The Big Interview | Business Post

The Big Interview

‘We offer customers a crystal ball into what’s happening’ – Barry Conlon, co-founder of supply chain firm Overhaul

Overhaul, the supply chain software company that Barry Conlon co-founded, is bringing more science to a business that was traditionally more often seen as an inexact art

The Big Interview

Bus Eireann chief executive: ‘cultural mindshift needed to get people out of cars’

Stephen Kent says that weaning people away from cars and on to public transport is his main ambition

The Big Interview

‘I only see good things at the moment’ – Irish Whiskey Association chair James Doherty on a booming industry

As the value of whiskey exports exceeds €1 billion, the founder of Sliabh Liag Distillers and chair of the Irish Whiskey Association says there is more growth to come

The Big Interview

‘For our HQ, I was always going to have to be talked out of Ireland’ – Leo Sheridan, Advanced Clinical

Leo Sheridan’s Advanced Clinical, which carries out research trials on new drugs, is expanding into Ireland and the Chicago entrepreneur plans to bring the company’s new international headquarters to Dublin

The Big Interview

‘This is a zero-waste facility. Every part of the insect is valuable’ – Alvan Hunt, Hexafly

Alvan Hunt of Hexafly creates sustainable animal feed and fertiliser using flies that feed off food waste – and is closing a €40 million funding round to take his ideas even further

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including the inside story of Budget 2023 and the man who helps Premier League stars with their money

The Big Interview

‘Kane and Sterling have been wearing this device since they were kids’ – Seán O’Connor, StatSports

The co-founder of the rising tech company StatSports spotted the potential of technology to revolutionise performance in sport and the health of athletes. Now his investors include some of the world’s biggest stars

The Big Interview

‘It’s a sipping type of product, a perfect fit with Gen Z’ – Aidan Murphy of Galway Hooker

It’s all change at Galway Hooker, with the sale of the craft beer brewery to Connacht Hospitality Group – but its co-founder is ready for new challenges, including running the brewery as the firm plans an entry into the US market

The Big Interview

‘We work in the sewers of the mind’ – Moonshot’s Ross Frenett on fighting threats online

Moonshot uses online tools to track and counter violent threats to society. Co-founder Ross Frenett believes that, with the right interventions, individuals who have veered towards extremism can be steered away from it

The Big Interview

‘Renting a car this summer is between 150-180% more expensive’ - Aileen McCormack of CarTrawler

The car rental software firm not only survived the pandemic but acquired a new investor and secured key partners. It is now thriving with its move into the US, says its chief commercial officer

The Big Interview

‘Most people in the hospitality game are eternal optimists’ – Loh Lik Peng, the Unlisted Collection

The founder of international hospitality and fine dining group the Unlisted Collection knew and loved Ireland long before he bought into the game here. He believes the country still has ‘vast potential’ for hotel investors and is on the lookout for more properties here

The Big Interview

‘The European energy market is experiencing shocks like never before’ – Dave Kirwan, Bord Gáis

The managing director of the largest gas company in Ireland is looking to a future of indigenously sourced energy. But in the short term, the outlook is grim, with soaring energy costs being the biggest driver of inflation

The Big Interview

‘What’s the breaking point? How long can we absorb these increases?’ – Ciara Troy, food entrepreneur

The Dublin-based founder of Oishii Foods built her successful Japanese cuisine company from scratch, but is concerned now about the impact of inflation on her growing business

The Big Interview

‘You are more than able for this role, and we want you to want this role’ – Gemma Freeman of Dentons

The insolvency lawyer has risen to the top of a male-dominated profession – and credits the strongly pro-female atmosphere at her firm, Dentons, for much of that

The Big Interview

‘Corporate culture has torn the soul out of its own gifting’ – Jonathan Legge, &Open

The company’s ‘human-centric’ gifting services for multinationals, which is now switching its focus to include small and medium-sized businesses as well, all started as a result of a mix-up over a gift when its co-founder hosted a family on Airbnb

The Big Interview

‘In times of crisis, you want to be in control of your destiny’ – Gary Morrison of Hostelworld

Travel restrictions led to losses of €17.3 million for Dublin-headquartered Hostelworld in 2021 but now, with business almost back to pre-pandemic levels, its chief executive Gary Morrison is looking to the future and to other markets such as the over-35 solo traveller

The Big Interview

Jack Teeling: ‘When I was growing up, Irish whiskey was not seen as a cool thing’

With business recovering well after the Covid dip, the managing director of Teeling Whiskey is optimistic about an industry that has ‘totally changed’

The Big Interview: ‘The sector has learned lessons from the past. We're in a very different position as an industry to the financial crash of 2008’ – Cecilia Ronan, chief executive of Citibank Europe

Cecilia Ronan sees a thriving future where data analytics and emerging tech will be just as important as accountancy

The Big Interview: Conor Sheahan – ‘I’ve had more than one client who's no longer with us because the burden of the debt became too much. That's a really serious thing’

The chief executive of CKS Finance has helped the firm to make its name in debt resolution on behalf of its clients, most notably last year’s settlement between AIB and the Belfry investors. But it has also moved into corporate finance in a big way

The Big Interview: ‘We say no to people. If someone wants something from us that we can’t give, we won’t work with them’ – Andrew Lynch, co-founder, Huckletree

The co-founder and chief operating officer of co-working outfit Huckletree is focused on propelling his company to the forefront of the start-up world, as he looks ahead to opening a second office in Dublin city centre