Series 2 | UCD Smurfit School

UCD Business Impact Podcast - Season 2

The ‘UCD Business Impact’ Podcast features thought leaders from the world of academia and industry discussing the most compelling issues affecting our lives from a business perspective. These conversations will offer insight, spark curiosity and challenge you to rethink how you do business in a changing world.

Hosted by Emmet Oliver, financial editor and journalist; and lecturer at UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business.

Listen and subscribe to episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Season 2 Episode 3 - Era of Uncertainty

Professor Niamh Brennan | Corporate Governance

26th October 2021. In April 2020 Professor Niamh Brennan launched our podcast, offering an expert assessment of the economic impact after Ireland entered its first lockdown. Fifty episodes on, we welcome Niamh back again and she explains how the pandemic has changed our world forever—discussing climate change, business adaptation and what lies ahead for society.

Season 2 Episode 2 - The Retail Store of Tomorrow

Breege O’Donoghue | Primark Brand Ambassador, UCD Smurfit School Advisory Board Member

12th October 2021. Legendary Penney's/Primark retailer and UCD Business alumna Breege O'Donoghue reveals what it takes to rise to the top of the Irish and global retail scene, the importance of evolving with your customer and what the future of retail looks like.

Season 2 Episode 1 - The Business of Education

Professor Anthony Brabazon | Dean of UCD College of Business

30th September 2021. Ahead of a series of milestone anniversaries, Professor Anthony Brabazon explores the global history of the UCD College of Business and looks ahead to the future of business education and developing business leaders of tomorrow.

Season 2 Episode 19 - Sky's the limit

Associate Professor Tom Conlon | Aviation Finance

5th July 2022. Associate Professor Tom Conlon is that Academic Director for UCD’s Masters in Aviation Finance and talks about why he is optimistic about aviation's future in a net zero world and how he sees transport operating in a decarbonised world.

Season 2 Episode 18 - Media Village

Colm O’Reilly | CEO of Business Post and Chairman of Newsbrands Ireland

21st June 2022. CEO of the Business Post and UCD MBA alumnus Colm O’Reilly talks about the future of the newspaper industry from libel reform, tech disruption and the importance of supporting great journalists in a time when they are under fire.

Season 2 Episode 17 - Mind the Gap: Gender equality and pay

Professor Colm McLaughlin | Employment Relations

7th June 2022. Professor of Employment Relations Colm McLaughlin has recently taken on the role of VP of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCD College of Business. He talks about the importance of bringing transparency to gender pay issues and on finding out who is paid what—and why.

Season 2 Episode 16 – The Great Reset: Upskilling in the pandemic age

Helen Brophy | Executive Education

24th May 2022. Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Development Helen Brophy talks about the need for 21st century workers to push themselves to keep learning and the importance of the latest Financial Times rankings that places them 31st in the world.

Season 2 Episode 15 – Global March: How organisations can survive the age of global tension

Dorota Piaskowska | Strategy and International Business

10th May 2022. Associate Professor in Strategy and International Business Dorota Piaskowska discusses why globalisation will continue despite war and Covid, and how organisations can navigate in a nervous era.

Season 2 Episode 14 – Her Sport, Her Story

Niamh Tallon | Founder, Her Sport Media Platform

5th May 2022. Niamh Tallon, UCD Quinn and Smurfit School alumna, talks about the importance of equal representation of sportswomen in the media and the powerful effect it plays from girls continuing sport to sponsorship opportunities.

Season 2 Episode 13 – Blockchain Revolution: How technology will change accountancy

Assistant Professor John McCallig | Accountancy

21st April 2022. UCD Nova’s Invention of the Year Award winner Dr John McCallig discusses blockchain, cryptography and why accountants are moving up the value chain and driving innovation within companies by introducing machine learning to provide better insights into large data sets.

Season 2 Episode 12 - Is renting energy the future?

Kevin Maughan | Founder and CEO, Urbanvolt

30^th March 2022. With rising energy costs hitting the headlines on a regular basis, Urbanvolt's Kevin Maughan talks about how he sees our energy future and how it could be brighter than we might think.

Season 2 Episode 11 - A Portfolio Career

Olivia Maguire | Portfolio Manager, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

1st March 2022. Recent UCD College of Business Alumni Award Winner, Olivia Maguire discusses her career journey from studying at UCD to becoming a Portfolio Manager in J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London. She also explains the concept of cognitive diversity and how it can meaningfully impact the diversity of any industry when implemented.

Season 2 Episode 10 - How do you model economic uncertainty?

Dr Alessia Paccagnini | Economics

14th February 2022. Dr Alessia Paccagnini discusses the fascinating world of economic modelling, including how to model uncertainty to help policymakers make decisions of international importance. She also discusses her role in encouraging women to enter the field of finance.

Season 2 Episode 9 - Inside the Mind of Consumers

Stephen Rust| Consumer Behaviour

1st February 2022. With businesses across every sector grappling with a post-COVID environment, it has never been more important to understand what motivates consumer spending. UCD Business alumnus Stephen Rust takes us inside the mind of the consumer and what motivates them to make a purchase.

Season 2 Episode 8 - Powering Up: Solving Ireland's Energy Woes

Klair Neenan| Energy

17th January 2022. With Ireland facing one of its biggest energy crises in recent history, UCD alumna and Airtricity Director Klair Neenan discusses how green power can help solve our energy dilemma, concerns over energy prices and how to be a smarter energy consumer.

Season 2 Episode 7 - Business News in Review: Looking back at the biggest business stories of 2021

Laura Slattery & Donal O'Donovan| Business Journalists

21st December 2021. Laura Slattery, journalist at the Irish Times, and Donal O’Donovan, Business Editor at the Irish Independent and Chairman of the Business Journalists Association of Ireland, look back over the leading business stories in 2021.

Season 2 Episode 6 - The Great Energy Trilemma

Dr Paula Carroll | Energy Systems

7th December 2021. On the back of COP26 and with a record number of Amber Alerts on the national electricity grid, energy consumption is at the forefront of minds for both business and home owners alike. Dr Paula Carroll, UCD Centre for Business Analytics and UCD Energy Institute, discusses both the challenges and many opportunities facing the energy sector as we aim for a more sustainable energy future.

Season 2 Episode 5 - The Science of Social Media

Molly O'Dwyer | Social Media and Data Lead, RTÉ

23rd November 2021. UCD Quinn School alumna Molly O'Dwyer discusses the importance of listening to what your audience wants, finding your authentic voice and the importance of wading through the sea of social media analytics to find tangible KPIs that tell your story and help you to hit your digital goals.

Season 2 Episode 4 - Life in the Alibaba Family

Robert Kiely | Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff of Lazada Group

9th November 2021. UCD Business alumnus Robert Kiely discusses his leadership role in Lazada, Southeast Asia’s leading eCommerce platform, and the growth of the eCommerce revolution in a fast-paced, dynamic part of the world.