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The EY Podcast features experts from the world of business offering insights and analysis on a wide range of topics. From the latest CEO outlooks, to tax transformation, finance operations, economic trends and many more, the EY Podcast provides a comprehensive, cross industry view of the most topical issues impacting organisations and society, at your fingertips. 

59 Episodes
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It was the culture of Microsoft that first attracted Anne Sheehan to the company – “It's not about who's the cleverest person in the room. It's about who can be curious, who can learn, who can be creative”. Having spent over 20 years in the technology and telecom sectors working with companies like IBM and Vodafone, Anne has always chosen roles based on the “scale, breadth and depth” of the work to be done and the potential impact she could make for the company and its customers. So, when the opportunity came up to work with a leader in tech that was on an exciting AI journey and whose values aligned with hers, Anne “didn’t blink” and accepted the role of General Manager, Microsoft Ireland.  Microsoft has a significant presence in Ireland. With over 4000 employees from 97 different nationalities working in roles spanning sales, finance, HR and engineering, the company is, as Anne describes it, like a “mini Seattle” in Dublin. AI is at the core of many of the company’s current products and initiatives and Anne is very optimistic about the positive impact that this technology is going to have and the challenges it will help to tackle. And as Microsoft works to develop AI-driven products, it is also putting into place the necessary frameworks around privacy, security, safety, transparency, and accountability.    In this episode of the EY Podcast: CEO Outlook Series Anne Sheehan, General Manager of Microsoft Ireland speaks with host Richard Curran about the importance of curiosity, the opportunities that AI can bring and why she's never overthought her career. They also discuss: ·       Anne’s professional experience with IBM and Vodafone and what she learned from the roles and culture. ·       Why she believes that Irish people are adept at helping to change companies for the better·       Responsible AI and how Microsoft is working to ensure guardrails are in place·       Anne’s views on the role AI will play in the Irish education system and why we need to prepare now Anne’s business mantra, and what she would like colleagues to say about her when she finishes her current role. 
Ten minutes into the first job interview, Wendy Chang Smith knew that Glanbia was the right fit for her. As someone for whom company culture, values and learning experiences are paramount, Wendy was bowled over by the “wisdom and experience” of the two colleagues on the panel and felt like she had known them for years – “ I was sold, I was ready to join this company.”But the idea of taking on the role of CFO of Glanbia Performance Nutrition was also very compelling from a business perspective. The company’s main brand, Optimum Nutrition, has been around for over 35 years, is sold in more than 90 countries, and recently became Glanbia’s first billion-dollar brand. Yet despite being the world’s number one sports nutrition brand, its growth potential in major markets like the US is very significant, and this was a challenge that excited Wendy.In this episode of The EY Podcast: CFO Outlook Podcast, Wendy Chang Smith, CFO of Glanbia Performance Nutrition, joins Jonathan Healy to talk about working in some of the world’s biggest multinationals, her vision for the future of sports nutrition, and why company culture is so important to her. They also discuss:· The three qualities of a highly effective business strategy· Why she believes that risk-taking is important for generating additional value for the company· Wendy’s role as global sponsor for the Glanbia Women’s ERG and why Diversity and Inclusion is so important to her· Glanbia’s investment globally in Research & Development· Wendy’s time working in with major multinationals including Amazon, Johnson and Johnson, Procter and Gamble, and Kellogg’s.· Adapting to Irish weather and culture, and why an encounter with a dead jellyfish made Wendy and her family realise that moving to Ireland was the right decision !
On Mairead McCaul’s first day in nursing college, her tutor said something that has always stayed with her: “when you're caring for a patient, you’re in a privileged position and you should always treat them as if they were your mother or your father or your brother or sister or your child”. Mairead carried these words with her throughout her time in nursing and midwifery, working in sales in the laboratory diagnostics sector, and into the position she holds today as MD, Human Health, of one of Ireland’s leading healthcare companies. MSD has been in Ireland for over 50-years and the company employs over 3000 colleagues across five different sites around Ireland. Mairead joined the company in 2007 and, having worked in various roles across the company, was promoted into her current role as well as that of Head of MSD Ireland’s Country Leadership Team in 2020. She credits her progression largely to having “managers and a leadership team in MSD that saw something in me that I might not necessarily have seen in myself and really encouraged me to continue to progress.”In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Outlook Series, Mairead McCaul, MD of MSD Ireland Human Heath & Country Leader shares the story of her remarkable journey through the healthcare industry in Ireland. In conversation with host Richard Curran, she talks about growing up on a farm in rural Ireland, her various roles in the healthcare sector, and her vision for the future of patient care. They also discuss:·       The huge significance and impact of the pharma industry in Ireland.·       Personalised medicine – what it is and its role in the future of healthcare. ·       Mairead’s leadership style and why she like to always challenge the status quo.·       Why some medicines manufactured in Ireland are not available to Irish patients, and Mairead’s work on increasing their availability and affordability.  ·       The advice she would give to other business leaders just starting out in the role. 
Carol Phelan has always loved numbers. Growing up on a farm, she understood how the numbers she was learning in school related to the business of the farm and how it scaled. Accountancy was one of her Leaving Cert subjects, but, for Carol, “accountancy was a set of tools that I wanted to work in Business rather than accountancy as the end in and of itself.”Carol spent the first six years of her career as a consultant , auditing and advising client companies. However this work increasingly led her to “be the person” and become fully involved in the running of a business: “I was walking away from it at the point they were about to go and live and breathe the consequences of their decision, whether it was a new investment or whatever that might be”.And so began Carol’s career on the frontlines of business, leading to her current role as CFO of Dalata Hotel Group, which operates Ireland’s largest hotel brands, Clayton and Maldron, and is now rapidly growing its presence across the UK and Europe.In this episode of The EY CFO Outlook podcast, Carol Phelan, CFO of Dalata Hotel Group chats with Jonathon Healy about her love of business, people and company culture, and her role in helping to grow Dalata Group revenues to a record €500m last year. They also discuss:- Dalata’s successful decentralised model, where the teams in the group’s hotels are empowered to run them as if they are their own, presenting their strategy at a group level annually.- How Dalata and its leadership and teams navigated the challenges of Covid-19 and related lockdowns.- Dalata’s success in achieving 50/50 gender parity across its board and executive team.- Why financial success all starts with hiring the right people, treating them fairly, and building a great company culture.- Dalata’s rapid expansion across the UK and Europe.
Growing up on a small farm in Tipperary taught Leo Clancy a lot about entrepreneurship. From an early age he understood how to assess the business’s performance in any given year, how to make a profit on tight margins, and, crucially, he learned to “dig in and get the work done that needs to be done and make things happen”. Today, Clancy leads an organisation that supports companies all over Ireland to start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. Enterprise Ireland client companies employ almost 220,000 people and are responsible for €32 billion in exports, compared with €8bn in 1998. Clancy credits this success primarily to the businesses that have built the export base, but also to his colleagues in Enterprise Ireland that have helped them to scale internationally for over 25-years.  “The most important thing for me in my role is that weserve our clients well and that we keep our eye on the economic prize thatresults from that, which is jobs and economic investment and impact here inIreland.” In this episode of The EY Podcast, CEO Outlook Series, LeoClancy of Enterprise Ireland joins host Richard Curran to talk about his loveof entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and leadership and how all three combineto support his mission to help Irish companies to become global leaders intheir field. They also discuss: · Clancy’s background in Electronic Engineering and how itled to a love of problem solving.  · The many factors that make Ireland so attractive tomultinational companies, including language, talent, and stability.  · Enterprise Ireland’s role in encouraging greater levels of entrepreneurshipamong women and those in their 20s.  · Why he was a ‘reluctant leader’ and how straight-talkingand honesty have ‘liberated’ him.  · Clancy’s vision for advancing the cause of industry inIreland and creating a stronger Irish enterprise base as a result. 
In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Outlook Series, Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland, joins host Richard Curran to talk about her passion for social change, the power of people to make positive impact, her vision for a better Ireland, and how this role is helping her to achieve it.From an early age, Deirdre Mortell wanted to ‘change the world’. A very active participant in student politics, Mortell left UCC with a Masters in Women’s Studies but with no clear sense of what came next and “sort of fell into the non-profit sector and particularly into fundraising”. Today, she leads one of Ireland’s largest social innovation funds, with almost €100m raised and 400 innovations backed.Rethink Ireland was created by the Irish government following the last economic crash with the aim of restimulating philanthropy during the recession. Having built high-performance teams for non-profits such as Oxfam, Barnardos and Headstrong, and co-founding The One Foundation with Declan Ryan, Mortell was appointed CEO of Rethink in 2014. Her mission is not just to fund the organisations tackling Ireland's critical social issues, it’s also to transform the entire culture of fundraising and philanthropy in Ireland.They also discuss:· The most common “demoralising” myths about the non-profit sector· The culture of philanthropy in Ireland (‘D’ grade, must try harder) and how Rethink Ireland is helping to improve it· Mortell’s experience in student politics and setting up the political party, The Women’s Alliance· Creating The One Foundation with Declan Ryan and what they managed to achieve in 10 years.· Rethink Ireland’s manifesto 2030 – a vision for the Ireland we want to live in
In this episode of the EY CFO Outlook podcast, Ken Bowles of Smurfit Kappa Group discusses the Irish packaging company's recent merger announcement and what it means for their growth.  Also, as he approaches almost 30 years with the company, he talks about why people are at the heart of a successful business and how Smurfit Kappa's focus on sustainability now means the same box is used 25 times. 
In this episode of the EY CFO Outlook podcast, Tom Hickey of mining company Kenmare Resources chats to host Jonathan Healy about becoming a CFO at the young age of 31, the importance of storytelling in business, his love of the natural resources sector and how ESG is at the heart of Kenmare’s operations in Mozambique.     
In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Outlook series, Conor Galvin tells host Richard Curran about his unconventional journey to the position of CEO of Dairygold and his long term strategic ambitions for the company. He also shares his unique insights into the current challenges and opportunities facing the food production sector.When Conor Galvin became CEO of Dairygold in January 2022, it was a period of great volatility and uncertainty. The company’s energy bills had soared by 800% due to rising gas prices and the war in Ukraine. Galvin managed, not only to steer the company through this difficult period, but to oversee a record turnover of €1.65bn, an increase of over 40% from the previous year. Growing up on a dairy farm gave Galvin a deep understanding of all aspects of the food production industry and an appreciation for the work involved and the pressures experienced by the whole supply chain. That, combined with later qualifications in science and accountancy, have helped him to build a vision for the future of Dairygold, including new building opportunities in the health and nutrition spaces.They also discuss:· Galvin’s education and career experience leading up to Dairygold and what he learned at each step along the way.· Environmental sustainability and food production – what Ireland does well, where it can improve, and the role that new technologies are playing.· People management and trying to balance achieving consensus with the imperatives of getting the job done.· Galvin’s focus on long term value and how he tries to balance the needs of the company today with that of the future.· The leader that had the most impact on his career and why.
In this episode of The EY Podcast: CEO Outlook Series, Jim Bergin, CEO of Tirlán, tells host Richard Curran the story of his 30-year journey to the top of one of Ireland’s best-known indigenous companies. Jim leads Tirlán during a very significant time for the company, with a recent restructuring from plc to cooperative, the creation of a new investment fund, and record farmgate prices.Coming from a farming family in Co Kilkenny, Jim Bergin has always understood the language of farmers, the pressures they face, and the values of the farming community. This knowledge has served him well throughout his lengthy career in the agri-food sector. He recently guided Glanbia Co-op as it transitioned to full control of the Glanbia Ireland dairy and grains business and it unveiled a new identity, ‘Tirlán’.As Ireland’s largest farmer-owned food and nutrition business, Tirlán has a diverse portfolio of leading ingredients, consumer and agri brands, including Avonmore, Kilmeaden, Wexford, and GAIN Animal Nutrition. With a network of 11 high-tech processing facilities, 52 agri-retail branches, and over 11,000 members, the farmer-owned cooperative holds a very important position in the Irish economy. A recent Economic Impact Study by EY showed that Tirlán generated total economic activity of €5.5 billion in 2022. Moreover, it supports over 19,200 direct and indirect jobs spread throughout operations in 17 counties.They also discuss: How Jim’s childhood as the only son of a small farmer still helps him to carry out his role successfully today. The differences and similarities between plc and cooperative company structures and his recent experience of changing Glanbia plc into Tirlán cooperative. The future of farming – reducing the national herd, incentivising increased biodiversity, and how new technologies will drive greater productivity. How Tirlán is adapting to cater for increasing demand for plant-based products. How Ireland can become less vulnerable to an unpredictable geo-political environment.     
In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook Podcast Series, Enda McMahon of Blackrock Asset Management Ireland, joins host Richard Curran to talk about his journey from the public sector, where he worked with Ireland’s C&AG and Financial Regulator, to his current leadership position with the world’s largest asset manager, and the valuable lessons he has learned along the way. Blackrock is the world's largest asset manager with approximately $8 trillion in assets under management. The company’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. For Enda McMahon, CEO of Blackrock’s Irish operations, a core part of the mission is to empower people to have ‘dignity in retirement’.  Enda not only has a professional background in compliance and regulation, he has a passion for it. For him, trust is at the heart of a properly functioning financial system and his career has always involved making sure that ‘people are doing the right thing, backed with integrity’.  They discuss: ·        Enda’s experience of moving from the public into the private sector, and how this required him to become less ‘purist’ around compliance.  ·        The importance of building strong relationships based on trust between financial services companies and regulators, and how that is achieved. ·        The power of active listening and understanding the position and priorities of stakeholders.  ·        How and why Blackrock has repositioned all of its products towards sustainability, and why customers need to be protected against ‘green washing’. ·        Blackrock’s ongoing journey to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 
With clients in over 100 countries and a global team of 105,000+, CBRE is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate services & investment companies. As MD of CBRE’s Irish operations, Myles Clarke has a bird’s-eye view of Ireland’s current and future commercial activity, FDI footprint, and the nature of the post-covid workplace. He is also plugged-in to the incredibly fast-changing importance of environmental sustainability and clients’ demand for highly efficient commercial properties.  In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook podcast Myles Clarke joins host Richard Curran to talk about his ambitions for CBREIreland, what the commercial real estate market can reveal about a country’seconomy, and his leadership style. They also discuss: ·       The changing nature of FDI in Ireland – increasingdiversification and decreasing reliance on tech and on being fully based inDublin.   ·       The future of retail and balancing ‘bricks and mortar’ withan online presence.  ·       Why Myles and his family decided to move from London andsettle in the small village of Fanore, Co Clare.  ·       The power of keeping things simple and why clients and customers value it somuch.  ·       His leadership style – being thoughtful, delegating correctly, and speaking one’smind.  
Sara Venning was appointed CEO of Northern Irish Water in 2014. A love of hard work, solving problems, and improving systems and processes attracted Sara to an industry that is ‘always on’, such as a public utility. It is a sector with its own unique challenges, and Sara thrives on finding a way through them.  These challenges include competing for funding from the same pot that education and healthcare also draw from, finding a solution to Northern Ireland’s above-average water wastage, and the pressure of reaching net zero status.   They also discuss:  How Sara fell in love with improving processes and driving efficiencies at a young age while working in the family business.  Weathering the ‘big freeze’ of 2010 and dealing with the fallout of less-than-optimum customer communications at the time.  Why STEM subjects are still attracting such low levels of female students.  The challenge of trying to convince householders to use less water.  As Northern Ireland’s biggest user of energy, how the company plans to reach net zero in terms of energy-use by 2030. 
In this episode of The EY CFO Outlook Podcast, TJ Kelly, Group CFO of Origin Enterprises, tells host Vincent Wall the remarkable story of a career spent in the finance function of some of the world’s most iconic companies. He shares the lessons he has learned along the way, from people management and investor relations, to strategic international expansion and building a brand.Growing up in the family business in Co Kilkenny, TJ Kelly learned the basics of commerce from a very young age. His favourite subjects in school were Business and Accounting and he went on to train as a chartered account immediately after completing the Leaving Cert. So began a career in finance that has spanned some of the best-known and most successful companies in Ireland and the US, including General Electric (GE), Microsoft, Glanbia and Hostelworld. With each role, TJ learned an invaluable lesson – from Treasury management and raising equity during highly turbulent times, to effective communication with investors and the power of branding. Each string added to his bow led Kelly closer to the senior role he holds today, as Group CFO and Executive Director of Origin Enterprises. Having spent many years in senior roles with Glanbia, joining Origin - another big player in the Agri sector - felt “like putting on an old pair of shoes”. Despite having a deep familiarity with the sector, it is one in a state of flux, and Kelly’s key priorities now centre on the sustainable use of land, yield optimisation, ensuring security of global food supply, and playing a key role in emerging Nature Economy.TJ and Vincent also discuss:·       Working in Microsoft at a time of incredible innovation, including the launch of the Xbox and Windows XP·       GE’s Jack Welch and his infamous people management style ·       The future of Farming and driving innovation in the sector. ·       How he maintains contact and communication with the finance teams across the whole group·       The experience of trying to raise capital for Hostelworld during Covid-related lockdowns·       The leaders he most admires. 
In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook podcast series, Dominic MacSorley tells host Richard Curran the remarkable story of a career spent finding hope in despair, travelling the world to care for the survivors of crises, and running an organisation with over 4500 staff across 25 countries. Dominic MacSorley’s first role with Concern Worldwide was a baptism of fire. Posted to the Thai-Cambodian border aged 26, Dominic thought he would be building a school in a quiet village; rather he ended up deep in a conflict zone, working in vast camps that housed over 350,000 refugees. Here, he learned an early lesson – that an organisation like Concern does not just provide people living in these conditions with education and healthcare, but also  with a valuable feeling of protection – “it’s not just what you do, it’s the fact that you’re there”.  Since then, MacSorley has led the organisation’s emergency responses to some of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises, in countries including Rwanda, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti. In 2013, MacSorley became CEO of Concern Worldwide. Such a long career in such a challenging field, he explains, relies on the ability to see past the awfulness of the situation, to the potential of what it can become.   They also talk about: How he and his team narrowly escaped detention by Saddam Hussein’s forces The importance of hiring the right people – “‘we don’t control the situations we’re in, but we do control the quality of staff we put in there“ His experience working through the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and watching that country become safer and more developed than he ever could have expected.  The mindset required to thrive in a role such as his, and his constant struggle to achieve a work-life balance.  The importance of fundraising and corporate partnerships to ensure Concern Worldwide can provide immediate relief in emergency situations  
“I think we have a real opportunity here for Ireland to be the shining example of how a health system could be delivered.” In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook podcast series, Bill Maher, Group CEO of the Bon Secours Heath System, tells host Richard Curran the story of his journey from Ireland to the UK and back again, what he has learned about world-class healthcare delivery along the way, and his vision for Ireland as a shining light in patient care.Bill Maher has high hopes for Ireland’s health system. Having spent over 30 years working in healthcare leadership roles both in Ireland and the UK, Maher is clear about why Ireland’s current system is not working to its fullest potential, and what needs to be done to fix it. One of the priorities, he believes, is to ‘declare war on waiting’ – specifically, hospital waiting lists, which Maher believes can be solved with ‘ruthless efficiency’ and a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach.  Maher’s optimism for Ireland’s health system is part-based on the twenty-plus years he spent in management roles in the UK’s NHS. As Group CEO of the Bon Secours Heath System – Ireland’s largest private healthcare provider - Maher is in a position to apply many of those learnings in his current role; and the result are showing, with group revenues, staff numbers and quality of care all growing sharply since he took the position.  They also discuss: ·        Bon Secours’ not-for-profit financial structure and the policy of investing everything back into staff, facilities, and patients.   ·        Maher’s leadership and communication style and how he ensures that all 3500 of his team members feel purpose-driven and appreciated.  ·        What getting up at 4.30am every day has helped him to achieve.  ·        What Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Richard Branson have taught him about powerful leadership  
In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook podcast, Jason Ward, MD of Dell Technologies Ireland, tells host Richard Curran about his personal and professional journey to the top of one of Ireland’s most significant companies, his priorities for the role, and how Dell is leading digital, IT, security, and workplace transformation. .......................The story of Dell in Ireland is a fascinating one. Founded by Michael Dell in 1984, the company opened its Irish operations six years later, and quickly became one of the country’s most significant employers and exporters. The economic recession saw Dell cut 1900 jobs in Limerick in 2009, but in the intervening years Ireland has grown to become one of Dell’s key strategic hubs, providing high value client solutions and a world class lab.  Jason Ward has been a key player in this transformation and evolution of Dell. Having held several leadership positions in the company, Ward was appointed Vice President and Managing Director, Dell Technologies Ireland in 2020. He now leads a workforce of 5000 people across three locations in Ireland, and is part of a global leadership team driving forward the next chapter in Dell’s continuous evolution.  They also discuss: How Michael Dell’s drive for growth and transformation has created a dynamic company culture of continuous change, agility, and progression.  The sophistication of modern day cyber criminals, and how most companies don’t understand how to recover from cyberattacks (attacks which happen every eleven seconds). The rise of the ‘co-bots – robots that work in partnership with people and that help free humans up to do higher value, more meaningful tasks. Ward’s admiration for Elon Musk – when people say it can’t be done, Musk finds a way to do it. Data as the new oil, and how to protect mission-critical information. 
In 2008, Mainstream Renewable Power was born out of a belief that renewable energy would become a mainstream asset class. At the time, renewable power was not as popular or investable as it is today, but the company founders had a vision that it would soon become ‘front and centre’ to how we live our lives, and backed themselves accordingly. Today, Mainstream is valued at over 2bn, employs 500 staff, and it is eyeing a potential IPO. Central to this success story is Group CFO, Paul Corrigan. Having joined the company in 2008 in a corporate finance function, Corrigan succeeded in continually raising capital throughout a very challenging period when money was scarce and expensive. Moreover, Mainstream’s strategy of investing in emerging markets around the world ruled out many risk-averse investors. However, the company’s long-term play is now bearing fruit, attracting the attention of two major investors, Aker Horizons and Mitsui & Co, who between them now own over 80% of the business.   In this episode of The EY CFO Outlook podcast, Mainstream Renewable Power Group CFO, Paul Corrigan, tells host Vincent Wall the remarkable story of how an Irish start-up scaled rapidly to become one of the world’s first pure-play renewable energy majors. They also discuss:  Eddie O’Connor’s original vision for the company, how he got his team and investors on board, and Paul’s admiration for O’Connor’s entrepreneurial drive.  Why the company has focussed on emerging markets and less-developed countries, and the advantages of that strategy. The game-changing deal that put Mainstream in control of its own destiny. How the company and Paul’s role have changed following investment from Aker Horizons and Mitsui & Co. Becoming CFO in 2020, and negotiating major investments in the new role, fully remotely.  The factors and considerations around a potential IPO.  
“I became obsessed by the creativity of the business world” In this episode of The EY CEO Outlook podcast series, Deborah Kelleher tells host Richard Curran the story of her childhood love of music, her rise to the highest levels of musicianship and academia, and subsequent transition to business and leadership in the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Deborah Kelleher started playing piano at the age of seven and so began a devotion to music that was to dominate her formative years. Coming from a highly musical family, Deborah was surrounded by the people and structures that helped her to excel as a pianist and, for her, the future was clear - “I became so immersed in the music and the life that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else”. However, Deborah began to realise that the skills she had built in the world of music were highly transferrable to that of business and leadership – lateral thinking, problem-solving, creativity and discipline. And so, after completing a ‘game-changing’ MBA, Deborah joined the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and has been Director of the organisation since 2010.  They discuss: The difficulty of taking on a leadership role at the height of the recession in 2010 and how Deborah navigated early challenges around redundancies and funding. If the film Whiplash is an accurate depiction of modern musical tuition.  The importance of prioritising one’s personal best. Deborah’s vision for the RIAM. 
In this episode of the EY CFO Outlook podcast series, NTR plc CFO Marie Joyce tells host Vincent Wall the story of her rise through the ranks of companies including Arthur Anderson, Elan, and Irish Broadband, to her current role, securing a green future with NTR plc.Established in 1978 to build Ireland’s first toll bridge, NTR plc has been investing in sustainable infrastructure since 1999. Solely focussed on investments in onshore wind, solar, and battery storage, the company now manages 1bn of capital in clean energy projects across 45 sites in 6 European countries.  As NTR plc’s CFO, Marie Joyce’s role includes designing funds that are attractive to investors, raising debt alongside that equity, building the assets on time and on budget, and ultimately delivering on promises and expectations. Alongside the company’s energy projects, Marie believes that one of NTR plc’s key assets is its reputation. Indeed, it was the company culture that first attracted her to join: “entrepreneurial partnership, direct, honest, very straight, what you see is what you get; which our investors, employees, and stakeholders really appreciate”. Vincent and Marie also discuss: ·       The valuable lessons she learned about sales and negotiation during one of the most difficult times of her career ·       The immense volatility in energy infrastructure costs and the price of power, and the challenges it is presenting.  ·       The importance of having systems that turn ‘too much information’ into something useful and actionable.  ·       Her advice to other CFOs – “keep the personal touch and develop relationships”.
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