S.2 Ep.23 - Building The Herlihy Centra Group With CBA President Kevin Herlihy

Tourism branding is the talk of the table today with former CEO of Spike Island John Crotty who today, works with Cork City Council focusing on the economic development of the city alongside the 'We Are Cork' brand that focuses on business in the city with it's ethos to encourage people to live, work, invest, study & visit Cork.Prior to his role in tourism John worked lived in the UK where he worked in retail under Sainsbury's as Customer Service manager overseeing 14 stores across Wales. But a move back home to Ireland & his love for business & history intertwined when he took on the role as CEO of Spike Island during it's relaunch in 2016.It's safe to say, building, maintaining & promoting a tourist brand is one of John's forte, which is evident in his time atSpike Island where he spent 6 years launching the Island as a prime tourist attraction in Cork. Through agile marketing, it led to great success over the years, where Spike Island receiving Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction & Irish finalist two years in a row. Over the years he was part of the team that transformed the island from a museum, to a concert hall, to hosting after dark tours to highlight the island's dark history.Today he has aspirations to take his love for history & his experience at Spike Island & write a book on it's history. Stay tuned for it's release!Advance talks with writing a history book on Spike Island. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Mar 202354min

The proud new owner of Cork City Football Club joins one of their fans Stephen to talk about taking over the club, as City gear up for kick off in their first game of the season. Dermot Usher, an avid League of Ireland fan, bought the club this year fulfilling his goal to get involved in football.Dermot's career however started with a number of jobs from a bank to telesales before he stepped into the family business Sonas Bathrooms which he took eventually over with his brother at the age of 23, following his father's passing. Sonas Bathrooms had paved the way as one of Ireland's premium bathroom providers due to their focus on customer experience, providing smart initiatives for both buyers & commercial providers from their home catalogue, to virtual showrooms & online tutorials. Over 30 years the company has seen the challenging times of the 2008 crash & the pandemic but Dermot saw it's turnover grow exponentially from €300,000 in his first year to almost €50 million today. He eventually sold the business but remains on the Board of Directors.It was during his early retirement he was approached to purchase a number of clubs in the League of Ireland. During his time at Sonas he had sponsored a number of clubs but purchasing a club wasn't on the cards at the time. He eventually bit the bullet & bought Cork City Football Club this year. Although he's a Dub at heart, Dermot has great plans in the pipeline for City & has ambitious aims to build the club to a bigger & better scale as they return to the Premier Division this season. Tune in to hear more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Feb 20231h 3min

We're rolling out the red carpet for this week's guest who you'll definitely recognise from your TV screens as actor, writer & podcaster Hilary Rose joins Stephen to give an insight to entertainment industry, the necessities to pursue an acting career & life behind the big screens.Hilary's career in the entertainment industry kick started at 17 which saw her DJ'ing in Cork's infamous Sir Henry's, touring across the country & securing slots on radio. This helped fund her acting career on the side, but she eventually left to pursue acting fully.She started off honing her improvisational skills on The Republic of Telly & hidden camera show The Fear. However it was The Young Offenders which gave her first break with the film & later TV series.Since the success of The Young Offenders, Hilary landed roles in various TV series & it has opened many avenues in the entertainment industry. She has launched her own brand Live Wild which consists of lifestyle blog & podcast which features many people in the industry.She provides great insight & knowledge into the world of entertainment, but also the importance of building a self brand as an actor, the characteristics needed to succeed in acting & how networking & self-promotion is vital to be seen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Feb 20231h 1min

The rental market & an insight to the intricacies of insurance are the talking points with HomeHak founder Pat Drinan who founded the business in 2018. HomeHak is an innovative platform designed to connect Letting agents, DIY landlords and homeowners through online profiles when applying for a rental property.However Pat's career began in the financial services which spanned for over 26 years & gained him the titles as Ireland's first financial lines under writer. During his career he worked across Europe, the US & UK with a number of insurance companies taking on roles at Chubb Insurance, Ace European Group, Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Group. A move back to Cork eventually led to a weekly commute from Cork to London but he ultimately made a decision to leave the insurance industry & in 2016 took on a new research role years with an Ireland based SME, researching ways to improve sustainability through increasing water and crop productivity.HomeHak was born on the back of the difficulties in the housing market due to the shortage of housing supply & abundance of applications per property. The idea stemmed from his owns son's difficulties in securing adequate accommodation for college. To build the business in a new sector from his former experience, he took the opportunity to build new skills studying Digital Marketing Strategy at MTU. From there he has been building HomeHak with the idea was to connect Letting agents, DIY landlords and homeowners through an online profile where tenants can showcase their credentials for landlords with the aim for both parties to secure long-term tenancies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Feb 202359min

We look into the world of non-profit organisations in this episode with Sanctuary Runners founder Graham Clifford who is also kept busy with Translate Ireland & One Town One Voice where the vision of integration of communities is at its core. His passion for integration, diversity & inclusion stems from his lengthy career in journalism where he spent time working abroad reporting on different cultures & communities.Graham's career in journalism started unintentionally when he landed himself a job as a reporter for Radio Kerry. A move to Australia saw him covering cultural projects & meeting different communities & cultures. A return to Europe saw him working for the BBC in the UK & freelancing for The Irish Times, The Independent & Radio 1 here in Ireland where he would report from across Europe & Africa. He recounts some of the interesting interviews he conducted over the years.His journalism career eventually took the back seat so he could pursue his idea of Sanctuary Runners which uses running, jogging & walking to bring together asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and all Irish residents. The idea came following a trip to a refugee camp while working abroad, it was during a marathon he thought to use running as a bridge to build to bring people together. It proved a huge success & led to an expansion across Ireland with over 30 Sanctuary Runners up & running with plans for more in sight. The success doesn't stop there, the runners have branched out to Sanctuary Swimmers & inspired a creative approach to integration through One Town One Voice national initiative which helps build community singing groups in towns across Ireland with a special emphasis on community integration, diversity and respect. The future is looking good for Graham & we're excited to see the future holds for his many ventures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Feb 202348min

This week is a deep dive into the world of marketing & it’s safe to say Stephen is in his element as he’s joined by Seamus Leahy of Invite Resorts, who has an extensive career in marketing & the hospitality industry. Seamus's colourful career saw him working for an array big companies throughout.We get an insight to the operations & marketing strategies he’s executed for companies like Dairygold, golf retailer Cutter & Buck Europe as well as Scottish & Newcastle where he was responsible for chains such as Trabolgan, Pontins & Centre Parcs all the while lecturing at UCC. On a more local level Seamus was one of the masterminds behind Christmas at Fota Island Resort, leading a successful marketing campaign & providing the highly anticipated event in Cork. Here he spent 14 years as Director of Marketing at a role that seen him do a rebrand & host an Irish Open amongst other exciting events.Today he is a cofounder of Invite Resorts with hotels in Killaloe & another in Sligo where he hopes to reignite his love of events. Suffice to say these two could’ve spoken about marketing for hours. There’s huge learning for anyone looking to improve their knowledge on the ins & outs of marketing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jan 20231h 22min

Brand design & strategy are on the drawing board of this weeks episode as Stephen is joined by Deirdre Corcoran, founder of Chapter. They dive deep into the important role creativity plays in the corporate world & how it intertwines with marketing, branding & creating a clear vision in conveying the ethos, vision & mission of brands.While art & creativity is often undervalued, Stephen & Deirdre discuss its necessity & vitality in business & the need for creativity to be appreciated on a wider scale. Deirdre's love of art & design ignited at a young age after a visit to Cork's famous St.Finbarr's Cathedral. It was the architecture, art, sculptors & design of the cathedral that left her fascinated & from there, it inspired her to tap into her creative talents.Deirdre's original plans was to pursue a career in rowing having spent her school years competing professionally with Ireland with dreams to compete in the Olympics, however an injury in Leaving Cert year meant an early retirement. With her dreams shattered, she decided to study design at MTU which brought a new direction eventually led to a career in design working for likes of The Irish Examiner, The Irish Independent, the RTE guide, & the Supervalu brand.The idea for Chapter came following the birth of her son, it was a new chapter in her life, becoming a full-time mum & self-employed meant she could juggle both. While it wasn't easy initially, she developed clients over the years helping them understand who they are & to execute their mission & vision through multimedia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 20231h 4min

Get a behind the scenes look into life on & behind the screen with videographer, presenter & founder of the Vidacademy Judie Russell who has worked in the industry in over 10 countries & how businesses can benefit from creating simple yet effective video content.While on a worldwide trip, it was a move to Hollywood to work with a friend in video production which kick-started her pursuit in videography - which took her back to her hobby as a young girl, shooting on her cam-corder. While job hunting for sometime luck struck when a job in Costa Rica opened up, where Judy presented online videos & produced over 100 minutes of YouTube content weekly from live shows to industry news stories.After 5 years abroad broadening her skills, Judy returned to Ireland directing, producing, presenting & editing for SKY & familiar Irish TV shows such as “The Fear” & The Young Offenders. In 2015 she decided it was time to start her own company & that's when the Vidacademy was established helping businesses to create their own video content.From listening to the podcast - you'll realise she never seems to stop with ideas & that's when she co-founded The Story Of - an innovative idea in embedding QR codes in gravestones to tell people’s life stories through pictures and videos. Anyone looking to create online content through video - this is a must! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Jan 20231h 5min