What is your background – what made you want to become Chartered Accountant?
It was a bit of a mixture of circumstance and family background. Having studied Economics at Queen’s University I really planned on becoming a teacher of either economics or history. I had tentatively been offered a PGCE place at QUB but as time progressed the offer become less certain and less likely to materialise. Needing a job, my father also an FCA, persuaded me to take up a training contract with Atkinson and Boyd which subsequently merged with Goldblatt McGuigan to form Touche Ross in N Ireland.
Can you give us a run-down of your career to date?
I’ve been really fortunate to have had a very varied career spanning now some 43 years of which roughly 15 years have been spent in the public sector, 15 years in the private sector and now almost 14 years in the third sector with Action Cancer.
After Touche Ross I became the Financial Accountant at Ulsterbus and subsequently its Commercial Manager with responsibility primarily for its coaching division, Ulsterbus Tours. On the formation of Translink, I headed up the Corporate Governance and Control side of the operating companies. After nine years in public transport and just before the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement, I left public transport moving to the Northern Ireland Tourism Board as its Director of Development and Investment and then after five years to Invest NI as its first Tourism Manager.
I then left the public sector moving back into the private sector as Chief Executive of the Andras House Hotel Group before moving on to the Culzean Group, a joint venture to build, develop and acquire hotels around the time of the Celtic Tiger. Both were brilliant experiences which sadly came to an end in 2010 as a consequence of the Irish property and banking crash.
By circumstances rather than design, my next job was to be my current one, Chief Executive of Action Cancer, a role I have now had for nearly 14 years.
What is your current role?
Reporting to a Board of Trustees, I’m responsible for the overall running, control and governance of the charity. Our Mission is to save lives and support local people through cancer awareness, prevention, detection and support. Action Cancer offers two services which no other UK Charity offers, namely Breast Screening and Skin Cancer detection, as well as a most extensive range of therapeutic supports for people affected by cancer.
To do this requires a professional staff compliment of over 80, the raising of circa £4.0m per annum and the use of highly developed and complex IT systems.
What do you like about your job?
The opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives. For example, in 2023/2024 Action Cancer detected some 169 cancer. That’s 169 people of all ages who had a cancer detected early, radically changing their treatment path and potentially their prognosis.
There is no doubt that working in the charitable sector is very challenging especially in the current economic environment but at the same time very rewarding! Looking back to some previous points in my career I can think of some successful periods of growth or profit, which is nice to achieve, but at the end of the day – “so what!” It doesn’t have quite the same impact on people’s lives and families. I’m glad for all of the experiences in my career but this job is uniquely rewarding.
What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
I believe that senior leadership in the charitable sector is harder than in either the public or private sector. Why do I think so? Who would ever develop a business model where all of your services or goods are provided free of charge to the end user and paid for by someone else through largess and philanthropy? And, as for governance and regulation, everything that applies to private companies also applies to most charities plus charities have additional requirements to meet through specific charity legislation and additional accountabilities through various regulators.
What is the biggest challenge facing local charities at present?
There are probably a couple of things. There are a lot of very capable and resilient people working in our sector, but one thing that’s especially hard to deal with is the impact of inflation. In the case of Action Cancer, in the financial year 2022 to 2023, inflation led to an increase of around £350,000 in our cost base, it is simply unrealistic to expect such increases to be addressed through increased fundraising, the same is equally true for charities reliant on statutory funding.
The other main challenge is one which I expect is affecting all businesses and organisations, staff recruitment and retention.
What is your leadership philosophy?
Everyone is of equal value, give them voice, listen to, hear and act on what they are saying.
If I had one piece of advice for someone moving into a CEO role it would be that you ignore inappropriate corporate and individual values and behaviours at your peril. Competencies can be learnt and improved through training and development but values and behaviours are much more difficult to change, inappropriate values which are left unchecked have the potential to destroy all that is good in an organisation.
Are there initiatives at Action Cancer that you’re particularly proud of?
I’m proud that we are making a real difference in people’s lives, and I’m proud of the level of service that we’re able to offer. Our 3D imaging breast screening and skin cancer detection services are unique in the UK and because of our investments in IT we are the only non-HSC organisation with access to HSC IT systems, allowing us to “red flag” directly in to Secondary Care. Another uniqueness is our mobile screening service, the Big Bus, with its onboard breast screening, skin cancer detection and health checks, which takes our life saving services to all areas of Northern Ireland.
What was your best day working as a CA?
I don’t think there has been once specific day. I’ve really enjoyed my career of nearly 40 years as a Chartered Accountant. I wouldn’t change anything. I’ve really enjoyed the variety. I think the change helps to keep you young. I’d encourage younger members not to be risk averse, follow you dreams and don’t do regrets!
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Food isn’t a big issue for me, I’ll give most things a try. I’ve been to Romania a few times and on one of those visits in a small Roma village in Transylvania I was offered a delicacy which looked like a cheesecake but was made with boiled pig fat, the ears of the pig and sprinkled with paprika. To be honest I don’t think it was a good example of the delicacy, but I nibbled on it just to be polite.
What was your first ever job?
A summer job working in a bookshop, I really enjoyed it.
If you weren’t a CA…what would your dream job be?
If I hadn’t become a CA, I’d probably have ended up as either a history teacher, or a Minister of Religion.
What time does you day start?
I’m usually in the office for 8.30am. In the charitable sector we work with a lot of volunteers including trustees, so most Board and Committee meetings tend to be held in the evening.
Do you ever turn your phone off?
No. I know I should, but I don’t. I much prefer to know what’s happening and to be available and contactable if required.
What was the last book that you read?
I don’t really tend to read novels. I prefer to “read” theological books and business books. The last book I read from start to finish was Quinn by Trevor Birney, otherwise I tend to dip in and out of books.
What’s your favourite thing to spend money on?
Family. I have two daughters and we’re expecting a first grandchild in January.
What famous person do people tell you that you most resemble?
No one really. A long time ago with Ulsterbus tours we ran tours to Daniel O’Donnell’s house. I went on to Radio Ulster to talk about it and ended up being compared to Daniel himself.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three items, what would they be?
A Bible, a phone and water.
What do you like to do when you’re away from the office?
I like to walk our dog Bonnie along the North Coast. She’s a working Cocker Spaniel, now nearly 10 years old. She is a brilliant dog but sadly we are her fifth owners and hopefully her last!