Run by the Irish

Kintarō Hattori

Watching the news earlier and the CEO of Quantas came on and he had a sneakily Irish sounding accent so Googled him and indeed he is Irish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Joyce_(executive)

Now you also have Willie Walsh who as head of BA also happens to be Irish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Walsh_(Irish_businessman)

Now in relation to this post it's just coincidental that they are both head of major airlines. It's interesting that these huge and very famous companies are both run by Irish people and it got me wondering what other major companies, worldwide, are headed by Irish people?

Saila

Obama - he's american so that means he's irish.

OPENROAD

Saila wrote: »

Obama - he's american so that means he's irish.

He is indeed Irish, two leaders from Offaly :eek:

fonecrusher1

Darth O'Vader.

Latchy

Cant think of anybody at present but Henry Ford of the FORD motor company fame was the son of William Ford , a Co Cork man

Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township (near Detroit, Michigan).[1] His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, of a family originally from western England, who were among migrants to Ireland as the English created plantations. His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839–1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1934).

Nulty

I don't know but interested to find out

Pherekydes

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

... and it got me wondering what other major companies, worldwide, are headed by Irish people?

Ruinair.

minidazzler

It's how we take over the world, infestation!

KeithM89_old

Good old Wikipedia

Nulty

# David J. O'Reilly - CEO of Chevron
# Peter Sutherland - Chairman of BP Plc, and Chairman of Goldman Sachs International and formerly Ireland's representative at the European Commission

List of Irish People (Wikipedia)

The BA and Quantas lads aren't on that list...

iPlop

Alan Joyce was from tallaght ,his family still live close to my relations

Quantum leap for Tallaght maths geek to top of global airline

DUBLINER Alan Joyce is hours away from becoming one of the most powerful people in aviation. In the wee hours of tonight the Tallaght-born maths enthusiast will formally become group chief executive of aviation giant Qantas, heading up a team of some 36,000.

A sprightly 42, Joyce is more than 20 years younger than the CEO he replaces, while the Dubliner also has the distinction of being the first non-Australian to head the 88-year-old staunchly national airline.

More pressing than his youth and nationality, however, is the black hole global aviation is fast hurtling into, and the multiple safety scares that have dogged Qantas' recent months.

Package

Ensconced in the airline's majestic boardroom, drinking in the stunning views of Sydney's skyline, Joyce has the air of the cat who finally got the cream complete with A$4.7m (€2.36m) remuneration package.

In the early 1990s, he resisted Michael O'Leary's attempts to woo him to his "basket case" of an airline opting to go to Australia and work for Ansett instead.

A couple of years later, Ryanair's executives had made millions from the airline's hugely successful IPO, while Joyce's Ansett had checked in to aviation's bulging graveyard.

"You can look at it and say maybe at different stages it was the wrong decision," says Joyce, in an accent that still hints at its Tallaght beginnings despite 12 years in exile.

"But at the end of the day, I'm now CEO of one of the biggest airlines in the world, I can't complain . . ."

But for all his contentment, there's a nervous energy too, as Joyce nips in and out of the room to attend to his soon-to-be flock and bounds off after our interview like a dog who has finally been let off his leash.

The stakes are higher than Sydney's famed Harbour Bridge, and the Dubliner knows it.

Qantas made about A$1m in the year ended last June, passenger numbers for this year are already off and the most generous predictions see this year's earnings coming in around the A$700m mark.

Joyce insists Qantas is better placed than most to weather the storm because it has a "portfolio of airlines", including low cost carrier Jetstar, which gives his group "more levers to play with".

Core business

But he admits the core business, Qantas International, is "in decline", while the overall aviation industry is "probably still on the way down".

Joyce's new airline has also been plagued by safety scares in recent months, most notably a hole in a Melbourne-bound 747 in July and a 200m altitude drop by a plane bound for Perth in October as well as a litany of other incidents.

The two major scares were "manufacturing issues", Joyce insists, while the others were minor and wouldn't have been reported to the same extent if the media weren't already focusing on Qantas' safety. Nonetheless, the reporting "has done damage", he admits, while a recent dispute with engineers was also bruising.

Meanwhile, Australia is also on the cusp of embarking on an emissions trading scheme that could cost Qantas up to A$100m a year, while the delivery of the airline's much-vaunted 115 Boeing 787 planes has been delayed yet again, thanks to the recent strike at the Seattle-plane maker.

Arguably not the best time in the world to be taking over then.

"If you're going to be a CEO for a long time you're going to have down times and you're going to have up times," Joyce shrugs, adding that he plans to be in place for, at , the average aviation term of "five to eight years".

The Dubliner is no stranger to challenge, having been responsible for the stewardship of Qantas' low-cost wing since its 2004 launch.

At Jetstar, Joyce was pitted against Richard Branson's Virgin Blue, the pioneers of low cost travel in Australia, as well as the old school at Qantas who saw no place for Jetstar in their group.

Armed with a bevy of former Ryanair executives including Conor McCarthy, who was once Joyce's boss at Aer Lingus, Joyce set about building the Ryanair of Australia. Some parts of the Ryanair model didn't stick -- free seating, for example, had to be quickly abandoned after a "big customer backlash", while Jetstar's Qantas parentage restricted Joyce from making use of his brother, who lists Ryanair's "Mary O'Rourke in the bath" ads among his graphic design achievements.

Despite the tweaks, Jetstar did achieve Ryanair-style growth and Joyce's baby is now one of the fastest growing parts of the Qantas empire.

Relinquishing day-to-day control of the airline he raised could be one of the biggest challenges for Joyce in his new role, some might say.

"That's a great question," says Joyce, playing for time. "Jetstar is always going to be a very important part of my life and my career, but you do have to move on.

"If I got bogged down in the amount of detail it would take to run Jetstar I couldn't do an appropriate job as group CEO and I'm very conscious of that."

Joyce has plenty on his Qantas to-do list besides Jetstar, starting with a wide-ranging "employee engagement" scheme to bring management and staff closer together and bridge the gulf that developed during last year's failed APA bid.

As the Trinity graduate talks about his plans to steer Qantas through its next chapter, it's easy to forget that he claims he decided to work in Australia rather than Ireland as a "lifestyle choice".

Joyce living the Australian good life is even harder to imagine when he names an obscure maths publication as his last book, and bashfully admits it was beach-reading on a trip to Thailand.

"The lifestyle is really good," he insists.

"I do work a lot but there's lots of opportunity to combine work with entertainment. You could be hosting people at the tennis and get to talk to some very interesting people and see some great events."

It's no wonder he adds: "I love Australia."

Nulty

# Michael O'Leary - colourful CEO of Ryanair


Resize was my addition

PanchoVilla

He is non-executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs International (a registered UK broker-dealer, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs).

He was previously non-executive chairman of BP and was a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group until he was asked to leave the board when it had to be taken over by the UK government to avoid bankruptcy. He also formerly served on the board of ABB.

He is on the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group, a chairman of the Trilateral Commission and vice chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

He is a member of the Comite d'Honneur of the Institute of European Affairs, and an Honorary President of the European Movement Ireland.

He was appointed as a member of the Hong Kong Chief Executive's Council of International Advisers in the years of 1998–2005.

He is President of the Federal Trust for Education and Research, a British think tank.

He is Chairman of The Ireland Fund of Great Britain, part of The Ireland Funds.

He is a member of the advisory council of Business for New Europe, a British pro-European think-tank.

In 2005, he was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. In Spring 2006 he was appointed Chair of London School of Economics Council commencing in 2008.

He also serves on the International Advisory Board of IESE, the eminent graduate business school of the prestigious Spanish university, the University of Navarra.

In January 2006, he was appointed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan as his Special Representative for Migration. In this position, he was responsible for promoting the establishment of a Global Forum on Migration and Development, a state-led effort open to all UN members that is meant to help governments better understand how migration can benefit their development goals. The Global Forum was acclaimed by UN Member States at the UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, in September 2006, and will be launched in Brussels in July 2007.

On 5 December 2006, he was appointed as Consultor of the Extraordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (a financial adviser to the Vatican).

He was appointed to the European Commission in 1985 and had responsibility for competition policy and, later, also for education. He has said that he was especially pleased to have helped to establish the ERASMUS programme (European Regional Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students) that allows European University students to study in other member states.

He was the youngest ever European Commissioner and served in the first Delors Commission, where he played a crucial role in opening up competition across Europe, particularly the airline, telecoms, and energy sectors. Subsequently he was Director General of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (now the World Trade Organisation). Later Mickey Kantor, the US Trade Minister, credited him with being the father of globalization and said that without him there would have been no WTO.

The Uruguay round of global trade talks, concluded in 1994 with Sutherland as chair of GATT, produced the biggest trade agreement in history and established the World Trade Organisation.

Peter Sutherland, emperor of the world (and a right dodgy character).

sligopark

wasn't that biffo prick Irish too?

sligopark

PanchoVilla wrote: »

Peter Sutherland, emperor of the world.

and irish traitor

Terry

sligopark wrote: »

and irish traitor

Here's the deal, but don't tell anyone.

We Irish are taking over the world by becoming the heads of the largest corporations in the world.
In the same way the 1916 revolutionaries were called traitors and terrorists, the current crop of revolutionaries will be called traitors.
You'll all change your view when we are once again the most prosperous countryin the world, just like people changed their view on Pearse, Plunkett et al after the executions.

fingerbob

Former CEO of Coca Cola Neville Isdell was born and Downpatrick, Co. Down.

Terry

fingerbob wrote: »

Former CEO of Coca Cola Neville Isdell was born and Downpatrick, Co. Down.

He's a traitor to Ireland.

fingerbob

Terry wrote: »

He's a traitor to Ireland.

I doubt that would bother him

Terry

fingerbob wrote: »

I doubt that would bother him

You're a traitor to Ireland for pointing that out.

PanchoVilla

James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster. He was one of the wealthiest men in the world and a slave trader. He built Carton House in Kildare and Leinster House (formerly Kildare House) in Dublin with the vast fortunes he made selling slaves around the world.

Kintarō Hattori

Isn't it interesting though that we have produced many hugely successful business people, some of whom have controlled world famous companies yet we can't seem to run the country properly. Now I'm not trying to go all political and I certainly don't want this thread to turn political but it does seem that we just don't do politics as well as we do business.

OPENROAD

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Isn't it interesting though that we have produced many hugely successful business people, some of whom have controlled world famous companies yet we can't seem to run the country properly. Now I'm not trying to go all political and I certainly don't want this thread to turn political but it does seem that we just don't do politics as well as we do business.

Two different things though imo.

x in the city

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Watching the news earlier and the CEO of Quantas came on and he had a sneakily Irish sounding accent so Googled him and indeed he is Irish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Joyce_(executive)

Now you also have Willie Walsh who as head of BA also happens to be Irish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Walsh_(Irish_businessman)

Now in relation to this post it's just coincidental that they are both head of major airlines. It's interesting that these huge and very famous companies are both run by Irish people and it got me wondering what other major companies, worldwide, are headed by Irish people?

Brian Cowen Inc,oh wait..

PanchoVilla

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Isn't it interesting though that we have produced many hugely successful business people, some of whom have controlled world famous companies yet we can't seem to run the country properly. Now I'm not trying to go all political and I certainly don't want this thread to turn political but it does seem that we just don't do politics as well as we do business.

Sure the Irish government (and aristocracy) has always been hugely successful at business, transferring money from the poor to the wealthy. Politics, business, religion...it's all the same at the end of the day.

darragh16

Willie Walsh. He's the CEO of British Airways. Air Lingus shouldve kept him

dxhound2005

Harry Ferguson the inventor of the farm tractor and the three point hitch. His name lives on in the Massey Ferguson brand. From the North.

steddyeddy

well the duke of wellington was irish and a very influeintial leader

imme

Niall Fitzgerald, Chair of Reuters and former head of Unilever.

Don Juan DeMagoo

steddyeddy wrote: »

well the duke of wellington was irish and a very influeintial leader

To which one of his better known quotes were when asked about his Irish heritage;

"[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Being born in a stable does not make one a horse"

- A retort to being called Irish.[/FONT]

I think you can leave him out of the list of Irish people. He never saw himself as Irish, but merely having family estates here.

policarp

Sir Tony O'Reilly, CEO Heinz

mathepac

Sir Terence Patrick Leahy, boss of Tesco.

Leahy is pronounced Lahee as in Tipp hurler. Born in Liverpool, the capital of Ireland of Irish parents.

mathepac

Sir Terence Wogan, former owner of the BBC (retired) former owner of the Eurovision song contest commentry (retired)

Graham Norton, owner of gheyness on the telly for the UK

ballsymchugh

not really head of internationally renowned companies, but i always get a little sense of pride when there's a breakthrough in the medical world and the head of the team speaks with an irish accent. unfortunately, i see it more often on BBC.
the surgeon that headed the team to separate the twins from cork at GOSH was from cork himself. given the amount of publicity he gets, he's a pretty insignificant LEGEND!

Rowley Birkin QC

Seán O'Keefe, former head of NASA.

Dionysus

How about we stick to Irish-born people here, not children or grandchildren of same? It's a bit pathetic taking any old randomer with an O or a Mac and saying he or she is Irish.

First up, John Holland from Clare, brought up speaking Irish, committed Fenian, and the inventor of the world's first successful submarine.

Dionysus

Don Juan DeMagoo wrote: »

To which one of his better known quotes were when asked about his Irish heritage;

"[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Being born in a stable does not make one a horse"

- A retort to being called Irish.[/FONT]

Technically, it was Daniel O Connell who said that about Wellington.

Mahatma coat

Look lads, if the Irish didnt go out and Run all these companies then what sort of a mess do ya think the wsorld would be in ? Eh????

I run a Company here in Australia, and I'm not the only Irish man in charge on this street, We are everywhere, and you know why, Cos we're feckin clever feckers. I think one of the reasons for the Irish being so pervasive in the boardrooms of the world is the Wonderful and insightful policy they have of Providing a Truly Meritocratic 3rd level system without any Fes etc, Oh wait:(

Kintarō Hattori

Dionysus wrote: »

How about we stick to Irish-born people here, not children or grandchildren of same? It's a bit pathetic taking any old randomer with an O or a Mac and saying he or she is Irish.

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Seán O'Keefe, former head of NASA.

Eh just googled him and while he might sound Irish it turns out that he was born and raised in America so he doesn't count at all. Dionysus is spot on.

Don Juan DeMagoo

Dionysus wrote: »

Technically, it was Daniel O Connell who said that about Wellington.

Oh wow, it seems as though the books I have about him have unreasonably embellished that line so. Cheers Dionysus

policarp

How's about Seanie Fitzpatrick CEO of the greatest cocked up bank in the world...

Kintarō Hattori

policarp wrote: »

How's about Seanie Fitzpatrick CEO of the greatest cocked up bank in the world...

Lets try and keep the thread to examples of successful people.

Don Juan DeMagoo

Dionysus wrote: »

How about we stick to Irish-born people here, not children or grandchildren of same? It's a bit pathetic taking any old randomer with an O or a Mac and saying he or she is Irish.

First up, John Holland from Clare, brought up speaking Irish, committed Fenian, and the inventor of the world's first successful submarine.

Dunno about that.

I am proud of of the descendants of uneducated poor Irish refugees, working their way up through a societies harsh class boundary system for countless generations. While still being unashamedly proud to be of Irish heritage.

That takes spunk imho, it is much easier to pretend you are not Irish and change the spelling of your name, disassociate completely with your heritage and blend in.

John Holland is indeed a very interesting story, one of many. I am currently reading a book on the MacMahons family.

Wait till you get this, a descendant of an impoverished Limerick family fleeing the penal laws.... ended up being the 3rd President French Republic and just in case that wasn't enough he was also a Duke


AMAZING for the year 1875!!!!

Wibbs

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Isn't it interesting though that we have produced many hugely successful business people, some of whom have controlled world famous companies yet we can't seem to run the country properly. Now I'm not trying to go all political and I certainly don't want this thread to turn political but it does seem that we just don't do politics as well as we do business.

It's not just politics. If you look at the remarkably long list of Micks that have changed the world, they did it outside of Ireland in the vast majority of cases. What the lad from Galilee said 2000 years ago is very applicable to this country and culture, "A prophet is not recognised in his own land". This land of the parochial twitching curtains has a lot to do with it. It's explained as begrudgery and that's a lot of it and it stems from a deep cultural insecurity and is more about "how dare he/she think beyond their "station"". So people had to leave to get away from all that. That said in a wierd way I think this insecurity while a pain for many actually drives those odd few people to excel. Ireland, a great womb but a lousy mother.(c)

policarp

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Lets try and keep the thread to examples of successful people.

This is AH is it not???

Turnstyle

Wibbs wrote: »

It's not just politics. If you look at the remarkably long list of Micks that have changed the world, they did it outside of Ireland in the vast majority of cases. What the lad from Galilee said 2000 years ago is very applicable to this country and culture, "A prophet is not recognised in his own land". This land of the parochial twitching curtains has a lot to do with it. It's explained as begrudgery and that's a lot of it and it stems from a deep cultural insecurity and is more about "how dare he/she think beyond their "station"". So people had to leave to get away from all that. That said in a wierd way I think this insecurity while a pain for many actually drives those odd few people to excel. Ireland, a great womb but a lousy mother.(c)

well said wibbs

FatherLen

kim jong-o'neill???

steddyeddy

Don Juan DeMagoo wrote: »

To which one of his better known quotes were when asked about his Irish heritage;

"[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Being born in a stable does not make one a horse"

- A retort to being called Irish.[/FONT]

I think you can leave him out of the list of Irish people. He never saw himself as Irish, but merely having family estates here.

I didnt know that thanks! I remember another one "do you give your word as an englishman mr.wilde?" "Ill do better than that Ill give you my word as an irish man!"

Beruthiel

Mary Robinson may not be making loads of dosh but she's a damn fine Irish woman working for human rights and respected by many.

emschlem

iPlop wrote: »

Armed with a bevy of former Ryanair executives including Conor McCarthy, who was once Joyce's boss at Aer Lingus, Joyce set about building the Ryanair of Australia. Some parts of the Ryanair model didn't stick -- free seating, for example, had to be quickly abandoned after a "big customer backlash", while Jetstar's Qantas parentage restricted Joyce from making use of his brother, who lists Ryanair's "Mary O'Rourke in the bath" ads among his graphic design achievements.

Can anyone deduce from the quote above, the name of the person who
'lists Ryanair's "Mary O'Rourke in the bath" ad among his graphic design achievements?

Many thanks.

Teyla Emmagan

We're in charge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merge with the Ireland and WWIII thread...