Down To Business

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Joe Queenan, Managing Director of Foxford Woollen Mills.

It is one of life’s fundamental truths that if we don’t push ourselves beyond what we think we’re capable of, to take ourselves out of our comfort zone, then we will never tap into the potential we have within us. Sue Stockdale, Business Transformational and Leadership Change Coach and author of ‘Explore: A Life of Adventure’ certainly knows a thing or two about high-pressure situations and living on the edge - she joins Bobby to discuss.

Tourism is a vital component of the Irish economy. So, now that things are back in full swing, Bobby thought he’d get the perspective of three tour guides who make it their business to showcase the natural beauty and historical richness that we have to offer. Joining Bobby is Lorcan Collins, Founder of 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour Derek Smith, Founder of Custom Irish Tours Tommy Graham, Founder of Historical Walking Tours of Dublin

Every leader, no matter whether they have several thousand people working with them or just one, has two main responsibilities: to create direction and clarity and to get out of the way. So says Paula Leach, Founder and Executive Coach of Vantage Points Consulting & author of ‘Vantage Points: How to Create a Culture Where Employees Thrive'. She joins Bobby to discuss.

Bobby stopped into the Celtic Whisky Shop on Dublin's Dawson Street to see how trade is going and to chat with Katie Gibson, Marketing Manager, Store Manager, Darren Maher, and Wholesale Manager, Colm O'Connor.

Paul Howard, creator of one of the most iconic literary fictional Irish characters of the last 20 years - Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - joined Bobby to chat about the return of his smash hit musical, 'Copper Face Jacks: The Musical'.

Last week in our newspaper review Bobby highlighted the good news story of the PM Group who were expanding with a whole host of new jobs. So for this week's Executive Chair, Bobby was delighted to welcome the CEO of PM Group - David Murphy.

Almost half of adults aged 50 years and over in Ireland own a pet, and at the top of that list is dogs. But with all the love and joy they bring us comes a lot of grooming and TLC on our part as well. So, for this week's Industry Review Bobby is joined by three people who make it their business to make sure our dogs are looking their very best. Joining Bobby is - Dylan Brady of 'Barks and Bubbles' - Lisa Kearney of 'Muttugly' - Paul Abbott of 'Groming.Dog'

The biggest political story of the week, if not the year so far, has been the resignation of UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. John Downing, Irish Independent journalist, thought he saw the signs of his inevitable end when he first encountered him 30 years ago. He joined Bobby to discuss.

The Government's Summer Economic Statement published this week shows the forthcoming Budget will contain spending and tax measures equal to €6.7 billion. It has been described as a "temporary once-off increase," which breaches the Government’s own spending rule of 5% and as a result, economist, Jim Power, thinks political expediency is getting in the way of sound economic judgment. He joins Bobby to discuss.

An Post Commerce are proud to help SME’s to grow and succeed, with an innovative range of parcel solutions and direct mail advertising. One such business is A Sorted Affair by Kim & Lyn who found the An Post Commerce services - like their Advantage Card - a great help in the early days of setting up their business. They pay Bobby a visit to discuss.

There are plenty of candidates for the “toughest job” in business but sales has to be up there. It’s a thankless job and can be tough to stay positive if things aren’t going your way but Jeremy Cassell and Tom Bord the co-authors of ‘Brilliant Selling’ - first published in 2009 and now in its 3d edition - might be just the people to help you with that. They joined Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Enrico De Luca, Managing Director of Maxi Zoo.

There have been some pretty seismic changes in all of our lives over the past few years, and very few are as big as the way we work. From sudden shifts to working at home, to the delicate balance employers are now trying to find when dealing with their employees whose expectations have changed, the HR departments of companies all across the world have no doubt been pretty busy. Joining Bobby to chat about the area of HR is: - Sharon Vize, Group HR Director for CPL Resources - Liane O'Leary, HR Consultant with The HR Department - Damien McCarthy, CEO, and co-founder of HR Buddy

Cormac Lucey has said that he thinks that the clamour for national wage deals to tackle stagflation won’t pay off in the end. S, what can or should be be done? Cormac Lucey, Economics Columnist with the Sunday Times joins Bobby to discuss.

POWERCUT - the Irish athleisure wear company - has been taking the Irish market by storm both online and in Dunnes Stores around the country. Bobby is joined by Craig and Bronagh Mulhall, co-founders of POWERCUT Clothing to chat about the origins of the business.

Over the course of the last few weeks one lucky business, in competition with two others, had the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning prize included: 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from Marketing Network Group. Down to Business' has been delighted to be involved in with the competition which came to an end this week. Bobby is joined by the winner - James Redmond, CEO of Grab Same Day Delivery as well as Joe McGinley, CEO, and founder of Iconic Offices to discuss.

Icon Offices want to give back to the business community, therefore one lucky business will have the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning party will get the following in their 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from the Marketing Network Group. 'Down to Business' has been profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition over the last few weeks and this week Jonathan Healy was joined by Roseanne Scally, Director of WestTech Technologies to chat about the business.

Jonathan was joined by Nick Connors, a CEO of TEKenable.

We humans are pretty good problem solvers - we probably wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now if we weren’t. But do we fully utilise this skill in the workplace and if not, how do we get better at doing it? Arnaud Chevallier, Professor of Strategy and Decision Making at IMD & co-author of ‘Solvable - A Simple Solution to Complex Problems’ joined Jonathan.

The tourism and travel sectors were hit harder than most during the course of the pandemic. But they’re nothing if not resourceful and have found new ways and means to bounce back despite all the adversity.

Irish households are facing the biggest drop in living standards since the 2008 the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned. To discuss this and the wider economic situation in Ireland Jonathan was joined by Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Cork University Business School.

Irish consumers recycled a record number of electrical items last year. But is simply recycling enough to create a truly green and circular economy? What about the electronic products that might just need a bit of refurbishing? Kilian Kaminski, Co-Founder of Refurbed joined Jonathan today to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Anna Classon, RNLI Head of Ireland.

Energy sustainability and the safeguarding of our coastal regions has never been more important. To chat through what is being done here and elsewhere and how we can protect our coastal regions for future generations, Bobby is joined by Stephen Dunne, Editor of ReNews, Europe’s most prestigious renewable energy trade publication & Ciarán Farrell, COO at Aqualicense, a Wicklow-based company that provides consultation, planning, legal compliance, and project delivery services for firms in the aquaculture and offshore renewable energy industries.

Icon Offices want to give back to the business community, therefore one lucky business will have the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning party will get the following in their 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from Marketing Network Group. Down to Business' is profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition on Down to Business. This week Bobby is joined by James Redmond, CEO of Grab Same Day Delivery

Wicklow is known as the garden of Ireland but of course, there are innumerable opportunities for entrepreneurs and business people alike and so Bobby wanted to take a look at what Wicklow as a town and a county has going for it. To find out more Bobby is joined by: - Matt Forkin who is the Wicklow Chamber of Commerce President - Brian Gleeson, Chief Executive, Wicklow County Council - Pamela Walsh, Founder Wicklow Way Wines and Chairperson of Wicklow Naturally

For this week's 'Down to Business,' Bobby & co were in the garden of Ireland at Wicklow Sailing Club for the start of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race. There he spoke to some local business people to hear how they've been getting on. - Quincey Fennelly of Wicklow Wolf - Mark Van den Bergh of Max Benjamin

Legendary artist, naturalist, and all-round Irish TV legend Don Conroy stopped by to chat with Bobby about what he's been getting up to the past few years, what inspires him to paint and draw, and discuss the importance of keeping in touch with nature.

For a very special show broadcasting from Wicklow Sailing Club ahead of the start of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland, Bobby is joined by Barry Kilcline, Head of Offshore Development, SSE Renewables, and also David McHugh a previous winner of 'Round Ireland' to look ahead to this year's race, and chat about what the conditions will be like and what the competitors might expect from the coming days.

How can you cut through all the unnecessary complexity of adopting new technology and new digital concepts for your business? Bobby was joined by Tom Goodwin, author of the book Digital Darwinism to find out

Art College is possibly not what people might think it is. Bobby took a stroll up to Thomas Street to pay a visit to the National College of Art and Design where this week the work of their graduates is being showcased.

Elon Musk is forcing all Tesla Employees to return to the office. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, author of Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage, spoke to Bobby about Musk's latest antics.

In the Executive Chair this week is Sarah Jane O’Dwyer, HaloCare Group CEO

Festivals are back! And there are plenty to choose from - and not just ones that require a pair of wellies and a poncho! Bobby was joined in Studio by: ● Sorcha O’Reilly, Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Family Festival taking place in Blessington, June 24th-26th. ● John Crumlish, CEO, Galway International Arts Festival, July 11th-24th. ● Declan Forde, Festival Director of Beyond the Pale in Glendalough in Wicklow on this weekend June 10th-12th.

Over the next 3 weeks we will be profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition on Down to Business. First up today is the founder and CEO of Zipp Mobility Charlie Gleeson

Bobby remembers Ray Coye of Largo Foods and Tayto Park who recently passed away.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Daniel Mackey, Founder & Chief Technical Officer at Teamwork.com

Things are definitely getting back to normal because after two years of virtual events 'Bloom' is back live in the Phoenix Park. Now in its 16th year, 'Bord Bia Bloom' has become one of Ireland’s largest showcases celebrating the best of Irish horticulture, food, and drink. Bobby took a trip out to Phoenix Park to taste some of the food on offer, meet the people, and of course, take a stroll around the gardens.

Animation is a magical medium that not only captures the imagination but can also teach us valuable lessons as well. It just so happens that here in Ireland, we have some of the most talented and dedicated creative minds in the animation business. So, to help Bobby better understand how it all works, he was joined by three people in the know to discuss: - Tomm Moore, Co-founder & Creative Director of Cartoon Saloon - Gillian Comerford, Creative Director at Bouldermedia - Ronan McCabe, Chief Executive Officer at Animation Ireland

Across the water our closest neighbours are celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee where Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for a staggering 70 years. But how are things looking for the British economy with a Prime Minister who has skirted dangerously close to being fired, a war in Ukraine, and of course rampant inflation? Bobby was joined by Economics Editor & columnist with the Sunday Times, David Smith to discuss.

For many pop music fans, the return of ABBA live-in-concert has been long-awaited. Tech guru Andy O'Dononbhue joined Bobby to talk about the Abba avatars that have been created to make the show possible - technology which he thinks is the metaverse happening in front of our eyes!

Joining Bobby in the Executive chair is Paul Candon, CEO of United Hardware Limited.

Neil Bannon is a well-known retail property expert and the executive chairman at Bannon. He thinks that the death of the retail property market is being overstated and that the media, including us here on 'Down to Business', are over-egging it. Neil joined Bobby to discuss.

We are a nation of animal lovers, and with that comes a lot of care. But how have things been for those who make it their life’s work to take charge of that care in the last few years? To find out Bobby is joined by: - Elise O'Byrne White, Veterinary Surgeon at the DSPCA who also features on the RTÉ series ‘The Shelter: Animal SOS’ on Friday nights. - Conor Geraghty, Veterinary Surgeon at Geraghty & Neary Veterinary in Mountbellew, Co. Galway & also Former President of Veterinary Ireland. - Dr. Rosalinda Devereux, Owner at Wexford Equine Veterinary Practice & President of Irish Equine Veterinary Association.

Friend of the show, Mark Simmonds, has just published a new book that looks at the growing and the seemingly inescapable problem of letting work stress get the better of you. Mark took a call from Bobby to chat about what we can do to mitigate the impact of a heavy workload as well as his book, ‘Beat Stress at Work-How to Balance Your Ambition With Your Anxiety’.

Leo Cullen’s Leinster take on Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle at Stade Velodrome in Marseille in the Heineken Champion’s Cup Final this afternoon and so to look ahead to what promises to be a colossal match, Bobby is joined by Off the Ball’s Will O’Callaghan to get his predictions.

Bobby welcomed to the studio Fiona Uyema, who is a cookbook author and founder of the Asian cooking essentials range ‘Fused’. Her food, and indeed business journey, began after time spent in Japan and she’s just this week launched 2 new spicy sauces with 100% of profits going to the Irish Red Cross's vital work in Ukraine. She joined Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is David Byrne, Managing Director of Lisney. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Do you feel there should be more to running a business than the focus on profit alone? Do you ever wonder why you work so hard yet still feel that something is missing? Andrew Thornton, the co-author of 'Putting the Heart Back into Business: How to Place People, Planet, and Purpose at the Core of What You Do', proposes a better way of being in business - one that enables everyone to truly be themselves, harnesses their strengths and individuality, and puts people and planet first - whilst trusting that profit will still follow. Andrew joined Bobby to tell him more. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.