Leading Ireland’s Olympic Mission

The Olympics might only arrive every four years, but the pressure never really goes away, and neither does the planning. From the Sport Ireland Campus, we sit down with Peter Sherrard, CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, to talk about what leadership looks like when your job is part high-performance sport, part commercial engine, and part crisis management when the spotlight swings your way.

Peter shares the career moves that shaped his style, from working in Milan to fast-paced years with Ryanair, and then into Irish football during the Euro 2016 era. We get into the hard-earned lessons that travel well across sectors: simplify what you can control, prioritise under noise, and build teams where people understand each other’s work before silos take hold. We also talk openly about the governance reset after Rio 2016 and what it takes to rebuild trust in a national sporting organisation.

Tokyo becomes the ultimate stress test. We unpack the uncertainty of Covid-era decision-making, the logistics of protecting athletes and staff, and why resilience is more than a buzzword when rules change week to week. From there, the conversation turns to the business of the Olympic movement in Ireland: the four-year cycle, why events beyond the Summer Games matter, and how a funding model driven heavily by private sources reshapes risk, sponsorship, and long-term planning. We finish with quickfire insights on sport, empathy, laughter, and the power of quiet time for clear thinking.

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Transcript

Cold Open And Big Ambition

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Between her and putting our illumination on the map, it's just you know, this is a south of of dreams, it's beauty, it's beauty, you're not gonna be a good thing.

Meet The CEO Of Team Ireland

SPEAKER_02 0:41

I'm your host, Rob Hartnett, and this morning we are going into the world of leadership, the latest in our series of interviews with the CEOs of Irish sporting organizations in 2026. I'm delighted that we are joined today by Peter Sherard, who holds that position at the Olympic Federation of Ireland. He is a very likable guy and a very talented guy as well, multiple languages spoken. And perhaps that's part of the reason why it's not surprising that his first job after graduating from college was in Italy. He has worked with Fulcher Ireland, he has worked with Ryanair, he has worked with the Football Association of Ireland, working alongside Giovanni Trappettoni and Martin O'Neill in Euro 2016. Then in 2017, he jumped ship and he became the CEO of the Olympic Federation, which was going through its own cathartis after the trials and tribulations of Rio 2016 and the scandals that emerged as a result of that in relation to governance. But everything was fine, everything was on a nice and even keel, and Peter was heading towards his first Olympic Games in charge when COVID hit. So Tokyo 2020 became Tokyo 2021. As you can imagine, there's a bit of talk about resilience in this interview, but plenty more besides as well. We talk about the power of quietness, we talk about the importance of building a really strong team around you, and the importance as well of letting people do the jobs that you know that they are capable of doing. We dive into Peter's uh childhood memories of sport and plenty more besides as well. I think you're gonna find this one interesting. So we're out here on the Sport Island campus in the offices of the Olympic Federation of Ireland. Delighted to be joined by Peter Sherrard, the CEO, the big chair, when it comes to that moment in Irish sport, which really does bring everybody together every four years. But we're gonna talk a little bit about what fills the four years in between to make sure that they work as well. Um, you're very welcome onto the Sport and Business Podcast, Peter.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Thank you very much, Rob.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

So I want to start off by finding out a little bit more about your journey, where your career has brought you into this seat in this house.

A Varied Career Path That Fits

SPEAKER_03 3:06

Yeah, well, first of all, the last eight years nearly uh with the Olympic Federation of Ireland, I'd really, really enjoyed, you know, you've been able to make a difference and feel like you're actually making a difference and part of a really dedicated and committed team. And uh it's a very motivating place to be. Uh, but like anyone, you know, you don't necessarily plan in terms of your your career trajectory, where you end up. So mine was quite varied, really. Um I came out of college and my first job in was uh over in Italy, in Milan, and uh that was with Borbia. Uh it was on the IBEC European Orientation Programme. So I I had to get up to speed with uh selling Irish food products, uh dealing, learning a lot about uh beef uh in particular and uh supermarkets, retail, point sale, and all that kind of stuff. And then moved from there into tourism Ireland, so it was a kind of an Ireland house concept in Milan. Uh it was actually Boredfalcia back in the day, and uh then it actually it changed from Bordefalche to Tourism Ireland at that time. And I was I was delighted to see that because um being from the north, it was it was nice that it took on an all-Ireland dimension while I was there. Um and I I had obviously I I have languages and uh had spent uh time during college working as a tour guide all around the country, so I thought that would be interesting. And it was it was really good, very enjoyable. And I think they um provided a lot of uh general marketing, general sales experience, but also things that maybe private companies might not have had the risk appetite to do from a marketing perspective, but uh uh a state uh body would be uh able to do that and willing to do that, and that was great, a good, really good experience. Uh from there, um and I'd love to say it's a direct correlation, but uh, you know, sometimes these things can happen as a result of opportunity that arises, and this was an opportunity that arose, but a very timely one. Um I was uh made market manager for Ryanair for Italy. And uh one of the things I found within tourism that uh, you know, you can market and uh prepare everybody as much as you like for trying to attract in in my case, it was getting Italians to visit Ireland. Uh, but if you don't have the fundamental air access, uh, you know, you can be bashing your head against a wall. And suddenly, you know, almost within a year of joining Ryanair and all of those new routes that opened and mushroomed, uh uh and it was a fantastic time because we were going from complete underdogs, throwing mud at everyone to overtaking Alitalia, um, the numbers rocketed and it really transformed it. So it was it was nice to be able to do that part uh after having worked on the promotional side within Tourism Ireland.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

And then from there, I was I I was uh lucky enough to get the opportunity. I think it was about 26, uh, which is a long time ago, and uh I uh was given the opportunity to become head of communications uh for the airline uh globally or at a European level, and uh joined the senior management team over in Dublin. Uh a bit different because I've been quite used to being able to uh yes, there was a strong expectation on delivering results, but suddenly I was right in the middle of it and right beside O'Leary on many, many occasions. Uh some some great, some some uh quite uh interesting, I'll put it like that. Yeah, that's probably a whole book in itself. Well, it do you know what? It was fascinating. And again, he to be fair, he gave me so many opportunities at a young age and really believed in pushing young people out and giving them opportunities. And uh I I think that was fantastic. And then from there, with with the it I had lived in Italy for five years at that point. Uh Travit Homey started with the FAI, and the opportunity came up, they approached me about it. And I I decided to jump into that primarily on the communication side where I was uh working in Ryanair. Okay. And I I I think I I managed to get through that period with quite a lot of uh good fortune in some ways. So I was given an opportunity, and you have to take these opportunities when you get them to um look after the commercial portfolio on an interim basis for about a year, and that gave me good experience in that area as well as the communication side. And then uh for the last four to five years there, I moved into the team operations and performance side. Um, and I found that fascinating. And I'm not sure there's many companies where you would get that type of opportunity, but I I really grabbed it with both hands and uh you know, uh, would have been fantastic around a Euro 2016. I was lucky enough in the transition between management teams from uh Giovanni Trepatoni and Marco Tardelli to move in with uh Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane and actually to get on with them and to be able to work in that system. And I I you know very, very proud and very happy to have played a part in that really successful Euro 2016 campaign. Um and then from there, I I I suppose given what's happened at the FAI since, you know, I was very lucky in many ways to to get out at uh in 2017 and to move into the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

Rebuilding Trust After Rio Governance

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Although at the time people would have questioned my sanity uh given what was uh what the Olympic Federation or Olympic Council as it was then had just gone through with the Rio ticketing scandal and so on. But I I feel that um we've we've actually had real success. And I came in in at a time when there had been a board in place with uh Sarah Keane and the other board members had been putting in place a lot of the fundamental groundwork on you know the governance, the oversight, changing the philosophy of the organization. So it was something that really chimed with me and then uh came in and the rest is history, as I said.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, absolutely. Just bringing you back there to the Euro 2016, that would have been taking place just ahead of Rio and the Olympics as well. Was it as somebody who had worked in an international context and who was involved heavily at sport? Was the Olympics always something, and particularly in 2016, where you were working it and then watching it? Was it something that really kind of grabbed your attention then?

SPEAKER_03 9:13

Uh yeah, it did, probably for a lot of the wrong reasons, especially at that time, unfortunately. You know, although I I I I have loads and loads of early memories and of watching the Olympics and being really inspired by it. But uh that Games in particular, it it it really uh struck me how what a massive media storm that was being created around uh Pat Hickey in particular, the arrest, all those things that are and you're talking about the Olympics for all the wrong reasons in many ways, uh within the within an Irish context. So uh that really stuck with me. I suppose it's a bit similar to before joining the FAI, you know, and Trapotoni coming in. I remember reading in the paper some of the stuff about Steve Stunton, and you know, it was a very difficult period.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:57

And uh I I think it's interesting when you see things from the outside, you have a slightly different perspective. And when you actually go in, then you're you're trying to say, well, actually we have things have to change, and and certainly had to change uh in the case of the Olympic Council, the transition into the Olympic Federation. But a lot of that putting aside the issues that happened during 2016, um, I I think a lot of that was actually the transition from a volunteer-led organization to one where there's a professional staff and things are done in a more modern uh fitting way from a governance perspective. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

It it is uh not unique, but certainly less ordinary that you would have worked in public sector and then private sector and then coming into the sports side of it. So you would have you would have picked up an awful lot of the way that organizations operate and the environments in which they operate as well. What were some of the things that that stuck in your mind, maybe not at the time, but when you looked back on them that were particularly relevant to how you wanted to become part of the change in the the two organizations of most recent times?

SPEAKER_03 11:04

Yeah, as you say, like they're very, very varied organizations. Um, but I think that's actually really a positive. Uh the things I suppose that I've I've taken along the way in some ways are, you know, a need to focus on what you can control. And I know that sounds like an awful cliche, but I, you know, a lot of people, including myself, will tend to see 20 different things coming at you at the same time, problems being very uh, you know nuanced in many different ways. But sometimes actually the ability to simplify that and say, well, what are the real bits that you can change here? Where can you change it? Um, and concentrating on those. I'm not saying ignoring the nuance because you need to have a bit of nuance, uh, but the simplification and really concentrating and prioritizing, I think, is one thing that generally over the years I think I've I've uh picked up and and found useful for me. But everybody's different, you know. I think also, you know, uh your style has changed during any career, you know. If if you think back, you know, um the the flexibility of a workforce now, the the the understanding that you know people working uh will give you, you know, 180% back, you know, if you if you show that little bit of flexibility, whereas maybe in earlier stages of my career it was much more rigid and kind of expecting everything to be exactly a certain way.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:28

Um and then you're dealing with generational changes and you're dealing with technology and all those kind of things. But I think that's what keeps it interesting and the adaptability of it.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Yeah.

Tokyo Under Covid Pressure

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Adaptability and flexibility would certainly have been the words that would have grabbed your attention, your first games, first summer games, having come on board, was obviously Tokyo 2020 slash 21 and COVID and everything that was so natural. And it was a games like no other, like we'll never experience again. How how did you and how did the organization cope with that intensity of change and almost rules being made up as they went along with the IOC, with Tokyo, with everything?

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Yeah, I I think yeah, for first of all, it was a big challenge because we were literally ready to go, and then suddenly there's a lot of noise, clouds at clouds on the horizon. It all happened extremely quickly, if you can remember. I mean, uh I remember being invited into a briefing in um in the government buildings, and it was maybe two days before. I'd just been over in Switzerland for something, and uh the first cases were being identified there, and then suddenly bang.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Uh, I remember we had we had spoken at our sport a year ahead, and the Olympic Games was going to be the sort of you know, the the high point of the summer in in in that year in 2020. And little could we have ever known that within a month.

SPEAKER_03 13:56

Yeah, I'd forgotten about that actually. But uh it's yeah, and but those are the kind of challenges that you're here for, you know, and I I think one of the biggest things that I remember as we got closer to games time was the issue of vaccinations and being able to ensure that the team were vaccinated in order to be able to take part. Uh some fairly hairy moments where we required a bit of government support, where uh, you know, the optics of providing vaccines to athletes while and even the ethics of it while you know other people are screaming out for them and maybe in greater need, uh is a tricky one to manage. Uh, thankfully, in the end, uh there was an agreement reached with Pfizer that allowed the games to go ahead. And I would be a believer that from a global perspective the happiness that a game's bring during that time when people are really confined in very unusual circumstances was worth it for the small number of athletes that are taking part within the vaccination programme. Um, but you know, there were all sorts of layers that were suddenly thrown on top of you, and it felt you know, a large part of uh time was spent uh in the month or two in the build-up after people qualified in actually calling them, getting them into HSE test centres, getting them, you know, it all of these things that you've never thought you were gonna have to deal with. But it's just another challenge. And you know, the one thing I would say is actually within sports it can be very complex. I know I I talked about needing to simplify it, uh, but uh you know, another challenge like trying to get you know, 300 odd people through a vaccination centre, making appointments for them, getting their records, uh putting them in contact with the HSE at a time that the HSE had a cyber attack and L systems were down, you know, it was uh it's just another challenge that you have to deal with and you get on with it and and it's step by step.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

It is fairly complex. I mean, one of the joys I think that many people find in working in sport is the kind of the repetitive nature of it, but the the way that a narrative can easily be built. That we know when an FAI Cup final is going to be on, we know when the you know the Irish derby at the core is going to be on, we know when all of these fixed points. Whereas the Olympics is very much a you know uh sort of a gathering every every four years, which takes an awful lot to bring about. So you went from Tokyo into the home games, basically in Paris, which was again something that organizationally there wasn't much experience of that. That was London, but that was a good 12 years beforehand, and and now we're in the games of of Los Angeles and and everything else that that that has to come with. But obviously the Olympics is about more than the Summer Games. How much of your four-year cycle would you imagine in the percentage terms that the Summer Games does actually take up?

The Four-Year Cycle Beyond Summer

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Yeah, it's a fair bit. I mean, we have uh ten games approximately during the the course of any given cycle. So there's uh European events, European youth events, senior events, and then world youth and senior events that build up uh through to I I suppose in w in the main area of public focus is obviously those summer games every four years. But you know, there's there's even just just gone there, the winter games uh this year. This year is a good example. You know, we'll have youth Olympic games coming up in Dakar in Africa uh in October, and then building towards uh midway through next year in Istanbul with the European Games, where we'll have a team which will be quite close to the size of an Olympic Games team, you know, probably with athletes entourage, everything, you know, somewhere in the region of 250 to 300 people and uh it'll be very important for qualification. And at the same time, then you're trying to plan ahead. So um I I think in percentage terms, uh you know, the role is it's probably and this is simplifying, but it's it's probably 40% on the performance side and getting those uh those uh games uh ready, prepared, and there's a very good team looking after that. But

Sponsorship Risk And Funding Reality

SPEAKER_03 18:04

in terms of the organization's overall output, uh about 40% there, about 40% then on the commercial side, because uh in the last cycle uh 74% of our funding came in through private sources, so we have to constantly work on that. Um and uh the remaining 20% I would say is like running a small business, but maybe an events business with a particular public focus or spotlight on it. Uh, you know, if if things were to go wrong, you would know about it very quickly, which maybe some others might have the luxury of being able to stay away from that spotlight. But I I relish that challenge. I think it's actually a good one, it keeps you on your toes. Yeah. And it should be done to a high level because it's you know, you're you're dealing with athletes and coaches who are doing things to such a high level and they deserve they deserve that, you know.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

That's a great figure. Like the 74% of you know coming in from private sources because you don't have ticket sales, you don't have matches that you can put on that you're bringing in revenue from, you don't necessarily have uh you know the the traditional revenue streams that come into sport. And in fact, you don't have the sports because you're working one step removed from Athletics Island or Swim Island or Hockey Island or whoever else it might be that's actually going there.

SPEAKER_03 19:18

Um like that's that that's a that's a big target to actually have it it is, and you know it it does it does mean that you're you're constantly taking positions and taking risks which are more akin to the running of a business. Uh so if you have a business, let's say it's a retail business and you you know you're buying in lots of stock, you're taking a punt that that stock is actually going to be uh have a market demand, uh you're making sure it's in the right place, right time, right seasonality, whatever it is. And but there's a chance it might not work. So you're you're definitely more exposed to the risks than maybe an organization which would be 100% government funded, uh, you know, um, although even within that there are challenges because that's never a hundred percent certain, as we know, and we saw it in in 2008 with the downturn. But uh it it it it does mean there's a lot more nuance and uh I wouldn't say sleepless nights, but things that wake you up pretty early and you're thinking, God, I just thought about that, or I need to remember that, or there's there's a moving part there. There are a lot of moving parts, I think, uh, that makes it a little bit more complex, but also very interesting. But uh the other thing is then on the flip side, you know, you can get consumed by that, and I think you have to make rational, sensible decisions throughout that. But there's also heavy lifts that kind of transcend the cycle, you know. So things like uh the organization's position and role and responsibility within the Irish sports system. Um, you know, the the uh philanthropic funding is something that's really important to us at the moment for and longer term will be in terms of uh the uh additional revenue sources, the diversification of revenue sources, because as you say, we we're very reliant on a really good bunch of sponsor partners, uh supporters, you know, who help us uh do what we do. We have to do it to the right level in order to be able to attract that funding. Right. But uh if you know that we probably need from a security point of view to diversify slightly from those single revenue sources in the event of a rainy day. So, you know, those are things that longer term heavy lifts we we need to keep our eye on as well. And then beyond the cycle, you know, uh the early bird catches the worms. So, you know, already we've been talking to uh people out in Brisbane and I'm very conscious of the fact we need to get out there pretty quick and start planting flags because it it works like that. You're in competition with uh countries all over the world and you know, finding the time in the middle of a cycle where you've already got these games I mentioned, the the uh youth Olympic Games, the uh European Games, but actually one of our big objectives is to tie down as much as possible. possible LA, which is a significant portion, and uh have that almost out of our hair and locked in so that we can continue to finesse that while we're doing the other thing. So you're constantly you know having you know different things thrown at you and making sure you're keeping your eye on all of those different balls in the air. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

And that's what leadership is about is knowing which way to actually sort of focus in in the areas. What would be the sort of you know the the top few areas that you're focused on on a day-to-day basis now that if you have a a to-do list in your calendar, what are the things that from a you know from a long term and a short term perspective that really you think, okay, I've got to focus on this now for the next hour, the next day, the next week?

SPEAKER_03 22:41

Yeah.

Philanthropy, Government Links, LA Planning

SPEAKER_03 22:44

I I think this year actually in particular has been really uh clear and very, very focused. And I I find that we tend to do our best work when we're really focused. And the the three top things for this year, and it really is clear to everybody in the organization is the diversification of our revenue sources. So moving into philanthropic efforts and there's been a lot of work done in the past six months really over in the States and hopefully beginning to show some signs. But we know that the time, the windows are quite tight. So really having the foot to the pedal this year and early part of next year is vital. That may need to fade off or or be done differently by the time we get closer to LA 2028 while also doing all the other things. Another big thing which is really important to us is working on our relations, institutional relationships, I suppose, both with government nationally. And I think we've probably given that fair bit of attention over recent years, but maybe not as as much sort of focus at all times. So quite recently we had, you know, even just using uh initiatives that we're engaged with like the Dare to believe program which runs in schools, uh primary schools and secondary schools all over the country, you know, we were fortunate enough to get some time at local schools with uh the Minister for Public Expenditure and the uh with the two ministers involved in sport. And you know, you you're not in their ear talking to them about your objectives and needs, but it's an opportunity to catch up and so that there's an awareness of of what's there. And I think the position of the OFI within the system and a collaborative player in that system, but somebody an organization which is able to bring a lot to that system is really, really important. And I think we need to concentrate on that quite a lot looking ahead to future cycles. And then this cementing of LA planning I think would be quite high up there. You know it's um we've got our um hospitality house which is more on the commercial side on the supporter side nailed down. The pregame training camp is really close to being nailed down there's a lot of intricacies in in-games planning and supports that we're having to I I suppose juggle at the moment and in particular the timing of expenditure and the and and I mentioned earlier you know like having a business you're not too sure where things are going to land in terms of revenues. So you're trying to make sensible decisions that aren't going to leave the business in tatters by the time you get to the next cycle but uh you do need to take an element of risk because otherwise you'll miss the opportunity. So it's it's uh a lot of those things.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

Yeah and I know with Milan Cortino there were elements where you were able to work collaboratively with other countries as well because we think of LA it's going to be the Coliseum and it's going to be SoFi Stadium but those are just two of the venues in a city of 20 million people in a country of 250 and I think it's canoeing isn't it that's Oklahoma a thousand kilometers away across the Yeah and those are those are nice challenges to have I mean I must say I've been very lucky with uh you know Milano Cortina and uh Paris that even having the languages to be able to help in some of those cases was really really useful in the build up.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

LA is different but I think it's going to be really really exciting um and uh it's the the needs you know it can be quite simple things uh it it can be uh pre-games knowing that additional supports are needed for certain targeted athletes or for certain programs whilst providing a very high baseline level of support to all of the Olympians who represent us. But it it can also be little things that might make a tiny difference um you know additional sports science supports or at the right place at the right time or it could be uh as simple as having a couple of extra rooms for a performer who really doesn't like you know um moving half an hour through city traffic and you know sometimes it's those little things that really make all the difference. So uh Gavin Noble, our Chef Demission and uh his team are looking at all of those options. Uh you know there's sometimes you're constrained by budget and you'd like to be able to play with the same budgets that a lot of those in teams that you're competing against are have at their at their disposal. And I think you know even from an advocacy point of view that I mentioned earlier with in uh government relations I think it is important that and I think government do see the benefits of uh funding for high performance sports but also that you know with that bit more there's still a lot of unfulfilled potential that can can be realized if we if we do things right. And I think the system is heading the right direction but I I think it's those type of additional supports that we we where we really need to focus our efforts.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

Yeah.

Athlete-Centred Culture And National Impact

SPEAKER_02 27:44

We mentioned earlier how you were part of the transformation from the Olympic Council of old to the Olympic Federation of new and it's not blowing smoke to say that the OFI today in 2026 is an organization that that does have prominence and it does have respect across the sporting population and across the public as well that the Olympics in Irish eyes is something which is right up there which is which is a good thing. If you had to describe the organisation now where it is and and and how it might have got to that point from a place which was different going into 2016 and and beforehand yeah what would that be?

SPEAKER_03 28:29

I I think the for the organization I I think the big motivation for us is as a group and you know there's uh all of the different um supports that are provided you know be it through kids be it through logistics be it through operations be through performance interventions uh communications the commercial supports that are needed you know all of those different things that come together um I I think the thing that motivates us the most is the inspiration that the athletes can actually uh give the whole nation and those really special times that they just bring a country together. And that's why I believe actually fundamentally that uh government expenditure in sport is worth every single penny besides the health, the educational the but from a social cohesion perspective it's it's huge, you know. And I I think that inspirational value of the athletes and the coaches and the work that they do often for very little financial reward to be the best in the world of the given discipline is is huge for us as a team and for anybody involved around sport. I think you know and and I think it's why a lot of times you know the Olympic and the Paralympic athletes the way they speak, the things they do the commitment that they put in it it really creates a really strong bond between them and the public in a way that some other sports you know can get a little bit more jaded when it becomes becomes highly professional and there's a lot of money involved and I'm not saying those pe those athletes don't work. They do they work extremely hard but I just think that authenticity is is something very motivational. How we would describe ourselves you know I may I went I go back to that kind of 40 4020 analogy of 40% performance, 40% commercial 20% small business but advanced business that can really rock it up at certain times. Yeah um but I I I think by and large um it's it's the people and uh that they really make the organization that we are and I'm really proud of such a brilliant group of people who work within the Olympic Federation and around the Olympic Federation and with the Olympic Federation to try and help the athletes and that clear athletes athlete centred vision is is fundamental.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

And very consistent as well I think there's there's a lot of Olympic federations around the world that would be envious of the fact that at the end of a Paris cycle at the end of a Tokyo cycle that you've actually held on to a large number of the individuals and the benefit that gives in terms of the that consistency of of approach that institutional knowledge as well that people bring to it your role as a CEO is that what you see yourself as being the captain of the team as opposed to the the the sort of the standout leader as such?

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Yeah I look I I yeah I hate this kind of question Ralph as you know but um I I I think it's um you know you you have to be able to make hard decisions sometimes and that's that's difficult in your role and sometimes that you know I there are different aspects of the organization that you know are crying out for increased attention or increased support and that's probably the hardest bit of the role. But I think ultimately I've always believed in a real transparency and an integrity so that people can see why you're making decisions. And I think one of the things that we've benefited from hugely as an organization while we've grown is uh the fact that people really understand the A to the Z of the organization. There was a period when it was beginning to become a little bit siloed because people were off doing so many things and it was it was a but I I'm a great believer even if it seems like a slight waste of time in spending an hour a week just like it's almost like a kitchen table environment where everybody actually understands each other's issues and then there's a real sense of putting together and I think you get the best out of people by doing that.

Quickfire: Sport, Humour, And Quiet Time

SPEAKER_02 32:28

Yeah completely thanks very much for that um just to just to bring us home in in terms of this interview I've got a a few quickfire questions that I like to ask of everybody and I know that you you'd first talk about the organization as opposed to yourself but this is just a little insight into into Peter Sherrard the man as opposed necessarily to to the CEO.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

What's an early childhood memory that is very clear in your mind from sport um yes it's a few I I think they're probably all shaped around that same sort of age you know between six and ten. One of the that really stands out actually is uh we I was a member of a local athletics club in Newcastle and uh a Polish coach came to visit and I actually have no idea to this day why a Polish coach came to visit but at the time a a Polish coach was quite an exotic creature because it was from behind the Iron Curtain uh which people today will have probably difficulty remembering of a certain age. We can look at it it's uh yeah but you know there wasn't much travel or or interface uh he hardly had a word of English uh but was obviously very good at what he did and uh it was amazing to see him work with us as kids and uh he uh yeah just had an enthusiasm and a passion so it was just a strange one but uh and it was so incongruous to see this Polish coach really obviously very very good at what he did yeah in the middle of quite a small town in in relatively rural Ireland uh teaching uh seven eight year olds how to how to run and how to perform and etc but that that's a certainly a memory that I have um from an Olympic perspective um they you know everybody probably does have their own first Olympic games but for me it was it was Los Angeles 1984 and I think that's quite nice actually that we're coming back to Los Angeles and uh you know I I the things other people remember maybe aren't exactly what I remember but I just remember I could hardly take my eyes off Zola Buddh that she was South African but running for Britain it was during the apartheid era and uh she was running barefoot yeah and it was just the strangest thing to see um and uh she had this big scandal with a uh a a woman called Mary Decker she was uh I remember Mary and they were furious about it you know but uh anyway it just added to that drama but that was very exciting and then that was the besides John Tracy and so on you know that was the Cram Co of that area and I was just stuck into that. I just thought it was amazing and Carl Lewis coming through and uh and so on. And yeah that that's a great memory. But yeah one of the funnier memories I can I I have of of uh sport was um being dressed up to the nines like uh probably little Lord Fantelroy going up to see my grandparents on the North Coast.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

Right.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

And uh we stopped off my dad dad has some great interesting left field ideas and decided uh we'd stop off and see a bit of the Northwest 200 the motorbike race and I remember being stuck dressed up to the nines like sort of long shog socks, shorts and you can imagine you know, in the middle of uh about three or four hundred very hairy, very leathery and well lubricated biker and it was um it was brilliant. I was just I was completely sucked into it.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

You know but uh these things we do as parents which we never realise just how much of a memory it's going to leave behind. What would be your favorite sport if you could if you if you were forced to pick one either as a participant or as a watcher or anything else what would it be?

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Yeah I I think it's probably probably golf for me but you know at different stages in my life I probably prefer to be in a bit more active and you know I'm not old but uh golf is still one I can participate in and and do fairly well in and I I enjoy it you know uh if if I had a a bit of a younger frame shall we say I I I would love to uh try I used to do all sorts of water sports and loved swimming and everything but I I'd love to try and add a kite surfing like I was I was out the other day um near Clontarf and you know you you just see these guys and they're literally taking off and going for 50 60 meters in the air and I just think it must be such a a feeling to do that.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

So yeah I yeah anyway I I think that most sports give you a great sense of achievement if you never say never and if you are playing around at Royal Dublin or something like that and your gaze by a couple of more simple ones uh tea or coffee?

SPEAKER_03 36:58

Coffee yeah good man Netflix in or a night at the movies out uh yeah probably end up gravitating towards a Netflix in uh with a lot more choice although sometimes actually the best time is is to you know with with loved ones is is to spend a bit of time actually chatting. Uh and you don't always get that time and sometimes making that time is important.

SPEAKER_02 37:21

Okay very good. What's a trait, personality trait that you either think you have or somebody has said that you have to you in the past?

SPEAKER_03 37:34

Yeah I I suppose a a bad one um but this is more people at home uh is impatience. I'm I'm not great with waiting to see things through and sometimes I have to be careful because it can lead you to sort of uh not trust the process and say well that team member's going to come back and deliver this and they do they always do they've got a brilliant team but uh it's it it it at home it can rear its head occasionally and I have to control myself and have learned it's a it's a trait that was passed down from my my own dad to the rest of them and uh it's uh unfortunately I just have to be aware of it. And then on the positive side I I think I'm quite resilient and I I think I can get through most things and I think that's very useful in life.

SPEAKER_02 38:11

Okay. It's always good to know the bad ones as well because then you can watch out for them as well. That's a that is a reality in itself.

SPEAKER_03 38:17

What's a trait that you'd admire in other people that you're working with or that you come into contact with yeah look there's been loads um from a business perspective I think it's it can often be those kind of clear thinking uh simplicity kind of just breaking things down and and and uh really uh achieving results through hard work but actually the more I've been around the trait that I kind of sometimes can knock you or take you in an almost unguarded moment is empathy. You know when somebody really shows good empathy I think it's a sign of pretty high intelligence and uh it's somebody who would be able to and and by the way my family would accuse me of having terrible empathy at times but uh I it uh somebody who can really win the trust and support of different groupings that they need in order to achieve results and that sounds a bit self-serving but I I've I've seen people with real empathy just manage to get through situations much better than people who just seem to have complete avoidance of understanding of what's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

And it can be tricky in a world of hyperformance where everything is focused on your own personal side of it.

SPEAKER_03 39:33

It can be yeah yeah yeah um but I've I've seen it a few times and it'd be quite quite disarming uh when it's done properly.

SPEAKER_02 39:40

Okay, great.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

What makes you laugh yeah I I I think sometimes it can be just those spontaneous uh moments of people doing stupid things but uh and and usually it's quite slapstick but um yeah for for me you know those kind of film or uh TV series moments um the absolute absurdity and brilliance of um kicking Bishop Brennan up the arse uh in Father Ted just that this couldn't possibly be happening but it is happening. Um it would it's just it would still make me nearly cry with laughter watching it I know 30 40 years on and it still has that power to do it Leslie Nielsen in all of those airplane movies as well I still see him it's very good yeah yeah the other one like you know some of like Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason and in Bruges I just love some of the dialogues and they're they're yeah things like that.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

Cool. Um how about when you're in the car what do you listen to? Are you music or podcast or news or would would you believe it?

SPEAKER_03 40:51

I've actually tried in recent years to stop listening to anything in the car for short journeys um which is possibly saying okay you're you're missing out on the latest angle on you know whatever Morning Ireland has to say and I I would have listened to all of those sort of stuff Morning Ireland current affairs programme just to make sure you're on top of things. But I I I suppose when you stop um the benefit I find is it it actually gives me 20 30 minutes and a commute to really think um and I find that with technology your working environment can become so cluttered and so fast paced and so disjointed that actually having 20-30 minutes of not thinking of much but actually thinking of loads of things uh can be very useful from a creative perspective. On longer card journeys, yeah my music tastes are pretty crop as my kids will tell you and uh I but I sometimes we'd listen to um the the apps now with uh you know being able to access uh French or Italian current to various programs can be quite useful just to be able to sort of stay in touch and see what's happening there.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

You know that it used to be the case before mobile phones and apps and everything else uh being on an airplane would always be that one moment where you could actually just sort of completely turn off now it's uh now it's down to saunas but there is that the power of the power of quietness can be uh can be very important all right um last thing if I had a table in either a nice restaurant or as some have said the local calf for uh for a for a fry up maybe an Ulster fry who knows um and I gave you the option to bring three guests living or dead that people who have either inspired you or motivated you or you would have loved to have just been able to sit down and chew the chew the cud with yeah I I just think um for that kind of one you know I know Tiger Wiz would jump to mind and I'd love to chat to him and understand what happened.

SPEAKER_03 42:52

He's obviously had his demons you know but I I actually think sometimes that kind of environment you you just want people who are really good conversationalists and a bit of a bit of fun. So you know I know people like Dave McWilliams I think is quite quite engaging and and would have an opinion on most things and and often very interesting. Someone like Graham Norton uh very chatty uh great able to engage people and actually have a bit of a laugh while doing it um I don't know uh Sharon Horgan Ashley B that's those separate characters who are you know just fun and and a lot of different and it's not necessarily sports it's just actually having a good night out.

SPEAKER_02 43:29

So those are the types of people I would probably like to have a good night out with that's it you can listen to one of the celebrity ones on some app or some interview or anything like that but just having the conversation.

Closing Thanks And Ways To Connect

SPEAKER_02 43:38

But look it's been brilliant having this conversation with you. Thank you so much for taking the time out the best of luck ahead to Dhaka to Turkey to Los Angeles to Brisbane and everything else which brings us uh together I think we're in good hands um Peter Sherra thank you very much thank you for listening thank you for taking the time out of your day to share a little bit of time with Peter and I we will be back again shortly with more episodes in the Sport for Business podcast and you can also catch up with the written version of what we produce uh roughly uh a hundred or more than a hundred pieces of original content about the commercial world of Irish sport every month. We produce a daily news bulletin and you can sign up for that at sportforbusiness.com. If you like being part of a network we have a series of events coming up on Wednesday June the 10th we will be at the Technological University of Dublin's Grange Gorman campus for an event on future proofing Irish sport. Then we have the European Sponsorship association annual Irish event on the morning of Thursday June the 11th and our annual gathering of the Sport for Business PWC 3030 taking place on Spencer Dock on Friday June the 12th we will be gathering again at the end of the summer for a business of golf event at the K Club and then we'll be into a very lively programme of events taking place all through September, October and all the way through to the end of the year I hope that you will find something of what we do of interest in terms of what you do and thank you again for taking the time to be with us today.

SPEAKER_00 45:21

Have a great rest of your day for being here and putting our little nation on the map it's just you know this is the stuff of of dreams on the church it's good