the most tickets were issued. The framework for connecting with your high ticket figures in some urban audience and for giving the online areas added weight to the claim of customer what they want – a fun, visual some business representatives that and interactive way to make sense of aggressive ticketing designed to complex information and hopefully keep improve traffic flow was in fact driving them coming back for more. customers away from their shops.

BI SURVEY > Digital Realty

Data: Advantage Ireland > The information economy is no longer an aspiration for Ireland Inc. It is happening all around us — right now. Gary Keogh, Sales Director at Digital Realty, explains.

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hile the recession has impacted on the country, the technology sector has proved highly resilient and has continued to attract major players and ongoing investment from the likes of Facebook, Zynga, Google, Microsoft and LinkedIn. Indeed, Ireland has now one of the highest concentrations of ICT activity and jobs in the OECD. Just as the industrial revolution relied on coal, data is the key driver of the digital era. Coal may have required furnaces, but the data centre is the engine room driving the digital era.

While our small country was never a player in the revolution powering advances in industry two centuries ago, in the information age, when it comes to data, Ireland has a big advantage over many of the world’s leading players.

Dublin has one of Europe’s densest clusters of data centres, with as many as 30 large-scale operations based throughout the city. However, the rapid growth of data centres in Ireland should be of little surprise.

Our temperate, windy and wet climate not only dramatically reduces the cost of hosting data, but offers a far more environmentally-friendly alternative.

Just think of the air conditioning cost to keep servers cool in Silicon Valley compared to Ireland’s ‘free air-cooling’ climate. In fact, industry insiders suggest Microsoft’s data centre in Ireland saves the software giant up to a17 million a year over traditional data centres.

Another key factor is our connectivity.

The latency link between Ireland and the UK tends to be better than that of our major data centre competitors, Iceland or Scandinavia. It is this access to high speed, low-latency networks that is pivotal to Ireland’s continued success.

Gary Keogh, Sales Director at Digital Realty.

Then, of course, there is Ireland’s young, educated, tech-savvy and flexible workforce. With all these factors in the mix it is simple to understand why Digital Realty is committed to Ireland and the Irish market.

We have bought into the future Ireland has engineered for itself through years of investment, smart government policy and making the most of its natural assets. And we are not alone.

Google is set to invest a150 million in a massive new centre in West Dublin, while Microsoft recently announced a a170 million expansion of its Dublin data centre.

With over 34 megawatts of capacity in Dublin, an investment of almost a120 million in data centre facilities and more than 30 employees supporting client operations, Ireland has become a key market for Digital Realty.

However, the potential here for big data is just beginning.

That is why Digital Realty broke ground on the first of up to eight 10,000 sq ft turnkey data centre suites in Dublin. Upon completion, the four-building campus will total about 193,000 gross sq ft, with a total energy capacity of more than 15MW. As we continue to extend our connectivity ecosystem across our European portfolio, Digital Realty can now offer clients cost-effective links to all of our European data centres, and a much-improved total cost of ownership proposition.

Even though we are an international player, Digital Realty recognises Ireland as a key market for strategic growth for our global customer base. And we believe its importance will only continue to grow, as data increasingly becomes the very lifeblood of business.

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BI SURVEY > Taxback.com

The Rise of the Global Workplace > As more companies seek out international markets to combat domestic recessionary market pressures, the need for a global mobility solution has grown

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lobal mobility can lead to companies having to navigate an unfamiliar landscape beset with challenges in taxation, payroll and compliance. The challenge of ensuring compliance with both domestic and international tax laws can be costly.

For that reason, companies often look for a global mobility solution that will manage costs and shoulder the added administrative burden that can often ensue.

One size does not fit all In order to be effective, global mobility packages need to be tailored to the individual needs of each client. Taxback. com has worked with companies from each end of the spectrum – those sending hundreds of employees on secondment annually and those sending just a handful.

“The vital starting point is to sit down with the client and fully understand their requirements,” says Christine Keily, Head of Global Mobility with Taxback.com.

“Once we have a full picture of the company structure and employee background, we can provide consolidated advice and cost projections in relation to the applicable tax, payroll and social security issues.”

Potential Savings Most companies are cost sensitive and so the largest benefit of outsourcing global mobility requirements is the potential savings that can be made. Travel and subsistence are key areas to focus on.

The difference between paying an accommodation allowance to an employee rather than paying a landlord directly can result in a tax difference of circa a20,000 per employee per

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annum. It’s worth checking out the tax position from the home country perspective and the host country perspective to try to obtain the best result possible in both locations.

In addition to travel and subsistence type arrangements, many countries have special expatriate regimes whereby, for example, a specified percentage of the employee’s income may be relieved from tax. The Netherlands is one such country. Ireland also has a regime known as Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP).

For employers operating tax equalisation policies, tax saving opportunities can often be worth almost twice what they seem. This is due to the fact that the tax on an assignment benefit will most likely be paid by the employer.

Social Security cannot be ignored and, if not carefully considered at the outset of each assignment, can result in large costs. In general, an employee is only required to pay contributions in one jurisdiction but it is vitally important to ensure that the charges are being paid

in the correct jurisdiction and that the relevant documentation is in place.

If an employee’s contributions are not in order they may run into difficulties down the line when they need to claim certain benefits, such as illness or maternity benefit.

About Taxback.com With an increasing number of companies sending employees on international assignments, having an effective global mobility programme has never been more important.

Taxback.com’s unique setup makes it the go-to company for global mobility services. Established in Ireland in 1996, the company has grown to encompass a global footprint of 33 offices in 20 counties.

If you have a global mobility query or would like to learn more about the service, get in touch with our Global Mobility Partner Manager, Ruairi Kelleher on 01 6353740 or email rkelleher@taxback.com.

BI SURVEY > Bank of Ireland

Banking on a Masterplan > Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking is continuing to support Dublin Port Company into the Masterplan era.

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s it moves into year three of its Masterplan, Dublin Port Company has recently made public details of the planning application it has lodged with An Bord Pleanála for the f200 million Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project. The importance of the plan is significant in terms of the future of the Irish economy and according to Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Dublin Port, the project is designed to provide “the infrastructure, capacity and versatility needed to futureproof Dublin Port, catering for larger sized vessels and increased trade volumes as Ireland returns to economic growth”. Another notable feature of the project is that, owing to the sound financial position of the company, Exchequer funding will not be sought.

This is where Bank of Ireland – as Dublin Port’s main banker – comes in.

Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking is the leading bank in the Irish corporate market, with the largest market share across Ireland’s top 500 companies.

The bank’s existing client base ranges from large public bodies, semi-states and major privately owned domestic companies to multinationals and publicly quoted companies – all with unique and complex banking requirements.

In a clear example of Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking’s successful relationship model, the association with Dublin Port Company has developed over time. While Dublin Port and Bank of Ireland both share origins in the 1700s, the current relationship began in 1997 at the company’s inception, with Bank of Ireland tailoring its offering since then to suit the company’s changing banking requirements. For example, in addition to the provision of corporate debt facilities, the bank also handles Dublin Port’s

clearing business and, furthermore, offers a range of treasury products, as managed by the bank’s experienced Global Markets team.

Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking recognises the huge significance of exports to the Irish economy: 90 per cent of Ireland’s GDP is exported and of this, 42 per cent travels through Dublin Port (alongside over 1.76 million tourists). There are several teams within the Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking and Global Markets businesses that have developed expertise, products and services in order to offer Irish exporting companies the service they need to get ‘export-ready’ or to pursue a growth strategy. Given the specific risks associated with international trade, particularly in emerging markets, Bank of Ireland takes particular pride in the extensive experience its teams can offer - experience which has been built up over many years.

The Dublin Port Company’s Masterplan 2012–2040 sets the framework for the Port’s development over the coming decades. Seán Barrett,

Senior Director, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking is delighted to support Dublin Port as it moves forward with the Masterplan. “As the number one corporate bank in Ireland and sole lender to the Dublin Port Company, we are committed to working with the company into this new phase of its development,” he says.

“We fully support Dublin Port Company’s strategy and the Masterplan.

The importance of Dublin Port as a key part of the infrastructure underpinning the Irish economy’s future success cannot be underestimated.”

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BI SURVEY > The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

Meetings with Style > The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin are the specialists in stylish and elegant events in the heart of Dublin city.

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he dazzling Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin, is located at the crossroads of Golden Lane and Chancery Lane, adjacent to Dublin Castle and within minutes’ stroll from all the key shopping, business and commercial sectors of the city. Open since August 2007, the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin is a deluxe hotel with dramatic contemporary elements, a truly modern, world-class hotel – one of the busiest in the city centre.

The many corporate clients who enjoy the hotel’s sleek and polished series of business services are one of the hotel’s main constituencies. From conferences to meetings, large-scale launches and events to off-site brainstorming, the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin has impeccable space to meet every possible style of request.

The hotel has some uniquely chic features, from the spectacular open plan lobby with a sparkling Waterford Crystal Vintage Whiskey Tasting Room, to the Sky Suite, a fabulous venue on the 7th floor with private lift access, wraparound balcony offering panoramic views over Dublin city centre and its own private bar.

The hotel offers 150 spacious guest rooms including Business Class, Junior Suites, one-bedroom suites and a presidential suite, all equipped with high-quality amenities and free highspeed, wireless internet access.

Superb location and design Central to the popularity of the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel for meetings and events is its superb location, accessibility, and its clever design.

Convenient for Dublin airport, both Connolly and Heuston train stations,

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Hotel Lobby

the red and green LUAS lines, this city centre hotel is located on Golden Lane, just off Georges Street. It’s also easy to access for business travellers driving from the Quays or the M50, who can park their car in the secure underground car park. Clever design means that meeting and event delegates can take the lift directly from the car park to the first floor mezzanine level, to the dedicated meetings and events area. A relaxing lounge area outside the first floor meeting space is the perfect spot for a coffee break – grab a Nespresso and a breather before or during your event – and the Business Services Centre allows you to print off any last-minute paperwork.

Experience Meetings Of utmost importance to the team at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin is that each and every one of the meeting planners, delegates and guests that speak with them on the phone or come through their doors has

From conferences to meetings, large-scale launches and events to off-site brainstorming, the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin has impeccable space to meet every possible style of request. the best possible experience – from initial enquiry, to booking, through to the event itself. The team at the hotel aims to make each step as seamless, efficient and enjoyable as possible – a concept within the Radisson Blu brand called ‘Experience Meetings’.

This starts with an easy planning and booking process where there are a variety of tools and services to assist every need, including a sophisticated search engine, enhanced hotel web pages for meetings, and the option of

BI SURVEY > The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

viewing floor plans in 3D. The team also promises a quick turnaround on enquiries, with attractive offers such as their current ‘Experience More’ offer whereby free upgrades across their Experience Meetings day delegate packages apply to bookings made before 30th April: Meeting planners can receive the top Platinum Package for the cost of the Silver package – saving up to a24 per delegate per day!

of consistency in both product and service, whilst enabling Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin to exceed their expectations time and again.

Venue options The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel has a wide choice of fantastic venues for meetings and events, from first class meeting rooms with state of the art equipment to stunning, unique venues

Sky Suite

Another component of ‘Experience Meetings’ is Brain Food - an innovative, responsible food and beverage solution developed by skilled chefs and nutritionists, comprising of primarily locally sourced low-fat and low sugar items, with lots of fresh fish, whole grain products, fruit and vegetables that keep the guests’ blood sugar levels constant and help them to maintain concentration and lower stress levels.

Experience Meetings also aims to enable Connectivity: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin offers free WiFi for all in-house guests and meeting delegates and the bandwidth has been increased to 100MB making it one of the fastest available on the market.

Experience Meetings helps position Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin as a leader within the area when it comes to meetings and events, providing a crucial point of differentiation for the hotel. This is an offering that genuinely provides meeting planners and delegates with the highest level

to make your event or launch stand apart from all the rest: • Meeting / business centre and meeting rooms 15 state of the art flexible meeting rooms, all with floor-to-ceiling windows, a dedicated meeting and events area, Business Services Centre and first class equipment and facilities.

• Sky Suite The magnificent suite on the 7th floor featuring stunning design, a wraparound balcony with panoramic views of the city, private lift access and its own bar. Sky Suite can be used as an exclusive meeting room and lounge, and is available for private hire. For a truly special and unique event suited to groups of up to 50 guests, there is no other venue in Ireland like it.

• Goldsmiths Hall An elegant and chic space decorated in subtle shades of cream, gold and taupe, the main ballroom, Goldsmiths Hall, can

be divided into three separate meeting rooms and a pre-function area for 400 delegates. There is a small round bar at the back of the banqueting suite called O Bar, which can seat up to 30 guests in privacy and comfort.

• Rooftop Terrace Garden Ideal for outdoor gatherings like a barbeque, the Rooftop Terrace Garden is graced with striking landscape features and can accommodate 400 guests or 600 guests split level.

• Sure Bar With warm, stylish décor, the hotel’s all day lounge bar ‘Sure’ has a striking semi-private area which can be booked for small groups, or the bar can be booked in its entirety, with a capacity of 150 guests, for larger events.

• Waterford Crystal Vintage Whiskey Tasting Room Nestled beneath the feature staircase, this very special and very beautiful room is perfect for private or VIP whiskey tastings.

• V’nV Restaurant Seating up to 130 guests, this friendly and welcoming restaurant can be booked for small or large groups. Its clever design means smaller groups can take over a part of the restaurant for an intimate gathering.

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin on Golden Lane provides a stylish, central venue for meetings and is one of the most exciting conference and event venues.

With state of the art facilities for up to 400 delegates, and with 150 bedrooms and suites, the hotel can accommodate sizeable group bookings with ease.

More importantly, the meetings and events team at the hotel will ensure your booking is expertly overseen from first point of contact onwards.

The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin is an elegant, central, sophisticated and innovative destination for conferences, meetings and events.

Contact Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8.

Tel: 01 8982900 Fax: 01 8982901 meetings.royal.dublin@radissonblu.com www.radissonblu.ie/royalhotel-dublin

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Conferences 2014 22nd May 2014

28TH May

HR Director’s Business Event Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin

2014

A full-day conference, the HR Directors Business Event will explore HR’s role in fostering innovation. Contributors will include leading HR experts and senior business leaders, giving you the ultimate bench marking experience and best practice insights.

11TH June 2014

Retail Conference Camden Court Hotel, Dublin

This practical, informative full day event will focus on how the business sector and individual retailers can inspire and best connect with consumers. Delegates will be provided with a unique opportunity to listen and learn from industry gurus and experienced practitioners and to network with fellow retail colleagues.

2014

Supply Chain Management & Procurement Event Camden Court Hotel, Dublin

The Supply Chain Management & Procurement Event will unravel the issues facing modern supply chains and examine how firms can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its procurement processes.

In association with McDowell Purcell Solicitors

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin

The various amendments adopted at the Select Committee stage in the Oireachtas mean that many provisions of the Legal Services (Regulation) Bill 2011 are now significantly different to those initially proposed. With a strong likelihood that the Bill will come into force within the next twelve months, this half day conference will provide a comprehensive update on recent changes to the Bill and will be of interest to all practising solicitors and barristers, in-house counsel, regulatory bodies, judges, consumer rights groups, legal costs accountants, insurers, court and departmental officials and all other parties involved in the administration of justice in Ireland.

18TH June 2014

12TH June

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority – What to Expect

Change to State Pension Age and Challenge to Mandatory Retirement Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin

This half day conference will examine how increases in State Pension Age will inevitably result in employees seeking to work beyond the age of 65 which, for many employers, has traditionally been the normal contractual retirement age. An expert panel will examine what employers should do when faced with such requests, or indeed, what happens if an employee challenges an employer’s entitlement to retire him/her at age 65.

For more information on any of these conferences, contact denise.maguire@ashvillemediagroup.com or call 01 432 2238

Conference DATE IN THE DIARY The Sunday Business Post is proud to host the inaugural 2014 Corporate Turnaround Conference | May 7th | 7.30am - 12.30pm | | Chartered Accountants House | Pearse Street, Dublin 2 | The 2014 Sunday Business Post Corporate Turnaround Conference will gather together a panel of experts to discuss key areas such as restructuring, finance and debt options, and change management. This key conference will be of particular relevance to those working in the insolvency field, as well as investors, crisis managers and opinion leaders.

For further details go to: corporateturnaroundconference.com Presented by:

Event > HR Directors Business Event

HR Directors Business Event > An upcoming seminar will assess best practice in HR and focus on how firms can foster a culture of innovation within the workplace.

I

nnovation in business is about doing things better; making it happen requires HR leadership that aligns business with people strategy and pairs diverse thinking with leaders, thereby building trust and engagement across a connected organisation.

The HR Directors Business Event, to be held on the 22nd of May in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin will explore HR’s role in fostering innovation. Contributors will include leading HR experts and senior business leaders, giving you the ultimate benchmarking experience and best practice insights.

Seamus Given Partner, Arthur Cox Penalisation under the Criminal Justice Act 2011; Penalisation under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005; and Constructive dismissals action.

Date: 22/05/14 Time: 9am - 4pm Venue: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8

Marc Lowry Executive Manager, Corporate Business, Aviva Health Why is health insurance such an important benefit? Trends you need to know in health insurance and top five tips for evaluating your health insurance provider.

Who’s speaking on the day?

Mary Moloney Managing Director, Management Consulting at Accenture UK & Ireland Top ten trends shaping how HR needs to operate, now and in the future; the rise of the extended workforce; talent management meets the science of human behaviour; and social media - driving the democratisation of work?

Deirdre Cronnelly Director, AFRESH Managing Presenteeism and Absenteeism - the role of physical, mental and emotional wellness.

Carmel O’Brien HR Director, Boots Ireland Why Boots provides one of the best breeding grounds for HR innovation.

Chris Gilmore Head of Business Operations, EAP Consultants Employee Assistance Programmes - the business case for providing an EAP; reducing your chance of litigation; developing a more productive workforce; freeing up management time; and enhanced employee retention.

Mary Byrne Director, Canavan & Byrne (HR Management and Training Solutions) Top 10 most common HR mistakes made by companies including performance management, grievances, discipline, health and safety and workplace stress.

Mary Moloney.

Deirdre Cronnelly.

Chris Gilmore.

Directors Business Event may 22nd

2014 To book your place at this seminar, please contact denise.maguire@ ashvillemediagroup.com

Marc Lowry.

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M o t o r i n g

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B e e r

Leaders Competing with

Peugeot has a new compact family car, the 308. Michael Sheridan took the five-seat hatchback for a test drive to see if it can truly rival the class-leading Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.

Peugeot has worked hard with 308 to deliver a car with an elegant and friendly design.

Following on from Peugeot’s 208 and 2008 (lifestyle estate) you can see an evolution of the softer design styling that is aimed at bringing more women back to the brand.

Subtle touches like the name badging in the grille and the lack of any sharp angles or body lines make the 308 instantly an attractive and likeable machine. The 308 is lighter than the 307 it replaces (up to 140kgs) and is built

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on a new platform (EMP2) that is shared with Citroen’s C4 Picasso among others in the PSA group. There is a bigger wheelbase (i.e. the gap between the front and rear wheels) and this helps improve the ride comfort. The 308 sits more squat on the road and from behind it could be mistaken for a new Mercedes Benz A-Class... and that’s a good thing.

Inside, the cabin’s build quality is improved. Depending on the specification level you can feel quite special behind

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G a d g e t s

the small and very sporty steering wheel. Once seated the first thing drivers notice is the positioning of the main dials; they sit high on the dashboard. You don’t look through the steering wheel to see the speedo as with most cars, but look over it!

This practical alternative to an expensive HUD (head up display) makes life easier and more importantly, safer. The 308 helps the driver keep their eyes on the road ahead. Cabin space is a bit tight in the rear, but still adequate. The 420-litre boot is average too.

The engine range consists of three petrol units: 1.2-litre with 82hp, 1.6-litre THP 125hp, 1.6-litre THP 155hp and two very economical diesels: 92hp 1.6 HDi, 115hp 1.6 e-HDi. Peugeot Ireland has looked extensively at the competition and is confident that the combination of its engine range and generous equipment

levels across its three grades; access, active and allure are spot on. On close examination, you do get more bang for your buck with the new 308.

The driving experience is not as dynamic as the Focus or Golf but comfortable and vice-free.

The front-wheel drive 308 has neutral and light steering.

It offers little in the way of feedback for enthusiastic driving but takes no effort to use and this is fine for most buyers.

Peugeot Ireland tells us that rumours of the French firm’s financial decline are exagerated – in fact Europe’s second largest auto group has over a8 billion in cash reserves. Thankfully there are a few less zeros on the sticker price for the 308 as prices start at a competitive a18,990 for the petrol 1.2-litre Access. Peugeot expects to sell 900 308s this year.

Peugeot, with the 308, can now go head to head with the class leaders without fear.

Motoring

Keeping

UP Appearances

Nissan has a machine that will continue to be the dominant car in its class with the arrival of the latest Qashqai.

N

issan invented a new class of car back in 2007 with the Qashqai.

Back then, the car-based SUV crossover cost about a10,000 less than fashionable mid-size SUVs that we all coveted, and this grabbed buyers’ attention.

Nissan stumbled onto a winning formula that was

very simple. Nissan used the underpinnings of a compact family car and placed a SUVlike body on it. The result was an inexpensive machine that could be bought for the price of a family hatchback and more importantly run as cheaply too! While a fourwheel drive version was built the vast majority of sales were front-wheel drive only.

Since the first generation Qashqai all the carmakers have been playing catch up.

Now there is a new Qashqai and it is even better.

Built with Europeans in mind at Nissan’s giant car plant in Sunderland, a new Qashqai rolls off the production line every 61 seconds. Well over 40,000 jobs are supported by Nissan in the UK and the carplant has over 7,000 people directly employed. While the machine is built in the north of England, Qashqai was designed in

Nissan’s London design studios where the team enjoyed the challenge of styling the second generation Qashqai on a new, bigger platform. Qashqai’s exterior is more substantial and impressive. The bonnet is a single clamshell design and there are more curves and creases in the metal to entertain the eye. The design is clearly more upmarket and on the road could easilly be confused with more expensive offerings like Mazda’s CX-5 for example.

Inside, the five-seat Qashqai benefits from the car’s longer wheelbase and the move from a traditional handbrake to an electronic one. Cabin room is more generous front and rear and the boot has grown too. Nissan won’t be making a seven-seat Qashqai+2, even though it could with this floorplan, rather the boot is maximised with just five seats.

The big boot features a new

split floor that can double as a cargo divider. This simple idea helps stop the shopping or small loads from spilling about the place.

The engine range is now all turbocharged and is much greener. There is a new entry level 1.2-litre petrol engine that is ideal for low mileage users plus of course the 1.5 and 1.6-litre diesels are available, with the 1.5 expected to be the volume seller. Automatic and four-wheel drive versions are available too.

On the road the Qashqai feels mature. The ride is on the firmer side of soft. The ambience in the cabin has more class and of course there is a host of new electronic toys to play with - yet it still feels familiar to the original.

With the new Qashqai, Nissan has a machine that will continue to be the dominant car in its class.

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Motoring

Luxury brand Lexus has brought a serious player to the market with the GS300h.

The Great

Contender T he new entrylevel Lexus GS with its 2.5litre petrol/ electric hybrid powertrain certainly looks the part with sharp aggressive business-like lines. The GS was once quite different looking to rival three-box saloonshaped business machines and this has worked against it in terms of volume sales but has been a plus point for ‘individual’ buyers seeking luxury and ease of use rather than the approval of their peers.

GS300h is a confidentlooking machine in the flesh. The proportions now are almost conventional with only the massive ‘C’ pillar throwing the balance off a bit. Thanks to its rearwheel drive drivetrain the GS has a beautifully short front overhang similar

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to Mercedes and BMW rivals – but something the front-wheel drive (or quattro) Audi A6 can only aspire to.

Inside, leather seating is standard. The cabin is full of technology like the latest version of ‘Remote Touch’ that features an electronic display and mouse-like click controller that lets you operate loads of secondary controls from audio to navigation with your left hand. The cabin is very well put together and the general atmosphere is luxurious. The standard 12-speaker premium sound system is excellent but the top spec GS300h gets a stunning Mark Levinson audio system that can even make ‘80s music sound good!

GS is now closer to its rivals like the BMW 5

Series or Audi A6 in styling terms and better than both for standard comfort and equipment, but where it really has the moral high ground is with its green hybrid powertrain that is only rivalled, for now, by Mercedes Benz who offer the E300 hybrid.

Let’s look at the numbers; the entry-level GS300h produces 223hp and just 110g/CO2 (band A3) - that’s impressive in any car, let alone an executive cruiser! Higher spec versions fall in to the next tax band A4.

The mid-sized can also average almost 59mpg (4.8L/100km) on the combined cycle says Lexus - although we couldn’t manage it, 0-100km/h takes 9.2 seconds and top speed is 190km/h.

The entry point for GS is the 300h ‘Executive’

that starts at a49,950 excluding delivery. If you have a bigger allowance the ‘Dynamic’ grade starts from a54,950, ‘F Sport’ starts at a60,950 while ‘Premium’ is the range topper at a64,950.

Should you need more power the GS450h ‘Executive’ starts at a55,950 and rises to a68,950 (F Sport) or a72,250 (Premium).

On the road GS is one of the easiest machines to drive. The automatic CVT gearbox is relatively quiet and there are a number of driving modes like EV, snow and economy, but in any mode, power delivery is seemless and relaxing.

GS300h is a serious alternative to the usual suspects with their 2.0 and 2.2-litre diesel engines. Lexus expects to sell 100 here this year.

Motoring News

Hyundai’s

Rise Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai/Kia) has grown at an impressive rate globally and is currently ranked in the top five automakers in the world.

Ireland too has opened its arms, and wallets, to the value for money machinery offered

by Hyundai. All you have to do is look at the success of Japanese brands led by Toyota over the last few decades relative to Europe to see that Ireland’s car buyers love good engineering and modest price tags. Korea slowly but surely entered the Ireland market, well after the Japanese brands had established themselves and chipped away building

market share.

January this year saw a great result for the dominant Korean carmaker Hyundai. The privately-owned Hyundai Ireland announced the brand had reached third position in the Irish car market with a 10.12 per cent share.

Hyundai trailed giants Toyota (12.2 per cent) and Volkswagen (11.66 per cent) and remarkably nudged Ford into fourth place (9.89 per cent). Hyundai’s growth has been spectacular when you consider that in 2009 it had just 2.99 per cent share of the

Volvo’s Drive-e

to get these high performance figures you would need more than just four cylinders and a licence for the massive amount of CO2 you’d generate! The Drive-E ‘i-Art’ D4 diesel produces just 99g/CO2 – this is incredibly low. So how does Volvo do it? The secret comes in the

Engines Volvo has taken a leap forward with its engine technology.

The latest Drive-E twin turbo diesel ‘D4’ engine uses just four cylinders to deliver a very impressive 181hp and 400nm of torque. In the past

Irish market – that’s a 238.46 per cent increase! January’s figures alone can be a bit misleading but with the arrival of the i10 and better supply of the Santa Fe Hyundai looks set to consolidate on it 7.85 per cent 2013 market share.

Other movers in the January figures were Skoda in fifth with 7.13 per cent, Opel had a 6.03 per cent share in sixth, Nissan managed 5.02 per cent, Renault in eighth

managed 4.78 per cent, Hyundai’s sister company Kia took ninth with 4.29 per cent and Audi made up the top ten with a 4.26 per cent share.

Hyundai’s visibility is set to take a boost thanks to a successful pitch to supply Garda vehicles. Hyundai is going to apply its full warranty to the vehicles, which will keep the dealer network very busy with servicing and parts.

‘i-Art’ technology licensed to the Geely-owned brand

by Japanese firm Denso.

The magic lies in a common rail fuelling system that instead of having just one ECU (electronic control unit) - each of the four injectors has its very own ECU. This allows unique fuel delivery and dispersal to each cylinder plus an ability to learn. The pressure used is an extremely high 2,500 bar. The D4 engine not only generates

massive power for its size but also is more fuel efficient and greener too, so it’s a win-win all round.

We went to the UK to test the latest range of i-Art D4 Volvos and were very impressed with the linear power delivery. If you like an easy life there is a new 8-speed ‘Geartronic’ automatic. It makes for very relaxed and stress-free driving, thanks in the main to all that pulling power. The manual six-speed gearbox features long gears, so you can achieve excellent fuel consumption. With this diesel engine, Volvo is targeting BMW and Audi buyers with very keen pricing.

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Beer Review

Beer Business As the explosive growth in the popularity of craft beer in Ireland continues, the Business Ireland team assessed the flavour and quality of three lesser known Irish beers on the market (outside working hours of course!).

Bru Rí IPA There are a whole host of small Irish brewers churning out samey, underwhelming Indian Pale Ales.

A standout in the category however is Trim-based Bru Brewery’s ‘Rí’, a tasty five per cent IPA brewed with Irish malt and four different hops. The result, unsurprisingly, is a very hoppy affair, but it’s crisp and refreshing and an ideal accompaniment for a sunny spring or summer evening.

The Bru Brewery was set up last year by Patrick Hurley and Daire Harlin and is located on the banks of the River Boyne.

Despite being such a young brewery, Bru already has four beers on the shelves, including an Irish red ale, a stout and a lager. Hurley said that the firm will be rolling out some specials over the

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coming months and is also considering a wheat beer. Rí is available in bottle, priced around a3.30, and also on cask.

Dungarvan’s Helvick Gold Irish Blonde Described as a “world away from your typical tasteless lager”, Dungarvan’s Helvick Gold Irish Blonde is a unique and complex, thirstquenching beer.

A refreshing blonde ale generously hopped to give bitterness and aroma that packs a punch, the balance of which makes it a slightly challenging choice for a novice despite being quite an easy to drink beer.

According to Dungarvan Brewing Company, this and all their beers contain a vitaminrich yeast sediment which is a by-product of the natural carbonation that occurs in the bottle. To pour a clear pint, pour out in one go and leave the last drop in the bottle.

Upon requesting a bottle of Helvick Gold in a Dublin bar recently, I was asked if I’d like one from the fridge or one served at room temperature. You’d be surprised how good the one served at room temperature tastes!

Five Lamps Liberties Dublin Ale With the emergence of so many craft brewers in Ireland over the past ten years, it is somewhat surprising that so few have come out of the capital. The Five Lamps Brewery, as its name might suggest, is one of the few that did.

Liberties Dublin Ale is the brewer’s second offering, one which made its debut at last year’s Irish Craft Beer & Cider Festival. A brew with a rich golden colour, full body and a balanced rounded finish, it delivers sweet and toasty malt notes abound from a unique blend of pale and coloured malts. Unlike a lot of craft beers on the market, this ale falls below the five per cent mark, which probably makes it more accessible to someone used to the big name, bland beers but who are willing to dip their toe in the craft beer market for the first time.

Liberties Dublin Ale is available in bottle and on tap in selected Dublin pubs.

Gadgets

In the first of our new gadgets section, Business Ireland casts its eye on the latest in wearable technology.

Sony Wireless Splash-Proof Headphones Music is a great motivator when working out and Sony’s new MDRAS700BT wireless splashproof headphones enable you to take full advantage of those energising sounds.

These stylish headphones combine tough flexible construction with decent sound quality. Splash-proof (for what it’s worth) and comfortable, the neckband design keeps them securely in place when pushing your workout to the limit. The builtin NFC and Bluetooth connectivity provide the freedom to enjoy and control the music from your smartphone or music player with no wires inhibiting your moves.

The new headphones from Sony are available to purchase from www.sony.ie.

FitBit Flex Activity Tracker

TomTom ‘Runner’ GPS Sports Watch After years of producing GPS products for cars, TomTom has entered the much crowded running watch market. It is predominently aimed at runners who want more detailed information about their runs than an activity tracker can provide, without having to lug around their smartphones with them. As with other GPS sports watches, you can sync, analyse and share your stats on popular sport sites or apps. With an optional Bluetooth® heart rate monitor also available, it’s not a bad start for a company which has waited until now to take up running.

Available at Harvey Norman for a169.

©iStock/thinkstock.com

The Flex™ is one of the latest gadgets to hit the fitness technology market. This wristband can analyse your daily movement, your sleep patterns, your dietary habits and even the quality of the air around you. It links with an online platform and an app that allows you to record your food intake, giving you information on how many calories you’re burning and allowing you to identify trends over time. If you’re up for a little competition you can connect with friends on Fitbit. com, where you can compare stats, share progress, and cheer each other on. Unlike the Jawbone Up, it syncs wirelessly with both your smartphone and your PC or Mac which makes it a lot more convenient.

The FitBit Flex Activity Tracker is available at Harvey Norman for a99.

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Q&A

on a

Business Ireland caught up with Geoff Scully, Managing Director, Shop Direct Ireland, and found him dressed in Prada and reminiscing about better days at Old Trafford.

The person I have been most impressed with recently has been John Herlihy of Google in terms of his perspective on culture and leadership.

Advice you wish you’d been given years ago?

The one item you’d bring to a desert island?

You’re Taoiseach for a day, what one thing would you do?

An iPad because I’m assuming even desert islands have WiFi these days.

Given the industry I’m in, I would do something to improve and increase digital skills in Ireland at all levels, from boardroom down.

The soundtrack to your life?

Don’t hesitate – if you see something, go for it.

Rattle and Hum – not because of the name but because it was just a significant album in my life and I keep going back to it.

A start-up you admire?

The book you couldn’t put down?

Niall Harbison and Emma Jane Power’s new venture, PR Slides.

The Alex Ferguson biography.

Your first car?

A Volkswagen Golf.

Your current car?

A BMW 545. It’s an antique and it’s a guzzler.

Your dream holiday?

It would be Australia, only because I’ve never been there.

Favourite food?

I’m partial to Malaysian food and in particular Nasi Goreng.

Last music purchase?

Irish band Picturehouse.

Last holiday?

Capetown.

Last concert?

Picturehouse (where I bought the CD).

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Something you’d like to plug?

Littlewoods Ireland launched free shipping at the end of last year, which means free delivery and free returns.

The item of clothing that owes you nothing?

I have a Prada jumper that I bought ten years ago and I just keep wearing it because it doesn’t get old. I think it doesn’t get old, other people probably do!

The actor that would play you in a film?

I’ll go all cheesy and say Russell Crowe.

How do you switch off?

Playing on the floor with my kids at the weekend.

Favourite sports?

I love playing tennis and I’m a big Man United fan.

©iStock/thinkstock.com ©Hemera/thinkstock.com

The business person you most admire?