10 QUESTONS


10 Questions with... Conor McKenna


Each issue we ask a cleaning industry professional the Tomorrow’s Cleaning Ireland 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Conor McKenna, Managing Director at Hugh Jordan & Co.


you go and why? Antarctica is number one on my bucket list. I am fascinated by the courage of pioneering explorers such as Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen and Ireland’s Tom Crean. They were determined to put everything on the line and do what no one had achieved despite the odds; if they had run businesses, they would have revolutionised their industries.


Q5 Q1


What was your first job? Apart from numerous summer


jobs for older members of my family, my first real job was in the marketing department of a confectionary company that manufactured ice pops and sweets for kids. It was great fun and I learnt a lot about how a real business operates, but it wasn’t good for my teeth!


Q2


Q3 Q4


30


How did you get into the cleaning industry?


I got involved with Hugh Jordan & Co. Catering Supplies in 2006. As part of a turnaround of the business we entered the Cleaning & Hygiene supplies sector in 2009, and our business in that area has been growing ever since.


Which three words describe your personality?


Driven, open-minded, and inquisitive.


If you could visit one place in the world, where would


How would you improve the cleaning industry?


As someone who hasn’t grown up in the industry, I sometimes find that there is an overload of technical information that often confuses the customer. The best products are those that clearly and simply communicate that they are the solution to the customer’s problem.


Q6 Q7


If an intern were to start tomorrow, what’s the


one piece of advice you would give them? Always give 100% and never be afraid to ask anything; ask questions if you don’t understand, ask for help if you can’t do something, and ask yourself how you can improve.


What do you do to unwind? Number one is spending quality


time with my wife and eight-month- old twins in the evening – they surprise me every day. Then I like to cycle in the Wicklow hills when it’s not too wet or cold.


Q8


If you were stranded on a desert island and you could


only have one thing, what would it be and why? A boat – I wouldn’t plan on staying stranded!


Q9


What do you think is the future of the cleaning


industry? Sustainable manufacturing, eco- friendliness of product and the recycling of materials are becoming more and more important for our customers. I believe there is a lot of room for innovation in this area, and the industry needs to prove that cleaning can be kind to the environment.


Donna Monteith, Managing Director of Pristine Cleaning NI, asks...


Q10


What do you think is the most important factor of a


successful cleaning company in this


now very competitive market? I think it is the same for any company in a competitive market – have a clearly defined and relevant point of differentiation from your competitors, and stay focused on delivering that 100% in everything that you do. Customers value consistency, and even if they get distracted by the next ‘unbeatable offer’ from a competitor, they will always gravitate back towards the supplier that they trust.


www.hughjordan.com


Check out the next issue to see what Conor asked our next industry professional...


www.tomorrowscleaningireland.com


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