Chamber’s challenge to help build a vibrant, competitive Dublin

Talent availability, infrastructure, housing, and diversity and inclusivity are among the top items on Dublin Chamber President Siobhan O’Shea’s agenda for the coming year.

“It’s about making Dublin an attractive place to live and work,” she says. “Dublin is still competitive when it comes to attracting talent but we have to put in place the elements that will propel us forward and maintain that position.”

Like many of her predecessors, O’Shea is not originally from Dublin but few can have had as varied a career journey. Wall Street consultant, prime-time producer on American TV, global recruitment business director – these are just a few of the roles the proud Kilkenny native includes on her impressive CV.

“I am proud to call Dublin home and to be raising my family here,” she says. “In fact, one in five people living in Dublin today were not born in Ireland, let alone Dublin. They too have made Dublin their home. This is a significant achievement, showcasing to the world that we are well and truly open to connections.”

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However, something that sets O’Shea apart from many of her predecessors is her gender.

“One of the things that’s really important to me is diversity and inclusion,” she points out. “There hadn’t been a female president for a few years. I am only the seventh female president out of 135 in well over 200 years. I think it’s important to have a strong pipeline of females to lead the organisation and we are fortunate to have great women on the council .”

Strong and supportive women have played a significant role in her life and career.

“I had a very strong role model in my mother,” she says. “I was fortunate to grow up with someone so strong and positive about education. Third-level education was non-negotiable for my family. I went on to study commerce at UCD but the economy wasn’t great when I graduated so I went to work in the US. I had worked in Cape Cod on a J1 visa and had a very positive experience.”

Her mother applied for the Donnelly Visa lottery for the whole family back in the early 1990s. “Myself and my brother were lucky enough to get visas. I went to New York after graduating and worked as a consultant for a Wall Street firm. It was a bit like a milder version of the Wolf of Wall Street,” O’Shea recalls.

She moved to San Francisco after that. “I spent a year on the west coast,” she says. “I was mostly travelling and did lots of different jobs. I wanted to get into TV and media production. I got an entry-level role with Turner Broadcasting where my boss was Linda Yaccarino. She is now Twitter CEO. She was a powerhouse. I’ll never forgot how she helped women and younger people to develop in their careers. She set a great example of sponsoring and mentoring people in the organisation. I was 24 at that stage.”

Subsequently, O’Shea moved to CNBC. “I stayed there for three years and really enjoyed it,” she says. “Then 9/11 happened and things changed. America became a different place for me. I never thought I would stay permanently but being there when 9/11 happened and afterwards was quite a shocking and scary experience. It made the decision to come back home to Ireland quite easy.”

Her return to Ireland saw her back on the jobs market. “I went to a recruitment agency to find work,” she recalls. “They saw something in me that I hadn’t and offered me a job. The agency was Morgan McKinley and was a start-up at the time. It was founded by Pat Fitzgerald and was a very dynamic place to work. There were lots of opportunities for intrapreneurship.

“It’s great to work for people who empower you. It was a very exciting time to work there. I worked with a group of people who went on to become incredibly inspiring leaders. Everyone was committed and passionate about the core purpose of helping people get jobs. It’s a great privilege to be able to have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

O’Shea spent 14 years with Morgan McKinley before joining CPL in 2016. “I worked in multiple roles before I got headhunted,” she says. “We managed to survive the bust when the market dried up. It was an incredibly difficult time and we had to let some people go. But, as Winston Churchill said, when you’re in hell you’ve got to keep going. We had to identify new opportunities and capitalise on them. I was always interested in the contracting world and that became a growth area for us.”

And then came the move to CPL. “I met Anne Heraty for a coffee about the opportunity to join CPL,” says O’Shea. “A lot of people would have thought I should stay with Morgan McKinley but the chance to work with a great leader like Anne was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Also, CPL was a publicly listed company and it offered broader exposure to different areas. It was the largest talent solutions provider in the country, the market leader, with a huge footprint in Europe. I wanted to stretch myself and take on new challenges.”

She remained with CPL for six years before moving on again to become director of Scaled Business Success (EMEA/APAC) at Indeed.

“Anne Heraty sold the company. She was a big factor in me joining CPL and her leaving meant it was right for me to move on to the next chapter,” O’Shea explains. “I was fortunate to get hired by Indeed and am enjoying the challenge.”

Scaled Business Success is the small-business-facing division of Indeed. “It was a start-up business within the organisation at the time,” says O’Shea. “It was a great opportunity to get. It’s growing very fast and it now accounts for over one third of Indeed’s global revenue. I am enjoying the challenge and love the purpose of helping people get jobs.”

She has been involved with Dublin Chamber in one way or another for a long time. “I had been a supporter for some years while I was with Morgan McKinley,” she says. “The events and training courses run by the Chamber are very useful. I had seen the benefits of membership for myself and in 2018 I went forward for the council and was fortunate enough to be elected.

“During my first year I was asked to join the board. I was able to bring a different perspective in terms of the talent agenda. I chaired the Labour Taskforce for a few years – that’s one of the four key subcommittees of the board. And then I was encouraged by some other people to go forward for president.”

Unsurprisingly, she places particular emphasis on skills and talent. “Everything springs from that. We have seen from member surveys that attracting, retaining and upskilling staff is the number one priority for many businesses in Dublin.

“It’s also the biggest threat. We don’t want businesses missing out on opportunities for growth because of difficulties in attracting talent due to prohibitive childcare costs, lack of affordable housing or poor public-transport infrastructure.

“The lack of availability of skilled labour is one of key challenges for businesses. I have played a role in addressing those challenges throughout my career. The overarching priority is to look for innovative ways to tap into previously overlooked talent pools.”

That means removing the barriers that prevent people outside of the workforce from returning to work.

“We need to reduce the marginal effective tax rate, cut the cost of childcare, improve housing supply and public-transport services,” says O’Shea. “We need to make meaningful progress on Dart+, Metro North, and Bus Connects. These will be important enablers in making Dublin a sustainable city.

“In our survey, four out of five firms said housing is the biggest issue facing them when it comes to attracting talent. If we are to make Dublin an attractive place to live and work, we need to address these issues.”

Two women leading the Northern Ireland Executive is a big step forward. But there is definitely more to do and I won’t stop playing my part in that

—  Siobhan O'Shea

Another key issue for her is the safety of Dublin’s streets. “We need to make Dublin a safe place. As a leader of multicultural teams, I want Dublin to have a reputation as a place where people are safe and welcome.

“I want people to feel safe going to O’Connell Street to get a bus. People need to feel Dublin is a kind place and a warm and welcoming place to live. A sustained police presence is required to reassure Dublin’s citizens and visitors.”

Progress is being made, O’Shea believes, particularly in the area of gender equality. “We are seeing slow progress on closing the gender pay gap but the good news is that female participation in the workforce is the highest it has ever been,” she says.

“And there is so much more potential to be unlocked if we can address housing, childcare and other issues. Two women leading the Northern Ireland Executive is a big step forward. But there is definitely more to do and I won’t stop playing my part in that. If you are lucky enough to be in a position to influence issues like that, it is incumbent on us to use that position for good.”

O’Shea concludes by reiterating her pride both in her adopted city and in becoming president of Dublin Chamber.

“I have two children – Willow, who is 17, and David, who’s 14. Both of them are very proud Dubs and are a great support to me.

“It’s such a privilege and honour to follow in the footsteps of the great business leaders who have been president of Dublin Chamber before me. I have already received reach-outs from a number of my predecessors, offering their help and support, and I am also very fortunate to have the support of a great vice-president and deputy vice-president.”