Cara Magazine Feature: Ireland Gateway To Europe

6am My 10-month-old alarm clock, ie beautiful third daughter, wakes me every morning without fail. This is soon followed by two more little bedheaded beauties tiptoeing into my bedroom for a cuddle before I “swan off” to work, as my wife calls it (I have to admit that it does often feel like this as I love what I do). I catch the news on Morning Ireland as I drive to work and flick through The Irish Times business pages as I pick up my habitual morning coffee and porridge in Munchies on Baggot Street.

8am I like to arrive early and typically spend the first hour dealing with overnight developments and activating meetings for the days ahead. As chief commercial officer at Sigmar Recruitment, I work with an amazing team of 120 who have a shared commitment to succeed, which creates a truly unique culture built on autonomy, where we all act and behave like founders.

9am I immerse myself in the action, tendering for new business, designing talent solutions for clients and interviewing for staff – we recently announced the creation of 150 jobs. I’m also currently busy designing a compact MBA programme for our leadership team with Trinity Business School and University of Notre Dame.

10.30am This is my meeting time – clients, collaborators and stakeholders. I like to go to Residence as it’s close by and private. I’m also founder of the Talent Summit, Ireland’s largest
HR and leadership conference, that promotes better workplaces and better working lives. This, for me, is the North Star in terms of purpose and puts us at the centre of the rapidly changing world of work. I’m also plotting a Talent Talks live event in the National Gallery for October.

1pm I hit the gym at least three days a week and use this time to listen to podcasts and research speakers for upcoming events. The afternoon is usually bustling as corporate America awakens so I often dine “al desko”. We are also co-founders of “Ireland, Gateway to Europe” (gatewaytoeurope.com) a trade mission we have been bringing to the US for the past six years and this year we are bringing a delegation of 50 business leaders on a three-day mission to Palo Alto and San Francisco on September 26-27. As a result, my afternoons are currently jam-packed with calls as the sun moves from East to West.

6pm If entertaining clients, I like to go to Suesey Street, Fitzwilliam Place, but most days I try to leave the office by 6.15pm. As much as I enjoy what I do, there is nothing like the excitement I feel when I reach Bushy Park, knowing that just around the corner I’m about to see my family.

8pm Grab a bite to eat and maybe jump on a couple of calls with clients on the West Coast. Read a couple of pages before bed – currently enjoying Shifting Gears by Ryan O’Reilly, a super take on resilience and motivation. Weekends With my girls – goblin hunting in the forest is the latest. Might do Foam in Terenure for breakfast and, if we’re lucky, the odd date night: TapHouse in Ranelagh if going casual, or Shanahan’s on the Green if going all out.

Robert MacGiolla Phadraig

I LOVE VISITING …

SAN FRANCISCO There is no other city as vibrant or as innovative from a business perspective. The energy is infectious and I always leave San Fran a little drained but full of hope and aspiration for my ventures back in Ireland.Our trade mission this month is our third time bringing IGTE back to the Bay Area and we are very excited to return.

BOSTON I’m on the advisory board of the Boston College, Ireland Business Council, which brings me to Boston frequently. I love staying at the Liberty Hotel – a former jail overlooking Charles River, with a great running track over to Cambridge and back. It’s also close to 75 Chestnut – one of the best neighbourhood restaurants in Boston – and a short train ride to the JFK Library and Museum.

NICE We’ve been lucky enough to bring our Sigmar team away on our Christmas party each year and hit Nice twice in recent times. A great base to explore all the French Riviera has to offer, from lunch outside Café de Paris in Monaco, watching how the other half live, to visiting stunning, hilltop, Medieval towns such as St Paul de Vence or Éze.

Sigmar Recruitment CCO Robert Mac Giolla Phádraig is the driving force behind the Ireland Gateway to Europe trade mission that travels to California this month to boost transatlantic trade.

Posted by As seen in Cara magazine on 7 December 2017

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