Down To Business

Darren Ashby believes a sense of mission is crucial for any company to succeed. He is the co-author of 'Every Team Actually Doing Business Better' and he’s also Chief Impact officer of Businessfourzero. He joins Bobby to discuss the importance of having a mission in business.

Joining Bobby to take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages and the business pages of today’s papers is Norah Casey and Conor Faughnan.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Ray Ryan, CEO of the Noledge Group.

This weekend a festival with a difference is taking place at Palmerstown House Estate, Kildare. 'Forever Young Festival' delights in taking us back to the 80’s with a lineup including legends such as Squeeze, Bananarama, Erasure, Andy Bell, Tony Hadley, and lots more. But despite the nasty weather, festival founder Sharon Alston is still all smiles. She joins Bobby to chat about what’s going on and how she came to start this retro music festival.

Solving the housing crisis and achieving targets with regard to the Climate Action Plan and the National Development Plan will require a huge effort on behalf of the construction industry. But do we have sufficient numbers of qualified graduates coming into the construction & surveying professions and if not, what does the future hold as we seek to address the mistakes of the past? Joining Bobby to discuss the construction and surveying industry is: - Noel Larkin of Noel Larkin & Associates Chartered Building Surveyors - Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director General of the Construction Industry Federation - Kevin Brady, Director at APNA and Immediate Past Chair of Quantity Surveying Professional Group in the SCSI

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is the Bank of Ireland's CEO Myles O'Grady.

Bobby goes to Rathcoole to visit Well Cann'd Water where he meets the founders. They tell us of the benefits of storing water in cans.

As part of this week’s industry review, we’re getting some fresh air with a panel of garden designers and landscapers. Here to tell us about the nature of their work is Nicola Haines, Landscape Designer, Mark McDowall, Principal Landscape Architect & Garden Designer at Hoctor Smyth, and Diarmuid Gavin, Celebrity Gardener.

Like it or not, there is sure to be one point in your life when you find yourself standing in front of a crowd, being asked to say a few words. It could be a wedding speech, a work presentation or a retirement toast. A big fear for many! Here to give us some tips to help you speak in public like a pro, is Anthony Garvey- the reigning UK Public Speaking Champion from Toastmasters International.

There is a growing call to grant Drogheda city status. Conor Skehan who is a Sunday Independent columnist and former lecturer in planning at TUI Dublin has long been a proponent of this campaign and maintains that it points to the future of urban planning in Ireland. He joins Bobby to share his thoughts.

Joining Bobby to take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages & the business pages of today’s papers is Bob Hoffman of Vista Executive Search, and Susan Hayes Culleton of Hayes Culleton.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is the CEO of Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Caroline Bocquel.

FoodCloud is a social enterprise with a vision for a world where no good food goes to waste. Bobby took a trip out to Tallaght to the 'FoodCloud Kitchen' to find out more about the business.

Earlier in the week The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) downgraded substantially its outlook for growth in Gross Domestic Product terms for the Irish economy, but it said the underlying position of the economy is still very strong. This seems to continue an economic narrative we’ve been observing here for a while where we seem to be told that things are both good and bad at the same time. To make sense of this all, Bobby is joined by Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times.

You may have seen recently that new legislation on health labeling for alcohol products has been signed into law by Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly. This got us thinking about the overall state of the off-trade sector and the many numerous obstacles it has had to navigate over the last number of years. For this week’s Industry Review Bobby is joined by: - Padraig Sweeney, owner of Sweeney’s D3 Off Licence and Café - Paul Foley, owner of The Corkscrew in Dublin - Cathal McHugh, Vice Chairman of NOffLA & owner of McHugh's Off Licences

Dominic Ashley-Timms believes that every moment is a coaching moment and if we understand that, our businesses will thrive, and our employees will engage much better. Dominic co-created the STAR manager programme and is also the author of ‘The Answer is a Question: The Missing Superpower that Changes Everything and Will Transform Your Impact as a Manager and Leader' - he joins Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby to take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages & the business pages of today’s papers is Louisa Meehan of Woodview HRM and also by Joe Brennan who is Markets Correspondent with the Irish Times.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Croom Medical CEO, Patrick Byrnes.

Down to Business was broadcasting live in the Hunt Museum in Limerick as part of Newstalk’s Summer tour and in preparation did a survey with listeners on who they would like to hear from on the show. Karl Spain was the clear winner and so he joined Bobby for a chat about his life and career in the comedy world.

Bobby was out & about at the newly opened International Rugby Experience in Limerick city which has not only won over the hearts of Limerick natives but the building in which it is housed has also been crowned Ireland's favourite building for 2023.

Joining Bobby from the Hunt Museum is Ireland and Munster rugby legend, Marcus Horan to talk Munster rugby, Limerick city, and more.

Continuing his exploration of some of the most well-known Limerick-based businesses Bobby is joined by: - Dr. James Ring, CEO of global management consultancy Ingenium - Gillian Horan, CEO & founder of branding agency, The Pudding - Donal Galligan, CEO Takumi Precision Engineering

Bobby is joined by some Limerick Businesses that can be rightly described as institutions for the city and the wider community. - Mick Dolan of Dolans Warehouse - David Fitzgerald, General Manager of Limerick Milk Market · - Frank & Stephen O'Mahony of O'Mahony's Booksellers

Joining Bobby in The Hunt Museum is model agent and TV presenter, Celia Holman-Lee where they discuss what Limerick means to her and her life and times in the modelling industry.

Joining Bobby to take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front & business pages of today’s papers is Nick Rabbitts, Business Reporter with the Limerick Leader & Adam Leahy, News Editor with the Limerick Post.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is Tom Finn, CEO of Sliver Stream Health Care Group.

Antionette Oglethorpe has a lifetime’s experience in training, career development, and coaching. This spans from her time in Accenture right up to founding her own training and coaching company which has been running since 2012. This week also saw the publication of her new book 'Confident Career Conversations: Empower Your Employees for Career Growth and Retention'. She joins Bobby to discuss.

As we heard this week, Boris Johnston was found to have misled parliament over lockdown parties, a claim that he strenuously denies. It seems all year long we constantly hear of problems with Boris and indeed the wider conservative party. But what effect, if any, does all this have on the UK economy? Bobby is joined by David Smith, economist with the Sunday Times.

Ice-cream makers must be booming right now with the sun splitting the stones and the people getting out and about to make the most of the warm weather. For this week’s industry review, Bobby is joined by three ice cream makers to give us a sense of how things have been going for them: - Yasmin Kahn, Director of Teddys Ice Cream - Sean Murphy, co-owner of Murphy’s Ice Cream - David Kiersey, co-owner of Freezin’ Friesian

Joining Bobby to take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages & the business pages of today’s papers is Joan Mulvihill who is the Digitization Lead at Siemens and Lorcan Allen who is Business Editor with the Business Post.

This week Bobby was out & about at Newbridge Silverware where he got the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at how one of Ireland's longest-established indigenous businesses operates.

On Tuesday the PGA Tour agreed to merge with rival LIV Golf, which is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund in a move that surprised almost everyone. So what does this merger mean for the sport of golf and more importantly the business of golf, Bobby was joined by Roddy Carr, former Irish International Golfer and Ian Mallon Sports Business Reporter and Reporter.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Martin Byrne, Country Manager of EPAM Systems

A recent article in the New York Times described Ireland’s fishing industry as a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ but is that the case? If so, is there really a future for Ireland’s fishing industry? Joining Bobby to look at the industry is: · Brendan Byrne, CEO of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association) · Jason Sheehan, Co-owner of Sheehan's Fishing Company Ltd · Martin Shannahan, Owner of Fishy Fishy

Bobby is joined by Emily Cosgrove, co-founder of Conversation Space who along with her business partner, Sara Hope, has just authored a book entitled 'Conversational Wisdom: Strengthening Human Connection through the Power of Conversation'.

This week Bobby visited The Rage a shop in the heart of Temple Bar that sellssecond hand games and records. He got a tour from the shop's owner, Ronan Boland.

To take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages & the business pages of today’s papers Bobby was joined by Linda Daly, business reporter with the Sunday Times and Ian Curran business reporter with the Irish Times.

Joining Bobby this week in the Executive Chair is Kurt Takahashi, CEO, Netwatch Group.

This week Bobby took a trip to the Game of Thrones Visitor experience.

Bees are an irreplaceable part of the biodiversity on which we all depend for our survival and beekeeping also provides an important source of income for rural livelihoods. So, for this week’s Industry Review, Bobby wanted to find out more about the business of beekeeping and the rewards we can reap from protecting these incredible creatures. Joining Bobby was: - Ken Norton of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations - Hanna Backmo of Hanna’s Bees in Cork - Beekeeper, Stuart Hayes

We heard this week that the unemployment rate has hit its lowest level since records began. We’re have surplus tax receipts and yet people can’t afford houses and petrol is going up again. To make sense of the seeming contradictions in the Irish Economic picture Bobby was joined by renowned economist Dan O’Brien.

In the summer of 2021, Chris Kane found himself publishing the first edition of a book called Where Is My Office? It was a time when working from home was compulsory for all. Offices were empty. Two years on from that, Chris has just published the post-pandemic edition of the book. So has our view of ‘what is an office’ fundamentally changed in three years?

Now in supermarkets up and down the country, you will undoubtedly find a plethora of meat alternatives, and with good reason. It’s a growing market and one that is appealing to more and more people who wouldn’t even consider themselves vegetarian or vegan. Richard Sharp & Shane O'Connor, Co-Founders of Seriously Sound Food Co joined Bobby now to talk about their wildly successful company…

To take a look at the stories that are making an impact on the front pages & the business pages of today’s papers Bobby was joined by Writer and Journalist Valerie Cox and Deputy Business Editor with the Irish Independent Jon Ihle

Joining Bobby in the hot seat this week is Paul Murphy, the managing director of AVCOM. They chat about the early days of the audio-visual market in Ireland, as well as Paul's encounter with Nelson Mandela.

Bobby tackles the buzz surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on our work and the economy. Joining us for this enlightening discussion are economist Cormac Lucey and our resident tech guru, Andy O'Donoghue. They bring their expertise to the table as they delve into the implications of technology on our economy.

Bobby has the privilege of speaking with Will Beckett, the co-founder of Hawksmoor, one of the world's most admired restaurant chains coming to Ireland. Join Bobby as he dives into the fascinating journey of Hawksmoor, exploring its rise to success and the secrets behind its acclaimed status.

Bobby has the pleasure of speaking with three knowledgeable business owners who run their own garden centres. Joining him are Rachel Doyle, the Founder of Arboretum, Carl Jones from Jones' Garden Centre in Donabate, and David Maher from Solas of Portarlington. Each has their own unique business, and they share their experiences and expertise in the garden centre business.

Joining Bobby is the hilarious and versatile Neil Mularkey. From sharing the screen with Mike Myers in Austin Powers movies to appearing in various UK comedy shows, Neil has made a name for himself in the comedy world. But there's more to him than just laughs—Neil is also a highly sought-after training consultant for prestigious businesses like the BBC, The Body Shop, and Proctor and Gamble. Get ready to discover his unique blend of humor and expertise as we discuss his upcoming book, "In The Moment," which is set to be released next week.

Joining Bobby to discuss the latest news stories is Gina London, a Sunday Independent columnist, and Declan Ralph, the Retail Development Director at BWG Foods. They join Bobby to provide expert insights and analysis on the top business stories.