We were delighted Brian was our guest speaker at our Business Forum meeting that took take place in the College from 7.30 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. on Wednesday 10th April. As many of you will know, Brian is co-founder of the PM Group and owner of Moscow Flyer who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and 2005, the Tingle Creek Chase in 2003 and 2004 and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2002.
Brian spoke to the group sharing his learnings on Starting and Growing an International Service Business.
There was the usual opportunity to network with Forum members before the presentation.
See the gallery below for photos from the event.
Brians background
Brian spent 8 years as a student in Belvedere, leaving in 1957. In 1961 he received a degree in Electrical Engineering in UCD and in 1969 he received a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering. Brian joined Irish Cement in 1961 and worked in Ireland and Denmark, eventually ending up as Manager of the then new Platin Cement Factory.
In the early 1970s Irish Cement was effectively taken over by Roadstone and in 1974, Brian and a colleague, Jim Walsh, left Irish Cement and set up an engineering services company called Project Management Ltd. (or PM as it came to be known) with an initial staff of three, including the two founders.
In 1987 following the acquisition of 25% of PM by Foster Wheeler, a US owned international engineering company, Brian took over as Chairman and Managing Director, and filled that role until his retirement from full-time employment in 2000. PM has currently 1,600 employees, with offices in Dublin, Cork, the UK, Belgium, Poland, China, Singapore, India and the USA.
Brian was a member of the Board of Management of Belvedere from 1998 to 2004, and Chairman of the Board from 2001 to 2004. In that period he oversaw the construction of the Science and Technology Building. Brian was President of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland in 2002-2003 and President of the Belvedere Union from 2008-2009. Brian was a board member of Irish National Petroleum from 1990-1995 and was a Board member of Enterprise Ireland.
