Leadership

The sudden closure of department store Clerys in June 2015 raises some interesting corporate governance issues, writes Niamh Brennan, Michael MacCormac Professor of Management at University College Dublin (UCD). By way of background, Clerys is a department store in Dublin’s main street, O’Connell Street. Until recently it was a family-owned business, having been established in 1853. It has a particular place in Dubliners’ hearts, as many courting couples would arrange to meet under Clerys clock. In 2012, Clerys was purchased by Boston-based US firm of turnaround experts Gordon Brothers for €14m. Fair play to Gordon Brothers. It sold the fine building on O’Connell Street housing the Clerys trading business to…

Eric Moe has always been good at Math. From the time he took Math honors in high school through his days as a Mathematics Major at UC Davis, Eric has been the guy who could solve the difficult problem, see the hidden truth, and discover the impossible solution nobody else believed could exist.

Ireland’s business leaders need “a strategic toolkit” – Lawton According to Professor Thomas Lawton, the key speaker at last night’s InterTradeIreland 2011 Innovation Lecture, business leaders and entrepreneurs who want to achieve double-digit growth must put together an integrated strategic toolkit to design, develop and deliver a strategy to breakout beyond average economic performance. “Having a joined-up approach to strategy, regardless of the company size or industry sector, is what differentiates breakout companies from the average,” said Lawton, who is a professor at Emlyon Business School in France. “It also requires business leaders to be innovative in their capacity to rapidly and pre-emptively adopt or adapt in markets or industries.” He…

Global stars to descend on Dublin to discuss women in tech Some of the most successful women in tech will be in Dublin next Monday, 30 June to attend the Female Founders Forum, organised by Silicon Republic. The event will take place from 2pm to 5pm at the Guinness Storehouse, St James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin 8 and it will focus on the future of investment in female-led high potential start-ups in Ireland. After the forum, a special reception celebrating 100 top women in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) will take place at the Storehouse. “The role of women in the tech sector is a huge issue globally. International research shows…

A Passionate European: An Interview with Secretary-General of the EC, Catherine Day As secretary-general of the European Commission, Catherine Day is the European Union’s most senior civil servant, the first woman to hold this role. On a recent trip to Dublin, she spoke to Ann O’Dea about the challenges and rewards of the job. Dubliner Catherine Day joined the European Commission in 1979. She steadily rose through the ranks to reach her position today as secretary-general of the Commission, the most senior official in the European Union , and the first woman to hold this role. “That means I have lived longer in Brussels than I have in Dublin, but once a…

Tyndall and TSSG targeting €82m in funding and 10 spin-outs with internet of things partnership Tyndall National Institute and Waterford Institute of Technology’s Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will seek to draw down €82m of funding available through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme and create 10 spin-outs. The MoU will formalize a partnership between the two research institutions to create a full end-to-end offering in the IoT space.  The MoU is targeting the creation of 10 new spin-out companies based on IoT technologies that will span multiple sectors. Tyndall and TSSG are currently collaborating on several projects across the energy, agriculture, environment, and health sectors to deliver a tangible connection for…

Permanent TSB has confirmed that it is raising the interest rates on its standard variable mortgages and related products by 0.5pc from the start of February. As a result, the new rate for customers holding standard variable mortgages is 3.69pc. Permanent TSB said the move would affect just under 80,000 residential mortgage customers, who make up 45pc of its residential mortgage loan book. Its other 100,000 residential mortgage customers will not be affected. High cost of fundsThe bank said the decision to increase rates had been forced on it as a result of the continuing high cost of funds. “While the bank sources funds from a variety of sources, the…

The Telecommunications, Software, and Systems Group ( TSSG ) at Waterford Institute of Technology is co-ordinating an EU-funded project to help build the global technical infrastructure for a fifth generation (5G) telecommunications network and mobile internet. The 30-month CogNet (Cognitive Networks) project has received almost €6m in EU funding as the only Irish-led project approved under the Horizon 2020-financed, 5G Public, Private Partnership programme (5G-PPP). Current telecom providers have just started the process of rolling out 4G, and 5G is likely to start appearing around 2022. A multinational project, CogNet will develop solutions to provide a highly automated and more intelligent level of network monitoring and management, improve operational and energy…

Over 110 of Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs are back in Ireland following last week’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year CEO retreat in Vancouver and Seattle. The retreat, which was attended by this year’s finalists and a number of EOY alumni, was, according to the organisers, “focused on equipping the entrepreneurs in attendance with the building blocks to create a robust global vision for their respective businesses”. “The CEO Retreat exposed our entrepreneurs to visionaries across all walks of life, from the founders of cutting-edge emerging companies to the president and CEO of global aerospace giant Boeing” said Frank O’Keeffe, partner-in-charge of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. “Whether they were artists, politicians or…