I DON’T often find myself rubbing shoulders with executive types, so before I even met with Limerick Chamber CEO Michelle Gallagher, I already had a rather unfair stereotype painted of the person I believed I was meeting, writes Limerick Post reporter Alan Jacques.
I’m ashamed to admit that I had envisioned a conservative bean counter who dreams about spreadsheets and is about as much fun as your tax returns, and it goes to show how little I know.
My head hangs in shame as I type about the smart, no nonsense woman who proved the polar opposite of my lazy pigeonholing.
Michelle is an absolute breath of fresh air and I found myself taking an instant like to the recently-appointed head of Limerick Chamber. The Chamber head honcho is a warm, energetic and outgoing personality, whose career journey, I was surprised to learn, started out in Limerick College of Art and Design.
An avid record collector and passionate about the domestic music scene, Gallagher, as she admitted herself, is somewhat of a “conundrum”.
“I was a conundrum in art college as well. I was one of two people with deck shoes, but it was one of the best four years of my life. When I was in transition year in secondary school, I went down and did my work experience in the art college, and said, ‘okay, that’s where I want to be’,” she recalled.
“My brothers were always talking about their five-year plan and went straight to America after UL, but I never really had a plan. The whole irony that I am CEO of Limerick Chamber is not lost on me either. I started out in visual communications and a very creative background, where I specialised in brand and brand identity.
“Right now, I’m also the president of the MBA Association of Ireland – just one of four females in almost 60 years to fill the role,” she states proudly.
“I had no business background to backup over eight years of industry experience until I went back in 2015 to do an MBA in UL. I had started out on one path, I did a lot of design, brand identity, and spent a couple of years as a parliamentary assistant while I ran my own agency. Then the recession helped me pivot into the world of marketing, business development, and strategic sales.”
Michelle quickly found her way in the world and the Adare mother-of-two has had a distinguished career to date, including senior leadership roles in multinational corporations, startups, and SMEs. Her expertise in both B2B and B2C markets, and her ability to expand global brand presence across Ireland, the UK, EMEA, and international markets, positioned her as an ideal leader to guide Limerick Chamber.
‘An interesting encounter with a shotgun in Abbeyfeale’
A past pupil of Laurel Hill, she has a wealth of knowledge and is a dynamic and accomplished business leader with over two decades of experience in diverse sectors, including medtech, life sciences, consumer electronics, and aviation.
She grew up in a political household along with her four siblings. Her father, Michael Brennan, is a former Fianna Fáil senator, who caused a stir back in the day after defecting to the Progressive Democrats.
And while her early days in the public sector saw her lead her father’s constituency office, she makes it very clear that she has about as much political ambition as I have business intellect.
“Honestly, I don’t think I was born with that extra layer of membrane and thick skin. I mean, I was out canvassing as far back as I can remember and had an interesting encounter with a shotgun in Abbeyfeale once. I thought he was joking. I was full sure this old farmer was just having the craic, but then I realised afterwards that I was just young and naïve,” she recalls.
“I’ve been through it all, I‘ve seen it all, and I have zero political aspiration. I grew up in a house filled with politics, I have seen the best and the worst of politics. Good work is done but it can also be vicious – in your own party, let alone the opposition. For me, I think there’s better ways to try and invest my energy than trying to go down that road. And it is ironic, because this is one of the most political roles I’ve ever had.”
‘I want to make an impact’
A proud Limerick native, Michelle is hugely passionate about her hometown and deeply invested in the growth and development of the Mid West.
Michelle is actively involved in community, sporting, and voluntary sectors and, during our river walk, she enthused about the remarkable growth Limerick has seen in recent times, along with her commitment to ensuring that the Chamber continues to be a leading advocate for business in the region.
“There’s a lot happening, but it’s going to take time, and everyone pulling together and not taking lumps out of each other. I’d like to see people coming together for Limerick and that’s really why I was drawn to this role. You can sit back and give out and moan about what’s not being done, or you can do something about it,” she affirms. “That’s why I put myself forward for this role, I want to make an impact and be part of positive change”.
“I think you know the challenges around Limerick. The city centre is in dire need of some injection. I met with Chief Superintendent Derek Smart and Superintendent Andrew Lacey at an event recently and you learn, ad hoc, about the challenges going on in their world. They are so under-resourced right now in terms of headcount. Then, look at what was announced in the Programme for Government with Dublin and Cork getting the resources, including new Garda recruits deployed to their cities, we need this for Limerick also”.
“We voted for change and we looked for change, and we have it to an extent, but Dublin and Cork are getting the resources without having voted for a directly-elected mayor – and they are getting the budget to back it up.
“We’ve done a lot of pushing in terms of Programme for Government and the pre-budgets and pre-elections and general election priorities for the Mid West, and we’ll keep pushing it.”
Without missing a beat, she added: “Here’s the thing, though – Limerick is a fantastic region, and has some really great joined-up thinking, but we are going to have to improve the housing stock or it’s a real risk. This could stifle innovation and cycle investment in the region for years to come.”
A lot of her job at Limerick Chamber, Michelle points out, is to hold people to account on projects not being delivered upon for the region and to be a strong voice for local business.
“I’m not gone into this job to be popular, but I hope I would be known for being fair. Integrity and honesty is a big part of my DNA. Where you alluded to politics, I don’t know that I would be best aligned to any individual political party. I’m much better served working with all the political representatives in the region and trying to get the best out of them for Limerick,” she concludes.
