The Renatus Podcast

In October 2024, John Saunders became Chairman of St. Louis-based public relations firm FleishmanHillard, having served as CEO for the previous nine years. Not many Irish people get to head global businesses based out of the U.S., but John Saunders did just that.

From humble beginnings as a sports presenter with RTE, he has carved out a stellar career in the public relations industry. In this latest episode of The Renatus Podcast, John talks to host Greg Dilger about the PR business generally, as well as his own firm, FleishmanHillard, and its multibillion-dollar parent company, Omnicom. He offers fascinating insights into the evolving role of PR in a digital world, including the phenomenal growth of the influencer space, the use of AI, and the future of work.

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Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment

In this episode of the Renatus podcast, host Greg Dilger speaks to Peter Jackson, the CEO of Flutter Entertainment, the world’s largest sports betting and iGaming operator. Peter has been CEO since 2018, having originally joined as a Non-Exec Director of what was then called Paddy Power Betfair in 2013.

The acquisition of FanDuel has opened up huge opportunities for Flutter in the US and the recent decision to move their primary listing to New York makes total sense in light of this. Peter talks about the strategic logic of the FanDuel deal and how its culture fits so well with Flutter’s ‘challenger mindset’. He also talks about what they call the 'Flutter Edge' which is leveraging their collective strengths - i.e., people, technology and capital - to compete better across their portfolio of businesses.

At the end of the conversation, Mark Flood the co-founder of Renatus gives his key takeaways from the podcast.

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Richie Boucher, Chairman of CRH plc

In this episode of the Renatus Podcast, Greg Dilger talks to Richie Boucher, Chairman of CRH, a global leader in the provision of building materials solutions that build, connect and improve our world. Employing nearly 80,000 people at over 3000 locations in 29 countries, CRH’s scale is nothing less than staggering. 

Richie shares his insights into why CRH continues to thrive on a global stage while also revealing what makes him tick personally.  He talks frankly and passionately about culture, people, strategy and more.

Richie also tells us about his other very complementary board roles with renewable energy firm ClonBio Group and global real estate investor Kennedy Wilson, as well as reflecting on his career in banking and in particular his time as CEO of Bank of Ireland.

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Stan McCarthy, CEO of Kerry Group 

In this latest Renatus podcast, host Greg Dilger talks to former Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy about the rise and globalisation of the Kerry Group.

Underneath the calm and modest demeanour is a very accomplished operator with a great temperament for business. It is not at all difficult to see why the Kerry Group thrived under his leadership.

Nowadays, following his retirement from Kerry, Stan uses all of those attributes on a completely different stage as Non-Exec Chairman of Ryanair - Europe’s largest airline (by passenger numbers). His smooth transition from food to aviation is no surprise to those who know him well. 

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Paddy Blaney, former CEO of GPA (Guinness Peat Aviation)

In this latest Renatus podcast host, Greg Dilger talks to former GPA (Guinness Peat Aviation) Chief Executive, Paddy Blaney about all things GPA  - the ambition, the rise, the fall, the restructuring and of course, its legendary founder the late Tony Ryan.

Several former GPA staff subsequently founded and worked for other Irish-based aircraft lessors, such as Avolon, Pembroke, SMBC and Aergo. Indeed the world’s largest aircraft leasing company Aercap is currently led by another GPA alumnus - Aengus Kelly.

The availability of this calibre of highly trained executives is one of the core reasons, along with a favourable corporate tax environment, Ireland has become the global hub of the commercial aircraft financing and leasing industry as we know it today.

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Mickey O’Rourke, joint CEO & Founder of Setanta Sports

Renatus’ latest podcast features Mickey O’Rourke, the joint CEO & Founder of Setanta Sports. In this episode, Mickey reveals the story behind the birth of Setanta Sports, which originated as a mere excuse for a party with his friend Leonard Ryan during Italia '90. Listen in as Mickey, a seasoned entrepreneur with a track record of founding and exiting multiple businesses, shares his valuable insights into the ups and downs of his illustrious career. From great successes to eventual failures, Mickey discusses his journey in detail, providing a rare and exclusive peek into his experiences that are not commonly known.

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Dermot Crowley, CEO of Dalata Hotel Group

Host Greg Dilger of Renatus chats with Dalata Hotel Group CEO Dermot Crowley about the hospitality sector generally and Dalata Hotel Group. He discusses covid, refugees, energy prices, the value of culture, and Dalata's ambitious strategy and growth plans. Dermot is passionate about empowering employees and how Dalata's decentralised model and management style facilitate this.

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Fergus Clancy - former chairman of the Mater Private Network

In our latest Renatus podcast, host Greg Dilger chats with Fergus Clancy, one of Ireland’s most accomplished healthcare executives. He is the former Chairman of the Mater Private Network, previously having operated as CEO for ten years. Fergus is no stranger to private equity, having worked/co-invested with three PE firms in recent years. He also has his own company - FC Advisory, a boutique advisory firm operating exclusively in the Irish health and social care sector. In this discussion, Fergus speaks about his career, private & public hospitals, and nursing homes, and shares his thoughts on several topical Irish healthcare issues.

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Donal Murphy, CEO of DCC plc

Host Greg Dilger of Renatus chats with Donal Murphy, CEO of DCC plc. Donal discussed how DCC grew the business across 21 countries with over 15400 employees, DCC’s scaling strategy, how to deal with the ongoing energy market transition, and the importance of people development within the DCC organisation's culture.

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Rosheen McGuckian, CEO of NTR plc

Host Greg Dilger of Renatus chats with Rosheen McGuckian, CEO of NTR plc. Rosheen discussed how NTR manages its numerous assets, her professional path to date, overseeing the company's international expansion, and the prognosis for the Irish renewable energy market.

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