ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2022
WE HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN WHAT GOES ON IN FINGAL
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
Whether it’s helping identify a course for the Chamber, encouraging young people to study STEM subjects, or simply gazing at the stars, Council member Kevin Smith brings a great energy and focus to the task in hand.
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The Deputy Vice President of Fingal Chamber, Kevin Smith, has been an active member of Council for a number of years. He has worked on many subcommittees and, in particular, was a key member of the Strategy Subcommittee which recently reviewed the Chamber’s aims and objectives. He has also brought in graduates from the company for which he works, Fujitsu, to assist the work of the council in various areas.
He is also impressed by the ability of Irish firms to adapt to change, which was evidenced during the pandemic. “One of the interesting things was discovering just how adaptable humans are. Working from home has created technological security issues, for sure, but in response people have become much more security conscious and in general have completely adapted to different ways of working,” he says.
Kevin grew up in Southern Africa and studied building construction design there before meeting his future wife, who is Irish, when he was on a one year working holiday in Europe. After a brief period back in Africa the couple moved to Ireland and Kevin secured a position with Xerox, which was then setting up a Global Customer Delivery Center in Ballycoolin Business Park.
“I do think that people are open to change, especially around flexible working. Some of that has been driven by Government policy but most organisations are increasingly open anyway to adopting new ways of flexible and hybrid working. In Fujitsu, for example, we’ve received some very good feedback on how we have managed customers remotely. Before the pandemic customers probably wouldn’t have thought it could be done, so there has been a lot of learning for everyone. It’s also true that while some sectors have struggled others have done exceptionally well over the past two years.”
At this point he enrolled at Blanchardstown Institute of Technology (now TUD) to study software development and project management. Over the next 17 years Kevin had various roles within Xerox, ending up managing a large delivery and account management team along with demanding EMEA and global responsibilities. Five years ago he moved to Fujitsu Ireland in Swords as Director and Head of Pre-Sales, where his team is responsible for bids, proposals and designing ICT Solutions which meeting customer business challenges. He is enthusiastic about the value of the Chamber to Fujitsu and the opportunity it affords him to give something back to the local community. “Giving back to the societies in which we operate is an important part of the company ethos; it’s embedded in what we know as ‘The Fujitsu Way’ (Purpose, Values, Code of Conduct). We have a vested interest in what goes on in Fingal and it’s good to be knowledgeable about that, and to be able to avail of the many services that Fingal Chamber offers. It also has a lot of initiatives that we’re close to in terms of corporate social responsibility, so as a company we’re very well aligned with the Chamber,” he says. Kevin is confident about the prospects for Irish businesses. “I think that overall we’re in a good position,” he says. “Take tourism, for example. There are many tourists coming into the country now and that’s before we’ve really tried to kick start it with marketing promotions. In the wake of Brexit we’ve also seen business move away from the UK to the EU, which in some instances has benefited Irish firms. So I think in general we’re seeing a significant level of optimism within Irish business even though we have travelled through uncertain times over the last couple of years.”
Outside of his busy work schedule Kevin pursues a lifelong interest in astronomy. He is the chairman of an astronomy club and also promotes the study of STEM subjects and astronomy by giving talks and presentations to schools, local clubs, scouts and other groups. Describing the blossoming of this interest over the past decade, he says: “It went from just looking at the night sky through telescopes to attaching cameras to them, then realising that you can actually do some science with your observations.” It culminated in his building an observatory in his back garden six years ago, just one of 13 officially designated observatories in Ireland. ‘While you’ve got big professional telescopes doing big sky surveys, there’s a lot of really good work being done by amateur astronomers, too,” he points out. He also helps organise the Skellig Star Party, a weekend of stargazing in the Kerry Dark Sky Reserve that attracts upwards of 100 amateur astronomers each year from as far afield as the US, as well as Ireland and the UK. He is also a good man to have on hand if you are planning a barbecue, as he is the organizer of a big annual BBQ in conjunction with the Skellig Star Party and has hosted many charity barbecues to raise funds for Barnardos Along with the work for Barnardo’s Kevin is also the Executive Sponsor for the current Fujitsu charity partner, ‘The Alzheimer Society of Ireland’, which he says “is doing some great work in Ireland supporting Fingal and other communities across the country”.
MEET THE TEAM: SIOBHAN O’DONNELL
GIVING A STRONG VOICE TO THE CONCERNS OF MEMBERS Siobhan O’Donnell was the public face and voice of Dublin Airport for nearly 38 years, and she remains passionate about its value as an economic driver not just for the region but the country as a whole. She is equally passionate about the ethos and value of the chamber to the community, and in particular about the benefits of networking that it provides for members.
Fingal Chamber’s new Head of Public Affairs will be a familiar face to most members. A long time DAA representative on the Chamber’s Council, Siobhan O’Donnell was also President for three recession years between 2010 and 2014. “That was a dark time for business and in many ways it mirrors where we are now, coming out of COVID.” Reflecting on the ingredients of recovery from those days, she puts innovation, resilience and determination to survive at the top of the list. “Those are the same attributes that will see us right now,” she insists.
She also believes that businesses have become more inventive as a result of COVID. “The pandemic has brought out so much enterprise in businesses as people recognized that they had to change their mindsets, that to survive the pandemic they had to do things differently. It’s been amazing to see how business have done that, whether it’s been food and beverage outlets doing takeaway deliveries or embracing online sales. There have been lots of different, quirky ways that businesses have reinvented themselves, even if that is a bit of a cliché. But it has been fantastic to see how businesses have really stepped up their game to reach out to their customers and remain relevant to them.” In her new position as Head of Public Affairs Siobhan has already been closely involved in managing the Business Sentiment Survey, which has helped the Chamber set the agenda for its work for the next 12 months and advocate for its members. “The survey has provided us with excellent feedback on what the key and important issues are for Fingal businesses currently,” she says. “We’re seeing many businesses really struggling to recruit staff. And this is at a time when we have an alltime record of 2.48 million people at work in Ireland. And yet businesses are still facing huge difficulties with staff retention and recruitment. That is why flexibility in working conditions, including the ability to work from home – even if only part of the time, – has become so important. That flexibility, I’m pretty certain, is one of the reasons why there are also more females in the workforce now.” Speaking about her new role, Siobhan points out that the Chamber is the voice of over 400 businesses in Fingal and is the credible voice of the region. ‘So it’s really important that we represent and speak on behalf of our Chamber members and the results of the survey have really helped us understand even more what our Chamber members are looking for.”
Those results have already been shared with the county council. “It’s important that we work very closely with them,” she adds. “Our business members have received a lot of support from the local council. Some might say it wasn’t enough, but others have been delighted with what they’ve got. Over a third, 35%, of members received support through the commercial rates waiver, 19% got a restart grant and 7% were supported under the small business scheme for COVID. Some businesses also had help with outdoor dining. “It has certainly enabled some businesses to continue that might otherwise have folded, so that support was was critical and most welcome. It has also created a template for support should something like this happen again. I know from my many years working in the airport, there’s normally a very significant event that will impact business every eight to 10 years. “We’re here to help businesses to be resilient and work their way through those tough times. We’re here to speak on their behalf and to champion their cause. That includes lobbying on their behalf to protect their competitiveness. Part of my role will be looking at those issues and determining how the chamber can lobby effectively on issues like better housing and transport, for example. So we’ll be talking to the new Director of Housing in Fingal, Robert Burns, and with the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, and we’ll be picking up the gauntlet on the long promised but yet to be delivered Metro link between the airport and the city centre. There are a lot of issues that could be addressed but our focus won’t be on ‘easy wins’, it will be on those that matter most to our members and we will fight hard for them.”
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
YOUR CHAMBER COUNCIL: KEVIN SMITH
ISSUE 4 - JUNE 2022
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