The Big Interview: Karen Clince chief executive Tigers Childcare

Karen Clince was 20 when she was made redundant from a tech company as the dotcom bubble burst. The experience set her on a course to running Tigers Childcare, one of the biggest multiples in the childcare industry

Karen Clince: For the first time, we’re now seen as a strategic industry, that childcare is needed for the economy to tick. Picture: Barry Cronin

Role: chief executive of Tigers Childcare

Lives: Ballsbridge, Dublin

Age: 40

Family: Ella Bleu, 19, and Luca, 13

My working day: “I’m an early riser. I’m usually up at 6am to get the kids ready for school and then I would be at my laptop before 8am. Between meetings, the day can go on pretty late. I’m usually not finished before 7pm or 8pm most nights. And there’s a lot of travel involved.”

My perfect weekend: “I love eating out and socialising. I love to travel too, which I’d say is one of my main hobbies. I’m very much a people person, so I love being around people at the weekend.”