Explore every episode of the podcast The Signium Interview Podcast

Kenny Jacobs - CEO, daa answers business leaders’ questions on managing stakeholder relationships in daa, tips and trips for C level roles and leadership mistakes, lessons learned for next world catastrophe and his ideal dinner party guests, among other things.

“It’ll be culture, it’s got to be about how do we blend the good bits of Smurfit Kappa with the good bits of WestRock”

Ken Bowles, CFO of Smurfit Kappa Group,  shares his insights on the recent announcement of the merger with WestRock creating the world’s largest packaging company with combined revenue of circa $34bn, EBITDA of $5.5bn and circa 100,000 employees across 42 countries.  Among other things, he shares his thoughts on the importance of culture within an organisation, Smurfit Kappa’s purpose to create, protect & care for people and the environment, his longstanding passion for sustainability and who he would invite to the ultimate dinner party!

A graduate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Ken holds a first class MBA from UCD. He was appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer of Smurfit Kappa in April 2016.
 He previously served as Group Financial Controller and held a number of other senior financial roles in the Group since joining in 1994. A passionate advocate for sustainability and environmental responsibility, Ken plays a crucial role in aligning Smurfit Kappa's financial strategies with its sustainability goals.
 Some of his notable career highlights include the take private in 2002 and the merger with Kappa Packaging in 2005. The newly minted Smurfit Kappa went public again, marking the largest IPO in the paper packaging sector in 2007.  

Ken Bowles, Group Chief Financial Officer, Smurfit Kappa Group answers business leaders’ questions on aligning the culture and governance of SKG with WestRock post-merger, as well as looking at IP (Intellectual Property) due diligence, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability & ESG within the organisation.

“Never run out of cash, never run out of nerve.” 

Aengus Kelly, CEO and Executive Director of AerCap, the largest owner of commercial aircraft in the world, shares his insights on the importance of Ireland as a global aviation finance hub, the future of the aviation industry post COVID and his views on the challenges facing the aviation sector in the race towards a more sustainable planet.

A Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a Master’s in Accounting from University College, Dublin, Aengus was appointed Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AerCap in 2011. He previously served as CEO of AerCap’s U.S. operations (2008-2011) and was AerCap's Group Treasurer (2005-2007). Aengus started his career in the aviation leasing and financing business with Guinness Peat Aviation(GPA) in 1998 and its successors AerFi in Ireland and debis AirFinance and AerCap in Amsterdam. Prior to this he spent three years with KPMG in Dublin.

Aengus Kelly, CEO and Executive Director of AerCap, the largest owner of commercial aircraft in the world answers business leaders’ questions on whether AerCap and other aircraft lessors will play a more significant role in aircraft specification in the future; the development and use of eFuels in the airline industry; the impact on China’s demand for new aircraft and the Chinese government’s ban on purchasing aircraft from Boeing; and how AerCap addresses diversity, equity and inclusion within its organisation.

***Apologies for audio quality*** Senior business leaders join us for an insightful interview with Fionnuala Meehan, Head of Google Ireland. As well as career highlights, we will explore her thoughts on the future of the online technology sector in Ireland, Dynamic Problem Solving and Helicopter Management, Nurturing Culture - Diversity, Inclusion, Respect, AI & Machine Learning, Technology Optimism & Sustainability,and onGoogle on Giving Back to the Community. 

Fionnuala took over as Google Ireland boss and Vice-President for EMEA Google Marketing Solutions in 2016 and during her tenure, the headcount grew by 2,000, with 2018 marking the company’s biggest year for hiring in Ireland. Fionnuala joined Google in 2005 and worked across a variety of roles, from operations through to sales, as the EMEA business continued to grow and scale. As VP of Global Marketing Solutions, Fionnuala led a pan-EMEA team which helps hundreds of thousands of small and medium sized businesses to market and sell online - a true engine of economic growth. In addition, Fionnuala was Head of Google Ireland, home to Google’s EMEA headquarters, a diverse innovation hub of over 6,000 people from 70 countries.

***Apologies for audio quality*** Fionnuala Meehan, the Head of Google Ireland answers business leaders’ questions on corporate governance and regulation in the tech sector, measuring and tracking success, sustainability and Google’s carbon neutrality, whether Ireland’s education system delivers the skill-set required to prepare graduates for tech roles, the professional development curriculum within Google and the viability of the local & national media due to Google’s growth.

Senior business leaders join us for an insightful interview with Eddie O’Connor, then Executive Chairman of Mainstream and widely acknowledged as a global leader in the renewable energy sector. We explore his thoughts on the future of the sector, as well as:

• how close he came to losing Mainstream
• why culture is the trickiest thing to deal with of all.
• the importance of purpose in your business life
• how to develop resilience
• how to treat those that are delivering for you (and those that are not!) 
• his remaining ambitions – ‘I’d like to electrify Africa’. 

A Chemical Engineer, Eddie began his career with ESB and subsequently became CEO of Bord na Mona turning around a business losing more than 20 m to deliver profitability of 5 m+ pa. As founder of Airtricity in 1997 Eddie led Ireland’s first global Renewable Energy company to a 1.8 bn acquisition by E.ON and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) in 2008. He established Mainstream in 2008 and as CEO built a truly global business, with a portfolio of projects of 9,000 MW, in Europe, The Americas, Africa Asia. Appointed Executive Chairman of Mainstream in 2017, Eddie achieved global recognition as one of the most innovative and successful Renewable Energy Industry leaders.

Eddie O’Connor, then Executive Chairman of Mainstream answers business leaders’ questions on topics such as keeping people motivated, developing resilience, coping with the struggles and sleepless nights, electrifying the 2 million cars on Irish roads and the implications for the Irish electricity grid, and the possibility of a European super grid in the future.

The inaugural Signium Interview was held on the 9th March 2016 with Patrick Kennedy, then Deputy Governor of Bank of Ireland and Chairman of CarTrawler, the private-equity-backed online travel business, shares his insights on the transformation of Power Power under his 10-year leadership, their innovative and mischievous branding and marketing, the acquisition of Sportsbet Australia, the failures and learnings along the way, among other things.

From 2006 to 2014, he was Chief Executive of Paddy Power plc, the international betting and gaming group. It was without any doubt one of the most successful CEO tenures in Irish corporate history where the notable highlights include: 

• 400% growth in turnover and profitability to €882m and €167m respectively
• Shareholder returns of over 500%.
• Transformation of the business from predominantly Irish and retail channel focussed to c.80% online and international.
• Doubling of staff numbers from 1500 to 3000.

Before joining Paddy Power, Patrick was Chief Financial Officer of Greencore Group plc. Prior to this, he worked as a strategy consultant with McKinsey in London, Dublin & Amsterdam and commenced his career in Corporate Finance at KPMG Dublin.

Patrick Kennedy, ex CEO of Power Power and then Deputy Governor of Bank of Ireland and Chairman of CarTrawler answers business leaders’ questions on topics such as whether companies should develop people internally or go external for new talent, the challenges faced in CarTrawler & Bank of Ireland, whether Ireland has the infrastructure & funding to build the tech sector, what graduates in Ireland are missing in order to make them career-ready, business transformation strategies and the decline in trust in big business.