We look back at some of this year’s AB interviews, which showcase members’ wide range of roles and skills, together with many fascinating career and life experiences. Here are some of the highlights of the past 12 months.
‘I picked ACCA because I loved its origin story’
Joe O’Regan FCCA
Owner of Intrinsic CFO and ACCA Ireland chair
‘My role as the fractional CFO is co-pilot – running checklists and scanning the instruments so good instincts become safe decisions.’
‘To see firsthand the global nature and the networking value of ACCA while I lived in Canada was something extraordinary. It motivated me even more in terms of giving back and encouraging others to join.’
‘We are seeing the kind of intergenerational wealth found in other parts of Europe’
David Killeen FCCA
CEO of Irish Life
‘Protecting the most vulnerable in our society has always been important to me, and I think that’s what Irish Life always tries to do in terms of products and advice.’
‘When I think about finance, I think about watching a match at Croke Park: the higher up you sit, the more you see of what’s going on and the clearer your perspective on where things are going.’
‘There’s something about the port – it invokes nostalgia. Everyone has a connection to it’
Marie Porter FCCA
Head of finance and ESG reporting at Dublin Port Company
‘ESG effectively originates from financial markets and investors, so at DPC ESG reporting and disclosure sits within finance; it’s a natural fit.’
‘We’re surrounded by communities, so we need to consider noise and pollution. We talk a lot about the seals in Dublin Port and not disrupting the sea life when undertaking projects.’
‘People want know more about where we have come from and to have the fine details filled in’
Mark Sherry FCCA
Head of finance and procurement services at the National Museum of Ireland
‘It’s hard to measure the productivity of a museum in financial terms. Ultimately, you have to look at other metrics, such as the value of having items available and the response of the public to them.’
‘As diplomatic posts go [Sherry was honorary consul in Ireland for Mongolia], it was not the Ferrero Rocher kind. There is a growing community of Mongolians in Ireland, and I was delighted to be able to help in any way I could.’
‘There’s been a water sector in Ireland for 300 years’
Colm D’Arcy FCCA
Head of revenue and financial operations at Uisce Éireann (Irish Water)
‘When you’re building an organisation, you’re bringing in qualified, capable people. You don’t have to work on motivation. It’s there in the room. There are no walls between departments.’
‘Investment needs to be broad to meet demands around new housing and connectivity, but it’s also got to be strategic. It’s important delivery is targeted to the right places.’
‘As a child, I always had a fascination with how complex systems worked’
Eimear McCauley FCCA
Executive director of finance, contracts and capital development at Western Health and Social Care Trust
‘What I’ve taken satisfaction from in my finance roles is maximising the resources at our disposal, looking at how we can spend money better and how we can make better decisions.’
‘One thing that I stress to my team is minimising the idea that finance is operating through a single lens or is “responsible for this only”.’
‘Diversity is absolutely key to us in terms of how we drive our business’
Ann Prendergast FCCA
Head of EMEA operations at State Street Global Advisors
‘In your first roles, there’s often a sense of “player-manager”, where you’re part of the team and doing the work with them. That evolves as you manage more senior people who need less direction.’
‘What matters is broadening your understanding, because that is the key to increasing the number of opportunities available to you.’
‘Domino’s is fundamentally a kitchen production centre with a logistics element to it’
George Bertram ACCA
CEO of Shorecal Group
‘Everyone who works here is hands-on. If you go to the store, you dress in the uniform even if you’re the CEO. There’s a sense of camaraderie that I love.’
‘What makes us different is that we control the journey from beginning to end. If anything goes wrong, we can do something about it.’
