By Business & Finance 
Colin Kennedy is the Managing Director of Pickup, DPD’s newest Out of Home delivery business in Ireland. He is a board member of DPD Ireland and is responsible for its warehousing, logistics and sustainability strategy. He holds an Executive MBA from Coventry University and has previously held a number of roles in the logistics, technology and medical device industries.
By Héloïse Chaudot
What was your first job?
I had many part-time roles, working in hotels, bars and petrol stations. My first permanent role was as a Computer Programmer with Abbott Ireland in Donegal, a great place to start your career.
What are your main priorities and goals in your current role?
The scope of my role encompasses several areas of our business. I have overall responsibility for our logistics, warehousing and pick and pack operations, where we service a couple of dozen e-commerce shippers and manage their stock and distribution. I also have overall responsibility for DPD’s sustainability efforts. This is a crucial aspect of who DPD is and encompasses our ambitious emission reduction targets.
Lastly, the newest addition to my responsibilities is as Managing Director of our newest venture, Pickup. Our immediate goal is to be the first dedicated parcel carrier in Ireland to launch an Out of Home delivery business.
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
I started off my career in IT, which I loved, but this has evolved to a more strategic and innovative role. I really enjoy understanding the pain points and frictions in people’s lives and building new and often innovative solutions to solve those challenges.
How do you motivate yourself and your team?
Each day is really a school day in a business like DPD. We are constantly moving forward, which makes innovation an everyday occurrence. The delivery of meaningful and effective solutions gives the team and me a great sense of satisfaction and motivates us to keep moving the business forward every day.
In one sentence, how would you define success?
Developing our people to deliver great products and services for our customers.
How do you relax?
I’m a taxi driver for my basketball-playing son, so that keeps me busy. I enjoy walking on my local beach in Streedagh, Co. Sligo; it’s another world!
What is your favourite (non-business) book?
I love all of the Dan Brown books and read lots of autobiographies.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
I’m a detail person and a planner. The best advice I’ve received is to stop applying logic to every situation; sometimes, you just have to suspend logic and go with your gut!
How do you handle adversity?
The most important thing to recognise when you are faced with adversity is to identify the elements you have control over and to address those. For the items that you cannot control, you need to mitigate as much as possible.
What are the aspirations for the future of the business?
We have aggressive ambitions for Pickup, our new Out of Home delivery company. Our vision is to become the automatic choice for consumers and shippers by delivering a radically efficient, dependably punctual, and effortless service at an unbeatable price, while leading the industry in sustainable logistics.
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