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THE ENTREPRENEUR
‘Ireland is still a better brand than
England, France or Germany. People
simply got too greedy and it was
just too easy to make money’
don’thavethecapabilitiesorcashflowforhumantesting.” Brand Ireland
Sohowisthecompanycopingwiththeglobalrecession?“I’ma Irelandtooneedstoconcentrateonitsbrand,Lyonssays.While
heretic,”saysLyons.“Arecessionatheist.Ourjobistofindawayto BrandIrelandissufferingtheIrishmodelisnotbroken,butit
moveahead.WeneedtothinkliketheChinese.Whenthereisdan- mustbebasedoneducatedpeople.“Irelandneedsleaders,it
gerononesidethereisopportunityontheother.” needsentrepreneurs.Investinginhousesandsellingthemonis
InAlltechemployeeshavebeenaskedtocomeupwithwaysto notentrepreneurship.Itisbeingabuilder,notacreator.Irish
savemoneywithoutsacrificingtheculture.“Wehavesomefat peopleneedtousetheirGod-giventalentandeducationtocre-
andwe’recuttingit.Peopleareconstantlycomingupwithideas. atesomethingwithvalue.Irelandisstillabetterbrandthan
I’mhopefulwewillworksmarterandbattendowncosts.I’ve England,FranceorGermany.Peoplesimplygottoogreedyand
neverbeenmoreoptimistic.” itwasjusttooeasytomakemoney.InAlltech,makingmoneyis
nevereasy.”
Success drivers Itisalsoessentialthatthereiscontinuedinvestmentinscience
ThereareseveralcentraldriverstoAlltech’ssuccess,saysLyons. andresearchanddevelopment.Buthesaysthatresearchshould
ThefirstiseducationandoneofhisobjectivesinAlltechisto befocusedontherealworldandrelevant,thattoomuchresearch
makescienceaccessibleandexcitingtoall.Inthelocalareathe inuniversitiesisimpenetrable.“Peopleneedtoidentifyaprob-
companybuildsasmallschooleveryyear,aswellasscience lemandgooffandfindasolution.Therearetoomanyesoteric
labs.LyonshasalsoorganisedaspecialAdvancedManagement PhDswherepeopleknowmoreandmoreaboutlessandlessand
ProgrammethatisrunforemployeeswiththeSmurfitBusiness endupknowingnothing.”
School(seepanel).Itistheonlyoneeverrunanditisonlyfor AndIrelandshouldsellwhatitknowsandbuildonitsstrengths.
Alltechemployeeswhospendafewweeksatatimeoverthree “Irelandisgreen,anislandbehindanisland,withfoodtraceability
yearsinDublin.Some150peoplehavealreadycompletedit thatcannotbeoverstated.Weneedtobenationalisticaboutit.The
andAlltech’scommitmenttoeducationwasaprominentfea- KerryGrouphasshownwhatcanbedone.”
ture of a recent case study on the company completed by Hisadviceforbuddingentrepreneurs?“Justgoanddoitand
HarvardBusinessSchool. don’ttalkaboutit.Youhavegottobeasalesman,bemodest,
Anothersuccessdriverispassionforthebrand–thusthe leaveyouregoatthefrontdoorandleadfromthefront.Start
sponsorshipofthe2010WorldEquestrianGames.Onerace small,alwaysputalittlemoneyaside,workdarnhard,andkeep
willbecalledthePearseLyonsReservewhilewidelyavailableat capitalinvestmenttoaminimum.We’rea30-yearovernight
theGameswillbeabourboncoffeewith‘BluegrassSundown’– success!Thereisnoeasyway.”
Alltech’sownnewcoffeeliqueur. Jane Suiter
AlltechAdvancedManagementProgramme
The Alltech Advanced Management Programme (AMP) is the The brainchild of Dr Pearse Lyons, Smurfit alum Aidan
longest-running customised programme at UCD Michael Smurfit Connolly (BComm 88, MBS 89) and UCD Professor of Marketing
GraduateBusinessSchool,witha10thintakecomingtoBlackrock Frank Bradley, to date more than 150 people have graduated
in the summer of 2009. Each year, 25 managers from Europe, from the programme, and a number have progressed to board
Asia, Latin America and the US begin the four-year programme. and other senior management roles within Alltech and other
TheAMPwascreatedinresponsetoanindustry-widedifficultyin firms. UCD has used the Alltech programme as a reference
agribusiness of attracting management talent – a real problem clientandatemplateforattractingmanyothercustomisedpro-
whenafirmisgrowingatmorethan20pcperannum. grammestotheSchool.
28 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
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