By Business & Finance 
James Murphy, Head of Partnerships at Over-C
James Murphy, Head of Partnerships at Over-C takes on the Business & Finance 60-second interview challenge.
Q. What was your first job? Picking potatoes for a local farmer in Glounthaune, at the age of 12. It was also when I got my first promotion; to cutting turnips! Back-breaking work but it certainly taught me the value of responsibility and hard work. Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date? Personally, it would be completing the Quebrantahuesos cycle in 2013. Quebrantahuesos is the Spanish word for a bird of prey, known as the Bone Crusher. That’ll give you an idea of what it was like! The event is a 200k cycle across the Pyrenees, from Spain into France and back again. It was as much mental challenge, as a physical one. Professionally it would be getting appointed to Head of Partnerships with Over-C. I previously worked in the Banking sector and it can be difficult to jump between industries, so it is very satisfying when your skills and experience from one sector, get recognised in another, in particular with a company that is on an upward trajectory. Q. In three words or less, how do you define success? Happiness. Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? My parents taught me to respect everyone that I deal with in every aspect of my life. You can’t really go wrong if you follow that advice. Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff? Lead by example, stay positive and work hard. If I can’t be positive about what I’m trying to achieve, then how can I expect other staff to get behind what we’re doing. I also think it’s important to encourage staff to have a good work life balance and to show an interest in what people do beyond the day job. If your staff are happy, they’re more productive and everyone wins. Q. If you could step into the shoes of one business person for the day, who would it be and why? Richard Branson – His positivity is infectious and he’s progressive in how he does business. Both staff and customers are considered a priority. He’s not afraid to push the boundaries and take risks either, which is clearly demonstrated by his Virgin Galactic space project. Q. How do you relax? This may not sound too relaxing, but I love training for endurance events. It might not be for everyone, but it’s a great way to tune out. The latest event on the agenda is the Ironman in Barcelona this October, so in my spare time, you’ll most likely find me either swimming, cycling or running. Q. What’s your motto? Make the most of life. Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business? Whilst Ireland is a very important market to us, we have begun to establish ourselves overseas in the UK and Benelux amongst others. Over the next 12 months, our aspirations are to continue this expansion into mainland Europe, in particular, Germany and Spain. Such countries give us a significant opportunity to scale our business rapidly, given the size of these markets.
The pace at which transformation is happening not only in the tech industry but in general, is rapid.
