By Business & Finance Phil Codd, Managing Director, Expleo Ireland
I had a summer job re-pointing the rear elevation of the Mauritian Embassy in London when I was 16. It was a labour-intensive exercise which involved cleaning out and replacing all of the old cement between the bricks for over five floors of the building. I had no decorating experience prior to that and I think I did a pretty good job. It showed me the importance of hard work. My first ‘real’ job was as a trainee programmer for a publishing company, which is where I discovered my love of tech and IT. I am very proud of the journey I have taken our company (as SQS and more recently, as Expleo) on for the last 10 years – from a period of recession to the success that it’s enjoying in Ireland today. Watching the people around me grow in maturity, knowledge and capability over the years has been immensely satisfying. Gratifying, hard, achievable. Someone once told me: “The closer you are to the cash, the more of it will stick.” Unfortunately, I’ve yet to get close enough! I’d like to be Taoiseach (not any particular one) for a day to really understand what the big challenges are and what can be fixed in 24 hours when you have the power to do so. I try to empower people to do their role to the best of their ability so that they can see the real positive effects of their decisions on our business. That is hugely motivational and giving people the space to do this is really important because it shows you trust them, rely on them and are happy to share in their success as well as their failures. We have a number of musical instruments dotted around the house which I regularly tinker with. I can’t really play them with any great aptitude, but with the help of YouTube I can knock out a tune and that’s sufficient for me. “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” -Benjamin Franklin I want our business to make a difference to our clients and also our staff. Diversity and inclusion have become important to our success as a company. I want to continue to build an organisation that truly represents this and one that people want to work for. That will define our success and ability to get to our business goals.What was your first job?
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
In three words or fewer, how do you define success?
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
If you could step into the shoes of one business person for a day, who would it be and why?
How do you motivate yourself and your team?
How do you relax?
What’s your motto?
What are your aspirations for the future of your business?
Diversity and inclusion have become important to our success as a company.
Phil Codd,Managing Director, Expleo Ireland
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Expleo is hosting a ‘Great Expectations’ event at its Dublin offices on the evening of September 11th, inviting all professionals focused on enabling a more equal workforce.
Featuring speakers representing a wide range of industries, the event will explore how employees can achieve their career goals and how businesses can foster talent, improve productivity and ensure gender equality in their organisation.
Speakers include Declan Goodman, who has over 15 years of experience in leadership coaching; Kate Brady, Chief Administrative Officer, IFDS Europe and Mairead McIlkenny, Director of Market Operations, Facebook.
Marketing Manager, Expleo Ireland, Siobhán Smith said that “better gender balance has a positive effect on all aspects of an organisation”.
“Fom company culture to business productivity. And while Ireland has made significant improvements to close gender imbalances, there is always more to be done,” she said.
“The aim of this event is to educate professionals at every level on how they can turn expectations into reality. Our speakers will draw on their own personal experiences to provide practical advice on how organisations can encourage others to put their best foot forward and succeed so businesses can drive change.”
