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Ten Minutes With Brendan Keating, FCILT


            Brendan Keating FCILT, CEO of  Port of Cork talks to Linkline about his career, the

            opportunities facing the business, his pastimes and the best career advice he’s received.

            Can you give us summary of your career?            think you will see increased degrees of regulation and maybe
            I have spent 15 rewarding years so far in the port sector, with   border controls, we’ll just have to wait and see. So how will
            a background in local government of 25 years - equally a   that affect the movement of goods in and out of our ports?
            career which was most rewarding from my perspective and   Other issues for us all are the increasing costs of energy and
            most enjoyable. I was City Manager in Limerick from January   labour costs. Finally, from a ports perspective, capacity issues
            1999 until December 2002. Before that, I was an Assistant   in infrastructure – can we handle the growth in trade while
            City Manager in Cork City Council for four and a half years   we’re planning for it. Associated with that is the issue of road
            and before that I spent 10 years in Meath County Council. All   connectivity, the team are anxious to see the advancement
    PORT OF CORK
            very progressive local authorities and I’m very grateful for the   of the M28 and N20 linking Cork with Limerick.
            opportunities of development afforded to me by those
            organisations. I hope I have been able to make a contribution  What do you like to do outside of working hours
            over the last 15 years and I can take some consolidation from   and what are your pastimes?
            the fact the port has progressed and developed quite   I like to read and am still fairly active by cycling. And of
            successfully in that period.                       course, I’m also a keen rugby supporter of Munster and
                                                               Connacht. While I’d like to go more often to the sports
            How did you transition into the transport and      grounds I’d follow very, very closely the recent successes of
            logistics sector?                                  the Connacht rugby team.
            Working in Cork City Council in the 1990’s I was always
            interested in the port and read everything I possibly could   What did you make of Ireland beating England on
            about the Cork Harbour Commissioners – as it was known   Saturday 17th March?
            then. It was a particular area of interest to me so when the   That was an absolutely fantastic victory and I have to
            opportunity presented itself I was delighted to go for it.   compliment the team and coaching staff as it is evident the
                                                               team were expertly coached. I was particularly impressed by
            Could you describe your average working day?       the Irish defence. They had a game plan and it was well
            I am a great believer in working through a management   thought through. It was very well executed both in attack
            team so my approach to my job is to empower and to   and if I can again emphasise, I thought the second half
            develop the senior management team and enable them to   defence by the Irish team was outstanding, as good as I’ve
            do their job. My role as leader of the organisation is one   ever seen.
            where I see my primary purpose is developing the vision and
            the strategies of the future development of the company.  What is the best career advice you’ve ever
                                                               received?
            What opportunities do you see for the business?    I’ve a number of people to acknowledge, above all we’re
            As we speak, there are significant opportunities for the Port   inspired by our parents and in this case, by my own father.
            of Cork. We have an ambitious port development proposal   His advice would be to work hard, work smart and ensure
            which we’re hoping to begin in the next number of weeks.   that you always understand what’s going on around you in
            That will see the company invest around 80 million in a new   terms of the early stages of your career. Then as you get into
            dedicated containment facility. Also, the development of the   senior management to understand your environment,
            cruise business and growing this, in 2018 we have scheduled   understand what’s happening in it and have a sense of what
            96 cruise calls into the Port of Cork.             direction it should go in to achieve the various different goals
                                                               and objectives.
            Another area is the development of a new LNG facility in
            Cork Harbour. This facility will future-proof the port and it will
            add to our ability to accommodate ships, an ever-increasing
            number of which are moving towards LNG technology.

            We have a new Spanish service twice weekly, a rocon service
            starting on May 1st, linking the Port of Cork with Northern
            Spain and with the city of Santander in the province of
            Cantabria. Added to that then we have Irving Oil who host
            the country’s only oil refinery, the Whitegate Refinery, who
            have very ambitious expansion plans which we’re hoping to
            come to pass and benefit from.

            What are the challenges?
            The biggest challenge for all of us, is Brexit and what will be
            the outcome of the current negotiating process. Will or won’t
            there be a free trade agreement? If so, in my judgement, I   Brendan Keating, CEO of Port of Cork


           42 The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport
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