The Big Interview

‘Get guidance on succession, it’s something you only do once a generation’ – Rachel O’Connor, GPG

A carefully handled succession process now sees the O’Connor family’s thriving paint business safe in the hands of the founder’s granddaughter, who is steering it towards a sustainable future

Rachel O’Connor, managing director of General Paints Group: ‘The transition between my dad and my grandfather was very unplanned, and I think it often is between first and second generation.’ Picture: Barry Cronin

In 1950, Ronan O’Connor was one of tens of thousands of Irish people who left the country in search of work. He found it in a paint factory in San Francisco and when he returned to Ireland three years later, he decided to stay in the sector.

Almost 70 years after O’Connor founded General Paints Group (GPG), his granddaughter has made the same trip across the Atlantic, returning to Ireland to take over the running ...