Director of Line Up Sports Media Entertainment David McHugh takes the Business & Finance 60-second challenge.
Q. What was your first job?
My first job was selling Christmas logs when I was about 10, making a few pounds at Christmas. When I was in school/college I worked part time at Roches Stores in Blackrock and my first real-world job was with Premier Marketing working in marketing and sponsorship for Canterbury of New Zealand and Helly Hansen post full-time sailing.
I was about 27 before I entered the real world and got a full-time job as college and competitive sport had taken up most of my time since leaving school.
Q. What would you regards as your greatest achievement to date?
Leaving a secure job at Leinster Rugby in 2007 and setting up a sports marketing and athlete consultancy business at the start of a recession and growing it year on year to date! A leap of faith in many ways, and difficult and all as that has been, I would not have changed one bit of it.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
You never know ’til you try, so give it a go and always back yourself.
Q. How do you relax?
Believe it or not, watching and participating in sports such as boxing, mountain biking, sailing, playing hockey or watching sport. Genuinely love spending time with my young family too: my wife Geraldine and two children, Freddie and Annabel.
Q. If you could step into the shoes of one businessperson for a day, who would it be and why?
For me, it would have to be Richard Branson: he is a sports nut, calm and loves life!
Passionate about his life and, without stating the obvious, lead by his desire to be great at everything he does whether business, kiting or being an adventurer!
Q. What’s your motto?
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde.
Q. In three words or less, how would you define success?
Happiness, security and integrity.
Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
By always striving to be the best and to be defined by our actions and not by our outcomes.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business?
To continue to grow Line Up Sports and be recognised as one of the strongest and most proficient advisors in the world of sports marketing, athlete management and sponsorship.
This growth will either be by acquisition or partnership with like-minded people or companies, and strategically diverse to our current offering.
You never know ’til you try, so give it a go and always back yourself
Line Up is a consultancy business specialising in the sports, entertainment and media sectors. Their work includes bidding, developing, hosting, managing, producing and promoting sports, arts and cultural events at national and international level.
They also provide strategic consultancy advice to brands, sports bodies, local authorities and national government. The other arm of their business is contract negotiations and athlete endorsement/sponsorship, media, PR and career management for athletes including professional rugby players Rob Kearney, David Kearney, Fergus McFadden and Ian Madigan, as well as boxer Andy Lee.
