Article from the Financial Times, Della Bradshaw, December 4, 2006.
For Tom Begley, named as one of the “Top 100 Irish Americans” for two years in a row by Irish America Magazine, becoming dean of an Irish business school with global aspirations has a certain synergy.
Prof Begley was appointed dean of University College Dublin’s two business schools in January this year. They are the postgraduate Smurfit school of business in Blackrock, just south of Dublin, and the Quinn school, which runs the undergraduate degrees. As well as being the supremo for both schools, he has retained hands-on management of the Smurfit school, while delegating day-to-day running of the Quinn school to director Martin Butler.
For Prof Begley, who has a PhD from Cornell and has taught in Singapore, Indonesia and France as well as America, running a business school in Ireland is very different from running one back in the US. “In Ireland we see ourselves as contributing to the Irish economy. Coming from the US this is strange. There we assume the economy will develop whatever we do.”
In particular Prof Begley, 55, is looking for ways to help develop the Irish economy while building on the Smurfit school’s strengths, especially in finance....
UCD Smurfit School was ranked 20th in the Financial Times European Business Schools Rankings.
Very interesting article, until the last line - something about the luck of the Irish.
Having observed the Irish economy for 20 years, there has been very little luck (apart from Michael O'Leary's fortuitous visit to South West Airlines) but quite a lot of hard work and not a little strategic forsight.
A more relevent close-out would be to ask whether the current Irish government share & compliment Prof. Begleys vision and determination. If they do not, in 2027 Ireland shall find itself in a similar position it was in during the 1980's.
Posted by: Jeremy Whitty | Tuesday, 19 December 2006 at 09:30 AM