One of the country’s best-known CEOs has told Limerick business leaders that understanding your weaknesses is as important as understanding your strengths.
Speaking at the second Limerick Chamber Regional Leaders Programme at Dell, Fiona Muldoon, CEO of FBD advised that there are many things that make a business leader, including humility.
“I think you need to be self-aware. You need to know where you have gaps and you need to surround yourself with people who play to those strengths and you play to yours,” she said in a video on Limerick Chamber’s Youtube channel after addressing the large attendance.
She continued: “I think you need a sense of humour. I think you need to be resilient. I think you need to know how to pick yourself up when things go badly.”
The FBD CEO is the latest in a line of inspirational business, sporting and political figures who have imparted their insights to the quarterly Regional Leaders Programme. Previous guest speakers include Mary Harney, Enda Kenny, Joe Schmidt and Denis Brosnan.
Inevitably, Brexit was a major topic of discussion at the event. Asked about her thoughts on it, she said, “I would certainly hope that it won’t be a disorderly Brexit. And I am still hopeful it will be an economically rational Brexit, but it’s hard to be sanguine.
“I think agri-business is very exposed. The food industry is worth four billion in the UK and we import 3.7 billion we export beef, cheese, butter So it’s a lot of trade and certainly our customers in FBD Insurance are exposed.
“We (Ireland) are preparing but until you know what kind of Brexit it is how do you prepare.”
Looking to Theresa May’s handling of it, she said: “I think that Theresa May has not done what most politicians do well. I am surprised that there hasn’t been more negotiation and more compromise.
“And I would be critical of Therese May but I’d be more critical of David Cameron for putting her there in the first place.”
