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| FORMER MEMBER INTERVIEW |
“Strategic Problem Solving Under Pressure Is Highly Valued”
Commandant (Ret’d) Mick Broderick, who now works with the National Treasury Manage- ment Agency (NTMA), talks to SIGNAL about his military career and subsequent private sector roles.
Could you provide us with a brief synopsis of your Defence Forces career, including key appointments and roles and when you retired?
Having entered the Cadet School in October 1985 as a proud member of the 62nd Cadet Class, introduction to the military way of life came as a sharp shock, especially those early (seemed to me at the time to be the middle of the night) ‘Check Parades’. The term ‘character building’ seemed to get used as lot and looking back now it truly was, and has stood me well ever since. I believe that there are few if any other career choices where the comradeship and friendship formed in those early months and years lasts long into the future, irrespective of the career choices one makes later in life. During my military career of 21 years, I had the great pleasure of working with fantastic people of all ranks and background. During this time I served in the 5th Infantry Battalion, the Eastern Brigade Training Depot, the Army Ranger Wing (ARW), overseas with the 67th, 71st and 86th Infantry Battalions in Lebanon, as an observer in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Other Ranks Administration (ORA) as a Staff Officer and finally as a Financial Analyst in Military Finance after completion of an MBA. I retired at the rank of Commandant in September 2006, taking up a role as Financial Analyst with the NTMA (National Treasury Management Agency).
How has your career developed since leaving the Defence Forces (brief summary)?
Having joined the NTMA, my first four years saw me working with the National Development Finance Agency which is part of the NTMA. This involved working on some very large infrastructure projects such as the motorway network and various hospital and educational projects. With the onset of the financial crisis, funding for such projects became a challenge with the country going through its greatest crisis since the formation of the state Around this time, NAMA (National Asset Management Agency) was established under the NTMA and I availed of an opportunity to move to NAMA in January 2011. Over the following 7 years I held a number of various roles within NAMA, culminating in the role of Deputy Head of Residential Delivery. In the 2018 Budget, as one of a number of measure to address the housing shortage, the government announced the creation of a new entity called HBFI (Home Building Finance Ireland). It’s role is to provide funding to small and medium size residential development projects akin to a bank. In June of this year I was tasked with setting up this entity as Project Lead and Interim CEO. I now lead a team of finance professionals, credit and risk analysts, quantity surveyors and lawyers in creating this new entity.
Was there any particular driver that led to your retiring from the Defence Forces?
No, overall I thoroughly enjoyed my 21 years in the Defence Forces; however a number of years before retiring I did make a conscious decision to move to civilian life, which was more about pursuing other interest and experiencing life in the civilian world rather than exiting the military world. At the point of retirement I had had many great experiences and served in a wide variety
of roles to include four trips overseas, so for me it made sense to pursue other interests and challenges. I had an interest in the area of finance, so I was fortunate that my final appointment in the Defence Forces was in a finance role in DCOS Support under the late Lt. Gen. Dermot Earley, a man from whom I learned a huge amount
What key skills acquired from your military service do you regularly use in the course of your current professional life?
There are many aspects and attributes of military life and training that are eminently transferrable to the business world. In fact many of the theories and models taught in business schools to this day have their origins in the military. One of the key outcomes of military training is that rather than focusing on one or two skills it produces a ‘well rounded’ individual who can pretty much turn their hand to whatever task needs doing, I would have witnessed this most of all on overseas missions.
However, If I were to pick one skill set which transfers particularly well to the business world, it is the ability to take a problem, analyse it and come up with a strategy to address it. This seems simple and is bread and butter to anyone who had gone through the Cadet School or military training in general, but yet such problem solving can trip up many who have no formal training in how to deal with such scenarios. The training followed by the practical application that a Cadet and young Officer get in those formative years of ones life’s should not be underestimated and will stand a person well, irrespective of what walk of life they pursue. There are still few, if any, comparable management training systems in the business world today.
Many former military personnel have gone on to have successful professional careers, why do you think organisations benefit from having those with military experience working with them?
As mentioned previously the ability to problem solve is a very useful skillset to any organisation and this is something the military officer is very good at. The ability to think logically and in a structured way is appreciated by all organisations, irrespective of their area of business, along with the ability to remain calm in a
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